Senior Tech Artist

Astrid is a gaming studio that brings together accomplished worldbuilders and game developers to create multiplayer creative experiences. Our first project is a cooperative open-world sim, designed to foster connection, problem-solving, and shared discovery. Players embark on a profound social experience in a richly imagined world shaped by dynamic systems, immersive storytelling, and community-driven play. 

Our team spans the US, the UK, and beyond. We are taking a fully remote approach, but have regular in-person meetups to synchronize, huddle and build our culture.

We are currently seeking a Senior Technical Artist to become a vital part of our team. We are looking for an individual who has a passion for co-op games that offer players creative tools to craft, build and shape environments. The successful candidate will work alongside the Art and Programming teams provisioning technical guidance and helping to define and implement the art workflow and pipeline. You will work closely with other developers, providing valuable insights and solutions to ensure the smooth operation of our game development processes. 

This is a remote position on a fully distributed team.

Responsibilities

• Reporting to the Technical Director, you will also work closely with the Art Director to define and maintain art workflows.
• Work with Art and Programming teams to effectively produce technically correct art content.
• Clearly communicate and document art production pipelines.
• Shader and Material research and development.
• Review creative process and identify opportunities for tool improvements
• Develop 3D art pipeline tools and extensions with an eye towards usability and efficiency
• Solve challenging technical issues in the 3D asset pipeline
• Provide guidance to artists encouraging best working practices and strong asset organization.
• Proactively provide suggestions on how to utilize new technologies and tools and implement them into our workflow.
• Liaise with the wider development team to troubleshoot issues and find solutions.
• Provide clear guidance on technical performance constraints and help define asset budgets.

Requirements

• Minimum of 7 years relevant professional development experience as a Technical Artist
• Current generation video game platform experience with at least 2 Unreal Engine titles.
• High proficiency in Unreal Engine material creation, blueprint scripting, and tool creation.
• Expert knowledge of game engines and the technical constraints and challenges of game development, particularly with Unreal Engine.
• Significant experience with 3D modeling tools such as 3ds Max, Maya, or ZBrush, in a video game environment.
• Excellent technical understanding of art pipelines, memory and rendering budgets.
• Excellent communication skills, and comfortable working across multiple teams.
• Knowledge of at least one programming language (such as Python, C++).
• Strong understanding of and experience with modern procedural asset creation techniques 
• Strong understanding of the performance implications of open-world development on consoles and PCs
• Technical portfolio demonstrating skill set such as shader creation and other applicable work
• Strong understanding of Agile methodologies

Benefits

• Great compensation package and equity
• Private health insurance
• Pension
• Unlimited vacation days. We trust our team!
• Flexible remote work hours as long as team members deliver results
• We are committed to continuing to expand our benefits and perks to support our team.