Technical Artist, Shaders / Materials

Job Description

Why PlayStation?

Do you have experience in game development and a particular interest in shader and material creation? Insomniac Games is looking for a Technical Artist to join its Core Technology department and focus on the development of new shader and material content with one of our technical art teams, in partnership with our rendering programmers. Candidates may be considered at higher seniority levels.

This job is primarily individual contribution, with support, peer mentoring, and planning responsibilities as appropriate. You'll be developing ownership over an area of Insomniac's material pipeline, creating forward-looking and cutting-edge material features to support the needs of the production teams building games such as Marvel's Spider-Man and Ratchet & Clank. Others in this role have recently been involved in projects like re-crafting our material system for performance and flexibility, evolving our system for windowed building interiors, creating automated workflows in Substance, designing unique one-off Spider-Man suit effects, and more.

The Core Technology department at Insomniac includes programmers and technical artists who are scheduled separately from game teams, offering an amount of independence and self-management to individuals on the team. They maintain close communication with the game production teams, ensuring that the engine team has a direct relationship with the people using their tools and tech to make our games.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following:
• Design and develop improved material pipelines, processes, and workflows
• Develop specific shader and material effects for unique per-game situations
• Provide documentation and mentor the game teams to fully take advantage of our tools and technology
• Create sample content to prove out new workflows and demonstrate visual improvements
• Provide support to content creators for tools and pipelines owned by the department
• Respond to bug reports, feature requests, and questions related to our tools
• Maintain current knowledge of technological developments in the game industry
• Other duties may be assigned

Qualifications:
• Strong verbal and written communication
• Strong knowledge of rendering basics and shader programming in HLSL
• Strong Python programming abilities
• Knowledge of the game engine landscape and modern engine feature sets, especially as it pertains to materials and shaders
• Knowledge of Substance Designer, Substance Painter, and other material content tools
• Experience with technical art, programming, or a related field
• Experience with C++ is a bonus

If you're unsure whether you meet the qualifications for this role, please err

At SIE, we consider several factors when setting each role's base pay range, including the competitive benchmarking data for the market and geographic location.

Please note that the base pay range may vary in line with our hybrid working policy and individual base pay will be determined based on job-related factors which may include knowledge, skills, experience, and location.

In addition, this role may be eligible for bonus and SIE's top-tier benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision, matching 401(k), paid time off, wellness program and coveted employee discounts for Sony products. Click here to learn more.

This is a flexible role that can be remote, with varying pay ranges based on geographic location. For example, if you are based out of Seattle, the estimated base pay range for this role is listed below.

$98,200 - $147,400 USD

Equal Opportunity Statement:

Sony is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All persons will receive consideration for employment without regard to gender (including gender identity, gender expression and gender reassignment), race (including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin), religion or belief, marital or civil partnership status, disability, age, sexual orientation, pregnancy or maternity, trade union membership or membership in any other legally protected category.

We strive to create an inclusive environment, empower employees and embrace diversity. We encourage everyone to respond.

PlayStation is a Fair Chance employer and qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records will be considered for employment.

For more information about our benefits, please visit our Careers site.

Jobcode: Reference SBJ-r784z8-52-14-224-197-42 in your application.