Principal Character Technical Artist (Gamedev)

TL;DR

Principal Character Technical Artist (UE5/Gamedev): Developing and optimizing complex character and animation pipelines for a AAA multiplayer action game with an accent on rigging, physics, and procedural tooling. Focus on establishing technical standards for character fidelity, optimizing runtime performance, and mentoring a team of technical artists.

Location: San Mateo, California, United States

Salary: $163,400 – $241,880 per year

Company

A diverse team of developers building a free-to-play AAA multiplayer action game.

What you will do

• Partner with Pillar teams to shape feature development and identify technical risks early.
• Establish and own technical standards for character rigging, technical animation, and dynamic presentation (cloth, hair, physics) in UE5.
• Maintain and extend a performant character pipeline from DCC applications into Unreal Engine.
• Develop procedural tooling to maximize content creation efficiency across US and Valencia studios.
• Establish technical budgets and performance benchmarks to balance high visual fidelity with optimal runtime performance.
• Guide, deploy, and mentor a team of character technical artists.

Requirements

• 8+ years of game development experience.
• 3+ years in a Senior or Principal Technical Artist role on a shipped AAA title.
• Deep expertise in Unreal Engine 5, including Blueprints, Control Rig, Niagara, and physics/cloth simulation.
• Expert proficiency in DCCs such as Maya, Blender, or Houdini.
• Strong scripting skills in Python, C++, or VEX for tool and pipeline development.
• Exceptional understanding of human anatomy, facial/skeletal rigging, weight painting, and procedural animation.

Nice to have

• Experience working on live-service, free-to-play, or multiplayer action games.

Culture & Benefits

• Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, and basic life insurance coverage.
• 401(K) plan and Employee Stock Purchase Program.
• 14 paid holidays and 15 to 25 days of paid vacation per calendar year.
• Up to 10 paid sick days, plus paid parental and compassionate leave.
• Wellbeing programs for mental health and family planning support through Maven.
• Commuter benefits and reimbursements for fitness-related expenses.