Who We Are:

Founded by an MMO legend who has led AAA teams for over 20 years, our new studio Fantastic Pixel Castle (FPC) is building an original fantasy IP from scratch. Players will be regularly engaged in our development process from early stages as part of our open and transparent studio culture, and we aim to craft an IP that will be worthy of their passion and dedication for decades to come.

We are committed to being a fully remote and global studio, so that we can hire world-class people and have them live their best lives. We think top-heavy bureaucracy stifles creativity, so we aim to stay small as we focus on delivering a game and a world that players will love. We are fully-funded, and the team will share in all of our studio's successes. We're seeking talented teammates to join us in our journey so we encourage you to apply if you're interested, even if you're not sure you check all the boxes.

Position Overview:

As the Principal Technical Animator, you will be a core team member that will help the visual aesthetic of our game become a reality, especially with our variety of characters and creatures. You will work closely with the Art Director, Principal Animator, Designers, and Engineers to create a diverse range of iconic characters, unique creatures, and help create and refine our asset pipeline from Prototype, into Pre-Production, and through launch and live support.

This is a hands-on role where you will be helping the team push the boundaries of aesthetic quality while respecting and helping to enforce the project's performance goals for an MMO..

You will help set standards, define best practices, share knowledge with our internal developers and external partners, streamlining our content creation process, and executing at an incredibly high level, helping to showcase amazing animations of memorable character and unique creature models for our upcoming MMO, codenamed GHOST.

Requirements:

10+ years of experience in the video game industry
Contribute in a hands-on role, where you will help drive the pipeline and tools discussions for animation, and asset creation team(s), while also having the ability to follow through with solutions for the pipeline that can ultimately scale with the game
Proven experience in a Lead or Principal Technical Artist on a AAA game
Proficiency scripting in both MEL and Python scripting, and tool development with the abilities to address complex technical challenges in the 3D asset pipeline
Master-level proficiency with Autodesk Maya, MotionBuilder, Python scripting for extending content creation tools and automating tasks
A portfolio demonstrating exceptional technical skills, showcasing your key contribution shipped AAA titles

Principal Technical Animator Responsibilities:

Collaborate with the Art, Animation, Engineering and Design teams to ensure high-quality 3D character and animation assets are delivered on time and within technical/performance specifications in Unreal 5+
Drive the pipeline and tools discussion for the animation, and asset creation team(s), and have the ability to follow through with solutions for the pipeline that can scale with the game
Create and implement animation systems in UE5+ using animation blend trees and montages, design and implement animation state machines/behaviors, IK, and runtime solutions
Seek ways to improve and streamline art pipelines, enhance quality, increase team efficiency, and ultimately ensure performance of a variety of assets that will be in the game
Foster strong and transparent communication channels with internal artists and external partners, providing clear feedback, guidance, and support

Preferred Qualifications

Experience working on character customization with a MMO or RPG is a big plus
Setting up rigs and overseeing the skinning process for a multitude of assets such as characters, creatures, props, etc.
You are a flexible game developer that has a wide range of experience from hand-animating assets, to integrating new tools to create animations, to implementing animation state machines in Unreal Engine.
Establish practices and tools that will be used by internal and external teams
Collaborate with external partners, participating in the maintaining and expanding of character rigs and tools
Research and development of the latest tools, rigging techniques and workflows
Experience creating engine-side animation systems, animation and physics management, character set up in-engine, overseeing scale/scope of how animation is implemented/managed in blueprints/animation blueprints/data
Experience creating prototype assets (the whole loop), rig skin animation, and engine implementation/setup (You may be a pseudo animation programmer)

US Salary Band: $114,000 - 205,000 USD

Canada Salary Band: $104,000 - 161,000 CAD

The expected annual base pay ranges reflected in this job description are applicable to individuals residing in or working within a designated location. Any final compensation offer will depend on various factors. As part of an overall package, NetEase employees can take advantage of NetEase's comprehensive benefits and discretionary incentive plans, provided that they comply with the policies and guidelines governing those programs.

We are an equal opportunity employer that embraces diversity, equity, and inclusion. All employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, genetic information, religion, disability, medical condition, pregnancy, marital status, family status, veteran status, or any other protected status as required by law.

We're always on the lookout for talented folks. Go ahead and apply, even if you're not sure you check all the boxes. Our Talent team will review your application and contact you if there is a potential fit.

Fantastic Pixel Castle

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Principal Technical Animator