Technical Artist

Requisition Number: 156723

Position Title: Technical Artist 1

External Description:

Technical Artist

Role Overview

The Technical Artist (TA) acts as a bridge between the artists and programmers working on a game. They ensure art assets can be easily integrated into a game without sacrificing the overall artistic vision or exceeding the technical limits of the chosen platform. The role is a relatively new one for the games industry, but it is becoming increasingly important as game systems become more complex. The Technical Artist works part of the art team and coordinates closely with the lead artists and the art director, as well as with the lead programmers.

The main areas of responsibility for Technical Artists include setting up and maintaining the art production workflow and making decisions about which art packages and tools a studio should use. Technical Artists are also charged with investigating new techniques and implementing them within the team. The job often includes an instructional element, with the Technical Artist sharing their knowledge with other artists via training and mentoring sessions.

The Technical Artist typically works one step removed from the direct creation of game art assets, setting up the systems of production as well as solving problems as they arise. It’s crucial for the Technical Artist to keep up-to-date on changes in technology, both in terms of console hardware, art packages, and new techniques. The Technical Artist is expected to be able to create custom tools to improve the efficiency of their team. This is usually carried out using the scripting languages included in the main modeling and animation packages.

Technical Artists will play a key role in providing feedback or debugging complex assets such as character skeleton rigs and skinning systems. They will also research and oversee the implementation of rendering techniques such as normal and specular maps, particle systems, and pixel shaders as well.

Responsibilities

• Maintain and improve technologies and art workflows.
• Identify art workflow problems, and work with Technical Producers, SME’s, CG Sups and TA’s to solve them.
• Establish and enforce naming conventions within assets, tools, and workflows
• Integrate new technologies (internal and external) into art workflows.
• Interact with other artists/TA's on a daily basis to identify challenges and provide solutions.
• Accountable for asset delivery on time and meeting budget (memory and performance).
• Accountable for continuous asset build stability.

What skills does EA look for?

Technical Artists are generally required to have between two to five years of experience. Involving both art and programming experience, a Technical Artist can come from either background, though most tend to have been artists who have specialized in a particular area of art production.

They should have a detailed knowledge of at least one industry-standard art package. The use of scripting languages is required, as is an understanding of the limitations of console hardware. Some Technical Artists come to games after holding a similar position in the film or special effects industries, where the experience of high-end rendering techniques or complex animation are useful skills.

The role of Technical Artist is a specialized one. Candidates must be able to show technical proficiency in areas such as lighting and rendering, texturing, and graphics-related programming languages such as shaders. They should also have extensive knowledge of art packages ranging from modeling to texturing and special effects and be able to customize them to be as streamlined as possible for specific projects.

Most Technical Artists will have a degree in a relevant visual art or technical subject; however, the most important prerequisite for the role is experience in working with art tools and game hardware on a wide range of projects.

 Skills and Experience

• At least 3 years of games/animation/FX production experience.
• Intermediate knowledge of CG fundamentals: modeling, texturing/shading/surfacing, rigging, animation, lighting, rendering, compositing.
• Understanding of various gaming platform limitations with regard to visual assets.
• Advanced understanding of at least one 3D package, preferably Maya.
• Intermediate scripting experience with Python and/or Mel/Maya API.
• Proficiency with C# or C++ is preferred
• Excellent aptitude for troubleshooting CG issues.
• Ability to think creatively to resolve technical challenges and limitations.

Excellent communication skills, with a willingness and confidence to provide a bridge between artists and software engineers.

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Community / Marketing Title: Technical Artist

Company Profile:

We are a global team of creators, storytellers, technologists, experience originators, innovators and so much more. We believe amazing games and experiences start with teams as diverse as the players and communities we serve. At Electronic Arts, the only limit is your imagination.

EEOText:

About Electronic Arts

Everything we do is designed to inspire the world to play. Through our cutting-edge games, innovative services, and powerful technologies, we bring worlds with infinite possibilities to millions of players and fans around the globe.

We’re looking for collaborative and inclusive people with diverse perspectives who will enrich our culture and challenge us. We take a holistic approach with our benefits program, focusing on physical, emotional, financial, career, and community wellness to support our people through every chapter of life. We provide comprehensive benefit packages and support for a balanced life with paid time off and new parent leave, plus free games and so much more. Our goal is to provide a safe and respectful workplace that empowers you to thrive in both work and life.

Electronic Arts is an equal opportunity employer. All employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, genetic information, religion, disability, medical condition, pregnancy, marital status, family status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We will also consider employment qualified applicants with criminal records in accordance with applicable law. EA also makes workplace accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities as required by applicable law.

Days Open: 63

Can this position be remote?:

EEO Employer Verbiage:

About Electronic Arts

Everything we do is designed to inspire the world to play. Through our cutting-edge games, innovative services, and powerful technologies, we bring worlds with infinite possibilities to millions of players and fans around the globe.

We’re looking for collaborative and inclusive people with diverse perspectives who will enrich our culture and challenge us. We take a holistic approach with our benefits program, focusing on physical, emotional, financial, career, and community wellness to support our people through every chapter of life. We provide comprehensive benefit packages and support for a balanced life with paid time off and new parent leave, plus free games and so much more. Our goal is to provide a safe and respectful workplace that empowers you to thrive in both work and life.

Electronic Arts is an equal opportunity employer. All employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, genetic information, religion, disability, medical condition, pregnancy, marital status, family status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We will also consider employment qualified applicants with criminal records in accordance with applicable law. EA also makes workplace accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities as required by applicable law.