Technical Artist (Senior+/Lead)

At Velan Studios, we foster a culture of curiosity. Our games embrace diversity and are fueled by the adventurous spirit of our team. We are the creative minds behind titles like Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit, Knockout City, Hot Wheels Rift Rally, Midnight Murder Club as well as the VR game Bounce Arcade, and our journey continues! Our studio's mission is to pioneer groundbreaking gaming experiences and reimagine play in new ways. We're committed to pushing the boundaries of traditional gaming, blurring the lines between reality and fantasy, and revolutionizing the industry one game at a time. 

If you’re half coder and half artist - you get both and can translate from art to tech and back again, so the entire development team gets the most out of the tools to build the next great game experiences of the future. 

The ideal candidate is a highly technical visual artist with a specific expertise in lighting and materials.  This individual will help create, shape, and lead the artistic direction with an innovative team of developers.  This role collaborates closely with the Art Director and other Studio Creative Leaders to define the look and feel of early-stage prototypes and experiment with different visual styles. You will be working in our custom engine and partnering with the engine team to enhance features and workflows.

As the project moves from early stages to production, the Technical Art Lead will also help expand, direct, and lead the art team that executes on the project. 

Responsibilities 

• Partner with the other discipline leads to establish an asset naming convention and directory structure for the project 
• Facilitate or directly contribute to rapid prototyping of art content (assets, vfx, etc.) to help the Design team test out ideas early in the project 
• Work with the product owners, the other discipline leads, and production to ensure the workflows we’re using are as efficient and effective as possible. 
• Own shader creation and the shader library for the project, guiding others in best practices in shader creation 
• Own GPU performance for the game – partnering with the Graphics team and the Art teams to ensure the game hits its desired target framerate.  Leading by example with efficient content creation and offering guidance and help troubleshoot when issues arise. 
• Be flexible and nimble to take on whatever unique tasks the project may throw at you. 

Requirements

• 5+ years of game industry experience on console, mobile, handheld and/or PC platforms. 
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Graphic Art or related field or equivalent experience preferred. 
• Solid fundamentals: Composition, Light & Color, Perspective etc. 
• Expert in 3D Studio Max or Maya, Adobe Creative Suite 
• Expert in shader creation (node based, glsl, etc.) 
• Advanced knowledge & experience in modern lighting techniques (baked GI, deferred) 
• Production experience working in Unreal, Unity or other AAA engines 
• Production experience with scripting (node or text based) 

• Prior Lead or Sub-Lead experience on mid-sized or large console/PC/Handheld/VR or AR development projects. 

Big Plusses 

• Film or television industry experience 
• Experience with Adobe Substance Designer or similar 
• Experience with physically-based rendering 
• Modeling, texturing, character, environment, concept or illustration expertise 

This is a hybrid or onsite position. Hybrid is 3 days a week in studio. Our studio is located in Troy, NY.

The salary for this position is typically within the range specified below per year. Please note that the actual base pay may vary based on factors such as your qualifications, skills, experience, and other relevant considerations. 

Salary Range:
Senior $100,000.-$130,000. USD
Specialist $120,000.-$160,000. USD

Velan Studios is dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace, so if you are excited about a role, but your experience doesn’t align perfectly, we encourage you to submit a General Application. Velan Studios is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to inclusion, diversity, and providing a workplace free from discrimination and harassment. We seek to create a work culture that matches the diversity of our players.