Technical Artist - Expression of Interest - ILM San Francisco (Project Hire)

Technical Artist

The Technical Artist is responsible for actively partnering with the development team to advance the state of real-time rendered immersive experiences, striving for the highest possible visual fidelity while ensuring optimal performance. We are looking for a Technical Artist who is passionate about bringing the latest technical trends in real-time development to their craft, and who reflects the innovative spirit and immersive storytelling that defines ILMxLAB.

On any given day

• Contribute to look development of the highest-caliber real-time art by creating shaders, lighting and particle effects, and partnering with character and environment artists on asset lookdev.
• Partner with the art and engineering teams to facilitate communication, and ensure that goals and best practices for both are represented.
• Explore and implement new tools and techniques to continuously push the visual bar to the leading edge using scripting (Blueprints, Python, C++) and rapid prototypes.
• Proactively identify and solve technical art issues and challenges.
• Provide hands-on support to the development team for asset performance profiling and optimization.
• Identify, triage, and fix bugs as required.
• Create and maintain clear and comprehensive documentation of processes, tools and workflows.

Skills and Experience

• 5+ years experience in games, film, television, AR/VR or related fields.
• 3+ years experience with programming/scripting languages such as Python, C++, C#, Java, Perl, or MEL.
• Strong 3D art skills with experience and deep understanding of optimizing modeling, texturing, rigging, animation, shading, lighting and particle effects for real-time workflows.
• Advanced knowledge of software including Maya, Houdini, Blender, Substance Designer/Painter, and Photoshop.
• Extensive experience working with Unreal Engine: scripting and workflows: Blueprints, material networks, real-time lighting and simulations.
• In-depth knowledge of real-time shader implementations, limitations of shaders in VR, strong understanding of PBR pipelines and subsurface shaders.
• Experience in the development, authoring & organization of efficient node-based materials via the UE4 material editor.
• Proficiency with profiling tools in the examination & diagnosis of performance issues.
• Team-player mindset: open & receptive to ideas, constructive feedback, direction and changes.
• Ability to communicate and collaborate effectively across disciplines such as art, design, engineering and production.
• Ability to work independently and efficiently under tight deadlines.
• Works well with direction, but also is self-motivated and will seek out or devise solutions to unexpected challenges.

Desired Skills and Experience

• Passion for playing and making games, experience or interest in VR and AR.
• Familiarity with C# or C++.
• Visual Effects production / pipeline experience.
• Interest and capacity to work with proprietary toolsets.

Portfolio / Reel Submission

A portfolio / reel submission - including a detailed breakdown of your work in each section - is required with all applications.

Join ILM

The hiring range for this position in San Francisco is $107,000 to $136,900 per year. The base pay actually offered will take into account internal equity and also may vary depending on the candidate’s geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors. A bonus and/or long-term incentive units may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to the full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the level and position offered.