Senior Technical Artist (Rigger) NBA 2K

Location: Novato, California. The position is available in the United States except Washington State and in British Columbia, Canada.

Salary: $54–$75 per hour in California; CAD $47–$67 per hour in British Columbia, with other US state ranges listed in the posting.

Company

Visual Concepts is a game development studio creating multi-platform sports and entertainment titles, including NBA 2K.

What you will do

• Update character rigs to improve deformation and simulate human anatomy more accurately.
• Create math node networks, body and facial rig connections, blendshapes, and corrective shapes.
• Produce clean skinweight and blendweight maps for game characters.
• Write Python code to automate tasks, build procedural setups, and improve workflow efficiency.
• Diagnose and resolve character-rigging errors across tools and the game.
• Collaborate with technical artists, engineers, and art departments on assets, feedback, documentation, and pipeline improvements.

Requirements

• Strong expertise in Autodesk Maya.
• Strong understanding of human anatomy, deformation, topology, and edge flow.
• Working knowledge of Python and PyMel scripting.
• Experience with FACS-based facial rigs, joint placement, skeleton design, and game-optimized character rigs.
• Excellent problem-solving skills and enthusiasm for video games.
• Work location eligibility is limited to the United States except Washington State or British Columbia, Canada.

Nice to have

• Experience with NgSkinTools for weight painting.
• Experience creating UIs with Qt.
• Experience with Perforce version control.
• Experience creating jiggle joints or other dynamic simulation setups.
• Experience with the Maya Python API.

Culture & Benefits

• Work with an independent, entrepreneurial, and diverse game development team.
• Collaborate across technical art, engineering, and multiple art departments.
• Temporary roles may not be eligible for many regular employee payments or benefits.
• Regular roles may include bonus or equity awards and benefits such as medical, dental, vision, paid holidays, vacation, sick leave, parental leave, and wellness support.