Lead Character Tools Engineer (Game Development)

Location: United States, Remote

Base pay: $143,700–$215,500 USD annually, with potential bonus eligibility.

Company

hirify.global is the entertainment and gaming brand of Sony Interactive Entertainment, delivering hardware, network services, and software titles to a global audience.

What you will do

• Prototype, develop, deploy, maintain, and customize tools for character creation, rigging, simulation, animation, and game-engine integration.
• Collaborate with artists, engineers, technical artists, research engineers, studio stakeholders, and Central Technology groups.
• Set up and maintain project-specific environments, pipeline tools, workflow automation, and data-management practices.
• Support varying client environments, assets, tools, and real-time game-development workflows.
• Build technical documentation and contribute to internal demonstrations and conferences, with required travel.
• Research and integrate AI, ML, and agentic workflows to improve game-making processes.

Requirements

• 10+ years of experience in a game development studio or in creating artist-facing tools for a technical art or engineering team.
• Experience developing and deploying tools for character creation, rigging, simulation, or animation pipelines in production or runtime environments.
• Strong C++ programming and debugging skills, plus extensive Autodesk Maya experience and general knowledge of Maya rigging.
• Strong understanding of game editors, DCC-to-real-time workflows, deformation, mesh processing, and project pipeline environments.
• Experience leveraging agentic AI models and excellent troubleshooting and problem-solving skills.
• BS degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Graphic Art, or a related field, or equivalent experience.

Nice to have

• Strong Python skills with PyQt or PySide.
• Experience with MotionBuilder, Houdini, HLSL, MaterialX, Perforce, Git, or Confluence.
• Exposure to photogrammetry, motion capture, or performance capture.

Culture & Benefits

• Collaborative environment involving internal teams and hirify.global studios, with opportunities for self-directed experimentation and research.
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• Matching 401(k), paid time off, wellness program, and Sony product discounts.
• Inclusive workplace that supports diversity and equal opportunity.

Hiring process

• Background checks are conducted at the offer stage and may include criminal background checks for some roles.