Junior 3D Modeler, Texas Immersive Institute, Moody College of Communication
About The Position
Texas Immersive Institute is looking for a junior 3D modeler for an Interactive Spatial Sound Aquarium project for SNF Nostos. The project will go live in Athens, Greece in June 2026. The Interactive Spatial Sound Aquarium is a 22m x 6m large-scale LED installation debuting at SNF Nostos 2026. The experience transforms festival visitors into co-creators of a living digital ecosystem. Each participant designs a personalized sea creature via WebXR, which is deterministically generated and released into a persistent, Unity-powered digital ocean. This installation will run continuously for 8 days and must support thousands of concurrent users while maintaining visual beauty, performance stability, and emotional resonance. We are seeking a Junior 3D Modeling & Environment Assistant to support the industry professional 3D/Environment Design Lead in building, refining, and preparing fish and environmental assets for Unity. This role is execution-focused. You will not be responsible for leading the art direction, system architecture, or full animation pipeline - but you will play a critical role in asset production, cleanup, optimization, and testing. This is a strong opportunity for a student interested in immersive installations, real-time systems, and large-scale LED experiences.
Requirements
- Proficiency in 3D modeling software (e.g., Blender, Maya, or 3D Max).
- Experience with real-time engines (e.g., Godot, Unreal Engine, or Unity).
- Understanding of UV mapping and PBR texturing workflows.
- Basic knowledge of rigging and keyframe animation.
- Strong organizational skills for managing complex file structures and version control
- Career Competencies 3D software animation design processing mapping and flowcharting game development
Nice To Haves
- Experience or knowledge of 3D texturing software (e.g Substance Designer)
Responsibilities
- Asset Support & Optimization: Assist in the sourcing/creation and optimization of templet 3D fish models and environmental assets to ensure high performance in a real-time engine.
- Texturing & Look Dev: Apply and modify textures to fish species and environmental elements, following the art direction established.
- Environment Set Dressing: Help layout and create the 3D environment for the immersive aquarium.
- Pipeline Management: Support the development of the fish customization workflow, ensuring that models and textures dictated by user selection in web app appear accordingly in the aquarium.
- Rigging & Animation Coordination: Help manage/source animation rigging files and animation clips, ensuring that models move correctly from the modeling software into the final engine (NOTE this does not mean to create rigging or animate files, only the management/handling).
- Technical Troubleshooting: Assist in testing underwater shaders and lighting setups to ensure they scale correctly for large-format projection.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Part-time
Career Level
Entry Level
Education Level
No Education Listed
