Senior Technical Artist

Location: Warszawa, Województwo mazowieckie, pl

Company Description

*The role is open to candidates only from the game industry who are based in Europe.

People Can Fly is one of the leading independent AAA game development studios. Our international team consists of hundreds of talented individuals working from offices in Poland, the UK, Ireland, the US, and Canada, as well as remotely across the globe.

Founded in 2002, we made our mark on the shooter genre with titles such as Painkiller, Bulletstorm, Gears of War: Judgment, and Outriders. As one of the most experienced Unreal Engine studios in the industry, we continue to expand on our expertise and push the boundaries of what’s possible in game development.

Our creative teams are currently working on several exciting titles: Gears of War: E-Day developed in collaboration with Microsoft; Project Echo for KRAFTON; and Lost Rift, an original IP we are developing in-house under our self-publishing model. We are also exploring new platforms and experiences with VR and other unannounced projects.

With over 20 years of experience, PCF continues to explore new horizons. We aim to combine our expertise with the creativity of the best and most forward-thinking talent in the industry, building the next generation of action games for players worldwide.

If you join us on this journey, you’ll have the chance to perfect your craft, expand your knowledge, and work alongside industry leaders to create unique, unforgettable experiences for gamers everywhere.

Job Description

Maintain artistic direction and quality

• Make final materials for characters, environment assets, and effects, also support existing material systems.
• Content creation-mock up features in external programs or tweak shader code, experiment with features.
• To tweak assets by using modeling and texturing skills.       

Production/deadline

• Maintain the production and software pipeline and meet deadlines.
• Develop powerful and efficient workflows for the Art team.
• Research and implement new techniques and procedures to improve game asset quality.
• Help improve and refine shader, texture, lighting quality.
• Explore and help develop new technologies for integration into the asset pipeline.
• Bug Fixing and describing R&D case studies in the knowledge base.

Feedback

• Participate in reviews, adapt to, and implement feedback from leads and peers in a professional manner.
• Provide feedback and improvement to visual quality.

Collaboration/communication 

• Act as a liaison between the Engineering and Art departments.
• Knowledge sharing.
• Collaborate in R&D initiatives, to explore new techniques and implement improvements to pipelines and workflows.
• Work closely with the art team making the result of their work even better with a good artistic eye.
• Identify and resolve pipeline issues without supervision.
• Use diagnostic tools to examine the current content and identify areas for improvement as well as develop the tools.
• Analyze and improve art asset inefficiencies to optimize console and PC performance.
• Work with programmers and artists to optimize content creation.
• Work with programmers on developing new features and workflows.
• Occasionally support leads and HR collaboration in recruitment efforts.
• Occasionally support new hires during the onboarding process.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in AAA console/PC game development  including 3+ year in Unreal Engine
• Strong portfolio showcasing AAA quality work done in engine (Unreal, Unity or Proprietary Engine).
• Excellent knowledge of industry-standard software packages for modeling, high-poly sculpting (Maya, Max, ZBrush, Photoshop, or their equivalents).
• Artistically interpret concepts or creatively push beyond an initial ideation. 
• A solid understanding of traditional art skills along with foundational design competencies (shape, form, texture, value and color).
• Advanced knowledge of current tech art workflows and practices.
• Advanced knowledge of real-time rendering challenges and techniques.
• Knowledge of Unreal Engine tools and best practices.
• Strong knowledge of current 3D graphics techniques.
• Strong knowledge of particle systems, environmental effects, cloth simulations, lighting, and dynamics.
• Solid understanding of game dev standard pipelines, tools and content creation.
• Strong analytical thinking and problem solving skills.Adaptive.
• Ability to quickly learn and adapt to new styles, techniques and workflows with basic guidance.
• Ability to collaborate with department leads, and different departments to solve artistic and technical challenges.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills in English.
• Good mentoring skills.
• Self-motivation. 

Nice to have: 

• Degree in any art field.
• Extensive experience working the Unreal Engine especially with Blueprints, Material Editor, and Matinee.
• Max Scripting and HLSL or shader programming experience
• Scripting and plug-in writing skills with Maya and Python or C++.
• Houdini experience.

Additional Information

• Private medical healthcare including dental treatment for PCF members and their families (Signal Iduna).
• MultiSport card for you and your family members or friends.
• Free library with a wide range of games and books you have unlimited access to.
• In-company Polish and English language classes.
• Fresh fruit, snacks, and beverages for everyone in the office.
• Flexible working hours.
• Free virtual health and mental wellbeing sessions are included in the plan for members and their dependents.
• Personal development opportunities and ability to work in a global environment.
• Work in a creative team with people full of passion for what they do.