Lead Technical Artist

About the Studio

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The opportunity of a lifetime! Join an exciting, newly-formed studio that is comprised of industry veterans responsible for one of gaming’s most acclaimed video game series ever. Harbouring an inclusive, diverse development environment in one of Canada’s most prominent gaming hubs, this new gathering of minds will surely take the industry by storm in the coming years.

Ready to make history in gaming?

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Responsibilities and Requirements

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Our client is seeking an experienced Lead Technical Artist to join their team and play a crucial role in bridging the gap between art and technology.

In this leadership role, you will be responsible for overseeing the technical aspects of art production, optimising workflows, and ensuring the artistic vision is realised through efficient and effective technical solutions. Your expertise will be essential in guiding the technical art team and collaborating closely with artists and engineers to develop innovative solutions that enhance our games' visual fidelity and performance.

This position is ideal for someone who possesses a strong technical background in game development, a deep understanding of art pipelines, and a passion for leading and mentoring a team.

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• Lead and mentor a team of technical artists (both internal and co-dev), setting goals and ensuring high-quality technical solutions align with project timelines and artistic vision.
• Develop and optimise art pipelines and workflows, identifying bottlenecks and implementing improvements.
• Collaborate with artists and engineers to develop and integrate tools and technologies that enhance the visual quality and efficiency of asset creation.
• Drive the research and implementation of new techniques and technologies to push the visual boundaries of our games.
• Establish best practices and standards for the technical art team, ensuring consistency and quality across projects.
• Troubleshoot complex technical issues and provide support to the art team.
• Actively participate in the creative process, providing technical guidance to ensure feasibility without compromising artistic goals.
• Effective at communicating with different disciplines and levels across the organisation
• Work closely with Environments, Characters, VFX, Lighting, Rendering, and other content teams to build new tools and pipelines
• Track issues, prioritise needs, and report bugs as needed

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About You

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• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Digital Arts, or a related field.
• 10+ years of game development experience, at least two shipped AAA titles and 3+ years in a leadership role
• Strong leadership skills, with a track record of successfully mentoring and developing talent.
• Exceptional communication and collaboration skills, capable of working closely with diverse teams.
• Proficiency in industry-standard software like Maya, 3DS Max, Blender, and game engines such as Unreal Engine or Unity.
• Solid understanding of art and animation pipelines in game development.
• Prior experience with PBR shading, modelling and texturing on a AAA console title as well as Unreal/Maya shading graphs or HLSL
• Excellent problem-solving abilities and a proactive approach to overcoming challenges.
• Experience with setting content budgets, asset optimization, platform challenges and best practices/techniques in this area.
• Proficient scripting/programming skills in Python and C#. (C++ is a bonus, but not required).
• A portfolio demonstrating a history of successful projects and technical innovation.

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Desirable bonus skills include the following:

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• Familiarity with Houdini, Unreal PCG or other procedural content creation tools.
• Experienced with environment authoring tools such as terrain generation, speed tree as well as Substance Designer
• Familiarity with Unreal Engine tools and pipelines including Blueprints

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About Us

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At Haptic, we know that people-first recruitment is fundamental to our success. We work closely with talented candidates and innovative studios to offer the best opportunities and build the most promising teams.

Operating on the belief that a studio’s strength comes from the team they build to bring their ideas to life, we are committed to assembling the most talented, diverse game makers.

As part of this pledge, whenever you apply for a job with us, one of our specialist recruiters will support you through each stage. From introductions and interviews to accepting an offer and submitting your resignation, we’re always here to help.