Technical Art Lead, Rigging - VALORANT, Agents

As a Technical Art Lead, you will lead and support defining the technical art needs across the different creative and technical teams on a game product. You will partner with the Art Director and other discipline leads to inform on best practices and pipelines, workflow, and asset production so artists can work efficiently and without technical hurdles in production. Additionally, you will work with fellow Managers of Technical Art and Technical Art Directors across the studio to ensure healthy and consistent best practices and support across the discipline.

As a Technical Art Lead, Rigging on the VALORANT Agents Team, you will work closely with the Art Director and other discipline leads to architect, innovate, and uphold the technical quality of the game’s content generation pipeline. By working closely with animation, modeling, VFX, and concept team members, you will guide the team in building the right tools and workflows to optimize our animation content processes to bring new worlds and characters to life. You report directly to the Art Director.

Responsibilities:

• Partner with other Art Leads within the Agents Team to understand and help fulfill the broader vision of each Agent.
• Build, serve, and manage a high-performing team of other technical artists.
• Rig characters, creatures, and props, working closely with animators to achieve engaging in game performance.
• Be an active member of the Agents Team leads group and advise on Tech Art related issues.
• Direct team towards building the right rigging and animation tools that support animators and other artists through production tasks and workflow challenges.
• Provide technical support to artists working from our art workflows, collecting data to further improve the tools they are using.
• Proactively promote collaboration between art teams to level up content synergy and consistency.
• Spread knowledge of the team’s processes and help teams expand their technical know-how.
• Consistently give and take constructive feedback, direct next steps, and communicate clear goals and outcomes to your team.

Required Qualifications: 

• 5+ years of professional experience as a rigging technical artist in games or related industries.
• 1+ years of professional experience in a management role.
• Strong knowledge of figure and facial anatomy, with prior rigging experience on a shipped title.
• Expertise in Unreal Engine 5 and its various animation systems.
• Expertise in industry-standard content creation tools, particularly Maya.
• Highly proficient communication skills and capacity to act as an ambassador between various art disciplines and software engineering.
• Proficient Python programmer.

Desired Qualifications:

• Proficiency in tool and content pipeline design and development.
• Fluency in modern scripting languages and related UI frameworks, such as Python & PyQt/PySide.

When submitting your application, please provide a portfolio of your high-quality technical art work - including stylized artwork. And as a part of the application process, you may also be asked to complete an art test.

For this role, you'll find success through craft expertise, a collaborative spirit, and decision-making that prioritizes the delight of players. We will be looking at your past studies, experience, and your personal relationship with games. If you embody player empathy and care about players' experiences, this could be your role!

Our Perks:

Riot focuses on work/life balance, shown by our open paid time off policy and other perks such as flexible work schedules. We offer medical, dental, and life insurance, parental leave for you, your spouse/domestic partner, and children, and a 401k with company match. Check out our benefits pages for more information.

At Riot Games, we put players first. That mission drives every decision in our quest to create games and experiences that make it better to be a player. Whether you’re working directly on a new player-facing experience or you’re supporting the company as a whole, everyone at Riot is part of our mission. And just like in our games, we’re better when we work together. Our goal is to create collaborative teams where you are empowered to bring your unique perspective everyday. If that sounds like the kind of place you want to work, we’re looking forward to your application.

 

It’s our policy to provide equal employment opportunity for all applicants and members of Riot Games, Inc. Riot Games makes reasonable accommodations for handicapped and disabled Rioters and does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, handicap, veteran status, marital status, criminal history, or any other category protected by applicable federal and state law. We consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with applicable federal, state and local law, including the California Fair Chance Act, the City of Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, and the Washington Fair Chance Act.

Per the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, the following core duties may create a basis for disqualifying candidates with relevant criminal histories:

• Safeguarding confidential and sensitive Company data
• Communication with others, including Rioters and third parties such as vendors, and/or players, including minors
• Accessing Company assets, secure digital systems, and networks
• Ensuring a safe interactive environment for players and other Rioters

These duties are directly related to essential operations, safety, trust, and compliance obligations within our organization. Please note that job duties may evolve based on business needs and additional responsibilities may be assigned as necessary to maintain operational efficiency and security.