Associate Character Director

Please note this is a hybrid role; On-Site work required in Orlando, FL studio.

As the Associate Character Director, you are part of a team focused on delivering amazing, visual experiences. The focus will be Modeling, Rigging, and Animation techniques to create photo realistic\stylized visuals. Your position is a blend of art and technology where you will explore new ways to improve visual quality while researching technology to inspire creativity (i.e., procedural workflows, AI, and ML driven solutions, etc.).

Responsibilities:

• Lead the Character domain production team of a project.
• support the production cycle by collaborating with Development Directors, Art Directors, Producers, Designers to help create the game's features and create production roadmap.
• Work with the Sr Director of Characters, Principal Animation Director, Technical Leadership, and Partner Teams (A-Team, Create, SEED, Frostbite) to guide quality, efficiency, and new ideas in the Character domain.
• In collaboration with the Sr Director of Characters, the focus of work will be high impact projects to lead the character domain forward with targeted deliverables for the project you lead.
• Partner with the Sr Director of Characters to ensure the creative/artistic quality standards of the studio are followed in overall Character domain production deliveries.
• Create prototypes for previsualization and new IP in partnership with the Sr Director of Characters and team Art Directors to determine how to approach and achieve the desired look, both technically and artistically.
• provide feedback and guidance in refining character rigs, ensuring they meet the highest quality standards for photo-realism\stylize in AAA games.
• Collaborate with Sr Director of Characters, Animation Directors, and team Art Directors to establish Character, and animation visual targets and workflows for partner teams and outsourcing.
• Analyze existing Character and animation workflows across multiple projects to propose improvements and guide understanding.
• In partnership with Technical Leadership, help develop cost-effective tools and techniques to empower the creativity for the animators to create amazing content and experiences.
• Consult with other studios in the company regarding research and development of Character/animation production and quality based on aligned direction of the studio Sr Director of Characters.
• Partner with the Sr Director of Characters to develop a 3-Year Roadmap for quality and new ideas for believable characters and performance.
• Stay current within the industry and the visual arts to ensure the studio is pioneering in the Character/animation domain and using the industry-leading and new tools.

Qualifications:

Incorporating both artistic and technical skills, you will have a background driving quality and new ideas through personal and collaborative efforts.

• Minimum of 8-10 years of professional experience as a Character lead, preferably in the gaming industry or a related field.
• Experience generating deformer training data for AI or ML applications.
• Comprehensive knowledge of several CG fundamentals such as modeling, texturing/shading/surfacing, Character, animation, lighting, and rendering.
• Experience developing rigs and defining topology standards for deformation quality and efficiency.
• Expert in human anatomy and human locomotion.
• Familiarity with many modern art software packages and expert understanding of at least one (Maya, Houdini, Substance, ZBrush)
• Expert level knowledge of FACS based facial shape modeling and corrective shapes for body Character.
• Mentor and provide guidance to junior Character artists, helping them expand their domain expertise and improve their skills.
• Write documentation for pipelines/tools created.
• Experience with real-time game engine pipelines and an ability of delivering high quality assets while working within technical limitations.

You will contribute to the vision and success of the team. If you are an experienced and experienced Associate Character Director we would love to hear from you.

Please include a portfolio or reel highlighting your character work with your application.