Technical Artist

Tencent•Irvine, CA

1d•$69,306 - $153,200•Onsite

About The Position

Welcome to Lightspeed LA, the first U.S.-based, AAA game development studio for Tencent Games. Lightspeed LA is focused on building open-world games that emphasize an ambitious living world, sophisticated player-driven gameplay, and mature, thoughtful storytelling. We are developing the first in a series of genre-defining titles. Why join Lightspeed LA? For us, it's not only about the exciting, new AAA open world game we're developing but also about team values and studio culture. We foster an open and transparent environment where everyone feels comfortable providing constructive feedback about all aspects of our games. ● We encourage the showing of work that's still in progress. ● We don't attack or question unfinished work, we celebrate its promise. ● We have a No Blame Culture where we blame the problem, not the person. This is a safe place to fail, and we don't view failure as a negative, but as the natural result of pushing boundaries and trying new things. We create together. We face Challenges Together. We succeed together. What the Role Entails Spearhead and implement technical solutions for the art team, setting high standards and mentoring junior Technical Artists. Collaborate with different teams to facilitate the technical implementation and management of in-house and outsourced assets. Drive the development of state-of-the-art visuals that complement and enhance the game design. Prototype and author graphics features requiring high technical expertise. Develop novel content creation techniques and workflows to enhance efficiency and quality. Work closely with the Art, Engineering, and Production departments to meet all dependencies and requirements. Support the Art team in debugging tools and game-related issues. Optimize the game’s run-time performance and memory consumption.

Requirements

Extensive knowledge of the content creation pipeline, including modeling, UV mapping, texturing, shading, lighting, FX, rigging, and animation.
Demonstrable experience with modern game content creation workflows.
Proven experience as a Technical Artist on shipped AAA titles.
Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written.
Strong problem-solving skills and ability to work independently.
Solid background in digital art (modeling, shading, lighting, VFX).
Profound knowledge of Unreal Tech, including material creation and Blueprints.
Strong proficiency in Linear Algebra and Calculus, essential for advanced 3D technology applications.
Understanding of real-time physically based materials and rendering (PBR).

Nice To Haves

Experience with the Substance suite and/or Houdini.
Knowledge of lower-level programming languages such as C++.
Understanding of shading languages, e.g. HLSL or GLSL.
Extensive scripting experience for DCC applications, e.g. Python or C#.

Responsibilities

Spearhead and implement technical solutions for the art team, setting high standards and mentoring junior Technical Artists.
Collaborate with different teams to facilitate the technical implementation and management of in-house and outsourced assets.
Drive the development of state-of-the-art visuals that complement and enhance the game design.
Prototype and author graphics features requiring high technical expertise.
Develop novel content creation techniques and workflows to enhance efficiency and quality.
Work closely with the Art, Engineering, and Production departments to meet all dependencies and requirements.
Support the Art team in debugging tools and game-related issues.
Optimize the game’s run-time performance and memory consumption.