Senior Technical Artist (Rigger) NBA 2K (Game Art)

Location: California, United States. The position is listed for the US, except Washington State, with compensation also specified for Canada.

Salary: $54–$75 per hour in California; other market-specific ranges are listed for the US and Canada.

Company

Visual Concepts is a game development studio within hirify.global, creating multi-platform sports and entertainment titles including NBA hirify.global.

What you will do

• Update character body and face rigs to improve deformation and simulate human anatomy more accurately.
• Create math node networks, blendshapes, corrective shapes, skinweight maps, and blendweight maps.
• 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, character artists, and other art departments.
• Contribute to documentation, workflows, and scalable 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 rigs, joint placement, skeleton setups, and game-optimized character rigs.
• Excellent problem-solving skills and an interest in video games.
• Ability to work in the specified US or Canadian hiring markets.

Nice to have

• Experience with NgSkinTools and Qt UI development.
• Experience with Perforce version control.
• Experience creating jiggle joints or other dynamic simulation setups.
• Experience with the Maya Python API.

Culture & Benefits

• Work with diverse, independent, and entrepreneurial game development teams.
• Collaborate with experienced technical artists and creative specialists across multiple studios.
• Regular employee benefits may include medical, dental, vision, life insurance, paid holidays, vacation, sick leave, parental leave, and wellness support.
• Temporary roles may not be eligible for many employee compensation and benefit programs.