Lead Technical Artist, Characters - Overwatch 2 | Irvine, CA
About The Position
At Blizzard, we create legendary worlds and genre-defining games for millions of players worldwide. Overwatch, our acclaimed team-based shooter, exemplifies our commitment to innovative gameplay, iconic characters, and immersive storytelling. This is only possible through an environment that nurtures creativity and empowers our team to push the boundaries of game development. We are seeking an inspiring and strategic Lead Technical Artist, Characters to manage our Character Tech Art Team, with a special focus on reward systems and game cosmetics. In this manager role, you will be responsible for leading, mentoring, and developing a team of technical artists, driving both the creative and technical vision for cosmetic and character assets. You will set team goals, oversee project delivery, and ensure the highest standards of visual and technical quality. Your leadership will foster a collaborative, innovative, and inclusive environment, empowering your team to deliver exceptional cosmetic rewards and character assets that delight players. This role is anticipated to be a hybrid position, with work both on-site at our Irvine, CA studio and from home.
Requirements
- 8+ years of experience in AAA Tech Art, ideally including multiplayer or team-based games.
- Proven track record, with shipped titles in a relevant role.
- Leadership experience managing technical artists in a studio environment.
- Comprehensive understanding of all major aspects of content creation in commercial game engines.
- Deep understanding of character kinematics, deformation, topology, and technical workflows for cosmetics.
- Expertise in Maya tool development, pipeline design, and Python or similar programming languages.
- Strong communication, organizational, and problem-solving skills
- Experience generating cloth/hair rigs and art-directed simulations for cosmetic assets.
Nice To Haves
- Experience leading teams in shipping AAA games, especially in FPS or live service environments.
- Passion for Blizzard games and cosmetic reward systems.
- Ability to work effectively with global teams
- Familiarity with destruction, VFX, material creation, and LOD optimization tools (e.g., Simplygon).
Responsibilities
- Lead, mentor, and grow a team of technical artists focused on cosmetic rewards and character tech art, supporting talent development and best practices.
- Oversee the design, development, and optimization of cosmetic pipelines, including skinning, rigging, physics setup, and export readiness for skins, weapons, props, and reward items.
- Drive technical innovation and efficiency in cosmetic asset production, championing new workflows, automation, and process improvements.
- Collaborate across concept, VFX, animation, design, and engineering to deliver high-quality cosmetic assets aligned with game vision and player expectations.
- Set clear standards for art assets, lead performance optimization, and recommend/implement improvements to product quality and team productivity.
- Research, identify, and resolve technical challenges in production pipelines and processes, developing solutions and new tools as needed for Overwatch’s art production.
- Manage and maintain asset integration, files, pipelines, and processes for Overwatch’s art production.
- Partner with other leads and directors to meet Overwatch’s visual and technical standards and represent the team in leadership meetings.
Benefits
- Medical, dental, vision, health savings account or health reimbursement account, healthcare spending accounts, dependent care spending accounts, life and AD&D insurance, disability insurance
- 401(k) with Company match, tuition reimbursement, charitable donation matching
- Paid holidays and vacation, paid sick time, floating holidays, compassion and bereavement leaves, parental leave
- Mental health & wellbeing programs, fitness programs, free and discounted games, and a variety of other voluntary benefit programs like supplemental life & disability, legal service, ID protection, rental insurance, and others
- If the Company requires that you move geographic locations for the job, then you may also be eligible for relocation assistance.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Manager
Education Level
No Education Listed
Number of Employees
5,001-10,000 employees
