Senior Games Artist

My client is a leading vendor of graphics chips for gamers. Headquartered in the heart of Silicon Valley, they have a well-established reputation for both technical excellence as well as for providing an environment conducive to high productivity.

To demonstrate their market-leading technology they have a Games Demo Team chartered with developing technique samples which fully exhibit the capabilities of their DX11 cards and associated products. These samples (trailers, clips, 5-minute mini-games) use the latest in 3D software engineering including depth-of-field and OIT. The team is comprised of 3D researchers, games engine and physics developers, artists and programmers.

Currently, my client has a need for a Senior Games Artist. In this role, here is what you will be doing:

- Create Demo Concepts. Work directly with research engineers to come up with concepts for demos that showcase advanced rendering techniques. Create concept art and prototypes to communicate what the final demo experience will look like.

- Develop Demo Content. Create models, rigs, animations, textures etc. that will be used in the demos. Provide feedback to external art staff on projects that require outsourcing.

- Research. Research authoring techniques and define the tools needed to generate content for next generation real-time rendering techniques and physics simulations.
- Work with the Lead Artist to define project milestones and schedules.

Requirements:
- 4+ years of Industry Experience
- Must be proficient in Maya, ZBrush (or Mudbox), and Photoshop
- Must be a strong generalist and be able to take a concept to completion
- Must demonstrate a strong understanding of authoring for advanced rendering techniques
- Excellent communication, time management, and organizational skills
- Experience with Max, Modo, and After Effects a plus
- Experience with mel and phython scripting a plus
- Experience with Havok or PhysX development a plus

Worth noting is the fact that the Games Demo team is not subject to the usual clock-driven deliverable schedules of most games companies. It's more of a research environment and as such the engineering and development proceeds at a pace that allows for a sane mix of work/life balance. Also worth noting is that the company is a large, long-established vendor of a variety of CPU and GPU products, has a very exciting new architecture (to be rolled out early next year) and just reported a record quarter for sales.

This position offers a competitive salary, bonus, RSUs and excellent benefits. Relocation will be considered for the out-of-state resident although Silicon Valley candidates will be given top priority.