This job might no longer be available.

Technical Artist

PlayStation isn’t just the Best Place to Play —it’s also the Best Place to Work. We’ve thrilled gamers since 1994, when we launched the original PlayStation. Today, we’re recognized as a global leader in interactive and digital entertainment. The PlayStation brand falls under Sony Interactive Entertainment, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation.

Technical Artist

San Diego, CA

This is an 12 month temporary position through our staffing partner Yoh Services.

Sony Interactive Entertainment is looking for Technical Artists to join our San Diego, California development team. The role requires understanding of game production principles, experience supporting content production pipeline, expertise using 3D authoring packages such as Maya, strong coding skills, and most importantly high desire to make processes better and people’s lives easier.

Technical art is a broad term and qualified candidates will be responsible for serving as the bridge between art and programming, examples of the duties include (and not limited to) the following: setup/maintain/standardize/improve the content pipeline, create easy to use tools, rig assets for animation/gameplay, troubleshoot technical production issues that arise, write efficient shaders, optimize game performance, and ultimately ensure the quality and timely delivery of the final product. Technical artist will work with art/design disciplines and the engineering team and help provide communication and cohesion between all groups.

Responsibilities:

• Maintain and improve the efficiency of content pipeline and workflows.
• Develop domain expertise in the game engine and associated debug utilities in order to troubleshoot and provide timely solutions for pipeline issues as well as game bugs.
• Create, support and improve artist tools (Maya or otherwise) and help standardize workflows.
• Set up character/prop rigs and/or other asset types that require specialist knowledge
• Create, improve, and debug in game shaders
• Help drive framerate and memory optimization of the game
• Provide and maintain technical documentation.

Desired Skills/Experience:

• BS degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Graphic Art, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• At least 5 years of experience in game development (or equivalent visual effects fields).
• Excellent knowledge of Maya.
• Strong troubleshooting skills and the ability to problem solve creatively as well as pragmatically.
• Experience developing user friendly Maya tools in Python.
• In-depth knowledge of character/prop rigging techniques and principles.
• Working knowledge of efficient runtime shaders and shading language (i.e. HLSL)
• Understanding of game development principles and familiarity with how different disciplines collaborate
• Ability to work in a team and communicate effectively (oral/written).

Bonus Points (Optional):

• Experience with game performance optimization
• Qt or other UI building experience.
• Experience working with game engines such as Unreal, Unity, or proprietary engines.
• Experience with other programming languages, especially C++ and OOP concepts.
• Experience with perforce and/or other source control software.
• Experience with project management and tracking software (i.e. Jira, Shotgun).
• Experience working with databases and related API (i.e. MySQL).
• Experience with visual effects and cloth/particle simulation setup.

Code and relevant art sample/reel required. Additionally, a technical test may be given.

#LI-AG1