Principal Technical Artist - Creative Department, Rigging

Job Description

In 2009, Riot released its debut title League of Legends and has since gone on to become the most played PC game in the world and a key driver of the explosive growth of esports. Delivering visually stunning experiences for a global audience while also building new games gives artists exciting and complex problems to solve. Here, artists are working not only with one another, but also side-by-side with game designers, narrative writers, and audio designers and engineers to ensure that each piece of content from Riot reaches the level of quality players deserve. From animations to illustrations, cinematics to comics, characters to environments, we work as a team to put players first.

As a Principal Rigging Technical Artist on the Creative Tech team, you will help establish the next gen standards for Rigging & Animation tools at Riot. You will partner with multiple disciplines across Riot, and guide our teams in building the right tools to optimize our rigging and animation workflows. You will research and develop systems for character and facial rigging to interact with modern game engines. You will participate in research, discussions, and reviews with other Tech Artists, Animators, Character & VFX Artists, Engineers, and other disciplines. You will take an active role in writing design documents, code reviews, collecting feedback from end-users, and training people in using the systems you've co-developed with your team. As a principal technical artist you will mentor other technical artists as an expert in craft and collaborate across the studio to set the bar for the entire discipline.

Responsibilities:
• Create a Riot centralized suite of 3D Character Rigging and Animation-based tools
• Identify new opportunities to incorporate technology to increase art workflow efficiency and unlock new creative opportunities
• Direct team towards building the right rigging and animation tools that support animators and other artists through production tasks and workflow challenges
• Partner with other Technical Artists at the studio to develop a cohesive vision and shared standards across the Technical Art discipline
• Mentor and support your teammates in executing team goals and help them grow and develop as artists
• Provide technical support to artists working from our art workflows, collecting data to further improve the tools they are using
• Spread knowledge of the team's processes and help teams expand their technical know-how
• Consistently give and take constructive feedback, direct next steps, and communicate clear goals and outcomes to your team

Required Qualifications:
• 8+ years of experience as a Rigging Technical Artist in games or related industries
• Proficient Python programmer
• Deep expertise in content creation tools, particularly Maya, and experience with a wide range of proprietary, self-created, or off-the-shelf rigging systems
• Proven mastery in body and facial rigging and experience rigging a wide variety of characters including humans, animals, and creatures
• Highly proficient communication skills and capacity to act as an ambassador between art and engineering
• Superb critical thinking skills, particularly as it pertains to translating artistic requirements to sustainable workflow design

Desired Qualifications:
• Expertise in game development using modern engines, such as Unreal or Unity
• Proficiency in tool and content pipeline design and development
• Expertise in UI/UX design and front end development (PyQt/PySide skills are a plus)

As a part of the application process, candidates will be expected to provide a portfolio or demo reel of their work and may be asked to complete an art test.
Our Perks:

We offer medical, dental, and vision plans that cover you, your spouse/domestic partner, and children. Life insurance, parental leave, plus short-term and long-term disability coverage are also available. Riot will support your retirement benefits with a company match, and double down on your donations of time and money to non-profit charitable organizations. Balance between work and personal life is encouraged with open paid time off, and a play fund so you can broaden and deepen your personal relationship with games.

It's our policy to provide equal employment opportunity for all applicants and members of Riot Games, Inc. Riot Games makes reasonable accommodations for handicapped and disabled Rioters and does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, handicap, veteran status, marital status, criminal history, or any other category protected by applicable federal and state law, including the City of Los Angeles' Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance relating to an applicant's criminal history (LAMC 189.00).

Jobcode: Reference SBJ-rzp8e2-18-221-174-248-42 in your application.