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Technical Art Director
1 year ago
Who we are
At Fortis Games we aspire to make great games that bring people together while redefining how game companies work. We believe in building a sense of belonging through our games, their communities, and how we operate and treat each other. Through our game communities, we will create powerful connections and lasting memories. We will foster a culture of diversity, equity and belonging where together our diverse skills, experiences and background impact the games we make.
We are an early but mighty organization with a leadership team of game industry veterans. There are many opportunities for you to have a big impact on the products we’ll be making as well as the overall direction of the company. If you’re passionate about tackling difficult problems with direct and thoughtful communication and team first mentality, we may be the right place for you.
About the role (the mission, why this role exists, the thing you do over and over again)
- Collaborate with a team of Art Directors, Product, and Engineering teams to define technical content creation methods and processes that optimize game performance, enhance visuals, and streamline production pipelines.
- Develop and implement a comprehensive Technical Art roadmap for our studio that spans across multiple projects. Establish a robust infrastructure and define a clear strategy to achieve exceptional visual quality in distinctive art styles.
- Ensure that all assets meet both the quality standards set by the Art Director and objective benchmarks, from the early stages of asset creation to the final stages of polish and optimization for Mobile and PC platforms.
- Provide specialized support to the development team in the areas of shader development, scripting, VFX, lighting, rendering, animation, modeling, game content pipeline design, and maintenance.
- Spearhead the development strategy for creating custom tools that improve rigging and animation workflows.
- Communicate technical requirements for pipelines while identifying opportunities for innovation and efficiency.
Continuously research and adopt emerging technologies and techniques, and stay current with market trends to define best practices
- Embrace shared art leadership duties in the active recruitment, onboarding and development of our studio practices and programs across the art organization.
- Lead and provide mentorship and guidance for artists in our organization.
- Build and maintain a culture of trust, collaboration, and excellent communication between the art, design, and programming teams.
What you’ll need to be successful (competencies)
- Commitment not only to the project but to participate in art leadership goals to identify, share learnings and promote healthy growth of our studio and culture.
- Ability to lead a team of technical artists and provide technical direction for the entire project.
- Strong ability to debug complex technical issues and find creative solutions to problems.
- Excellent communication skills and ability to effectively communicate technical information to non-technical team members.
- Strong project management skills and ability to effectively prioritize and manage multiple projects simultaneously.
- Ability to identify and implement process improvements to increase team efficiency and productivity.
- Extensive understanding of game mechanics and ability to implement complex game systems.
- Mastery of rigging and animation techniques for complex characters and objects in multiple styles.
- Strong ability to create, manipulate and optimize real-time game assets, including characters, environments, and particle effects.
- Demonstrate mastery-level proficiency in the creation and implementation of materials, shaders, and advanced lighting techniques.
- Expert-level knowledge of the Unity game engine and scripting including advanced application of performance profiling and benchmark testing tools.
- Excellent knowledge of modeling programs such as 3DSMAX/Maya/Blender/Zbrush and texture/material authoring tools such as Photoshop and Substance.
- Strong knowledge of shader creation via node graph, HLSL or GLSL.
- Proficiency with Python, C# or C++
Why join us
There are many reasons to join us, but here are a few:
- We strongly believe we are changing how games studios operate and at the core of what we do is making great games that create a connected community
- We're not just about making Games Where You Belong. We're also about building communities where our people belong. That's why Fortis is a thriving environment that celebrates diversity, embraces inclusivity, and fosters growth.
- Build and grow with a seasoned team of accomplished talent who have left an impactful mark in their disciplines, both in and out of gaming
Fortis is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, protected veteran status, or any other basis protected by applicable law, and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.
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