Technical Artist

Job Description

Why Raven?

Here at Raven, we pride ourselves on our unique vision for the industry that continues to inspire us after more than 30 years. We developed a team that cares about one another, our games, and our players. We treat each other with respect. We bring no egos. We focus on what is best for the game. We hire stunning peers. We own our mistakes. As we enter the next exciting chapter of our story, we are looking for people to grow with us. If you want to work with a world-class team, on exciting new projects, then apply today! We look forward to hearing from you.

Your Mission

Your mission is to play a critical role in streamlining and expanding key environment art creation processes and managing map performance, stability, and organization for the blockbuster Call of Duty franchise. You are a dependable core contributor, 'self-starter' teammate who takes ownership of foundational map-wide art tasks, and proactively solves technical challenges. You also have an agile and flexible approach, and strong communication skills, as you will actively partner with some of the most dedicated and passionate developers in the industry. Above all, we are looking for an innovative and dedicated teammate to help tell our story.

You Will…
• Share your deep passion for technical environment art knowledge and your drive to improve and expand upon content creation pipelines and optimization solutions.
• Be a proactive self-starter that can implement high-level art direction with little oversight.
• Collaborate with Lead Environment Artists and Engineers on advancing map development practices and optimization strategies.
• Be a proactive self-starter that can identify and solve problems with little oversight.
• Provide general support for Environment Art team through documentation, sharing solutions, and imparting knowledge.
• Champion best practices and advocate towards streamlining tools and processes.
• Be a proactive gatekeeper for performance, efficiency, and quality.
• Contribute creative and original ideas towards all aspects of game production and development.

You Bring…

Minimum Requirements:
• 4+ total years in the games industry working in an environment and/or technical artist capacity.
• Passionate and egoless attitude that welcomes feedback and enjoys working in a collaborative, iterative, and agile process.
• Possesses in-depth understanding of game engines, pipelines, and processes.
• Good understanding of asset creation within widespread 3D and 2D packages (3DS Max or Maya, Blender, Substance, SpeedTree, Houdini, or ZBrush).
• Mature communication and strong problem-solving skills.
• Proven ability to thrive in a challenging and often ambiguous environment.
• Solid understanding of game art with ability to clearly discuss modern trends.
• Inspiring portfolio demonstrating focus and commitment to realistic environment and current gen 2D/3D asset creation; ideally demonstrating various objects alone and assembled into compelling environments.
• Awareness of and ability to pursue new technological developments in the world of game creation.
• Deep level of understanding and expertise in at least TWO of these areas:
• Python or other major scripting language – Expertise in writing/developing systems and tools to manage, sort, and take batch-action on data.
• Additionally developing tools to support env artists.
• Game Performance and Optimization – Understands the optimization of game scenes to achieve frame rate targets.
• Technical Asset Pipelines – Expertise working with content creation pipelines that have highly technical dependencies e.g. foliage, destruction, terrain.

Extra Points:
• Passion for the Call of Duty franchise.
• Familiarity with photogrammetry process, procedural content creation, or PBR workflows.
• Experience with integrated solutions such as RealityCapture, Simplygon, Substance, etc.
• Strong traditional art foundation.
• History of playing a variety of game genres both digital and physical.

About Raven

Founded in 1990, Raven Software is the developer of numerous award-winning games including Hexen, Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance and most recently, a major contributor to the blockbuster Call of Duty® franchise. We are based in Middleton, Wisconsin, a suburb of Madison, annually ranked on numerous lists as one of the top places to live and work.

We each bring a unique set of experiences from dozens of cultural backgrounds. Our shared values unify our direction and decisions, helping us touch the lives of more than a billion people each day.

About Activision

Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI), is one of the world's largest and most successful interactive entertainment companies and is at the intersection of media, technology and entertainment. We are home to some of the most beloved entertainment franchises including Call of Duty®, World of Warcraft®, Overwatch®, Diablo®, Candy Crush™ and Bubble Witch™. Our combined entertainment network delights hundreds of millions of monthly active users in 196 countries, making us the largest gaming network on the planet!
Our ability to build immersive and innovate worlds is only enhanced by diverse teams working in an inclusive environment. We aspire to have a culture where everyone can thrive in order to connect and engage the world through epic entertainment. We provide a suite of benefits that promote physical, emotional and financial well-being for 'Every World' - we've got our employees covered!

Jobcode: Reference SBJ-gwej4p-18-216-239-46-42 in your application.