Senior Technical Artist

General Information

Locations: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Role ID

213732

Worker Type

Regular Employee

Studio/Department

EA Studios - SPORTS

Work Model

Hybrid

Description & Requirements

Electronic Arts creates next-level entertainment experiences that inspire players and fans around the world. Here, everyone is part of the story. Part of a community that connects across the globe. A place where creativity thrives, new perspectives are invited, and ideas matter. A team where everyone makes play happen.

EA SPORTS is one of the leading sports entertainment brands in the world, with top-selling videogame franchises, award-winning interactive technology, fan programs, and cross-platform digital experiences. EA SPORTS creates connected experiences that ignite the emotion of sport through industry-leading sports video games, including Madden NFL football, FIFA soccer, NHL® hockey, NBA LIVE basketball, and EA SPORTS UFC.

EA SPORTS Tech provides specialized technology teams working on modern character motion, content pipelines and workflows, machine learning, game security, dev ops, long lead feature and technology development for all EA SPORTS titles, and improves Frostbite engine workflows and solutions for all in partnership with engineers. As part of EA SPORTS Tech, the Technical Art Team helps push visual boundaries and experiences for our players. We invest in future technologies, shared tooling, and production workflows. We combine creativity and imagination with technical expertise. We are a diverse group that encourages team members to bring their unique perspectives and expertise to work every day.

This team works onsite 3 days/week in our Burnaby studio.

Your Responsibilities

As a Senior Character Technical Artist (TA), you will be heavily involved in the Sports Technology Character Initiatives. The main areas of responsibilities include character deformation and simulation in Houdini, and working with and debugging farms, pipelines, and simulation set-ups. There will also be work involved developing simulation and accessory rigs. You will be expected to cross-collaborate and communicate with TAs, SEs, and Character Artists, and provide technical and artistic feedback on anatomy and deformation. The work benefits from keeping up to date with the latest Houdini features, and assessing their impact on future improvements. There will also be work involving run-time rigging implementation in a data-driven GameEngine.

Your Qualifications

At least 5+ years of cinematic/games production experience working in technical art/rigging/animation.

A bachelor's degree (or equivalent experience) in a related field.

Expert knowledge designing complex skeletons, control rigs, secondary animation (fat, jiggle, muscle sim), and skin deformations in both DCC and GameEngine.

Strong understanding of human anatomy and animation principles.

In depth expertise with relevant 3D software packages such as Houdini and Maya, specifically building Houdini Digital Assets (HDA) and using Procedural Dependency Graphs (PDG).

Experience with asset optimization and organization challenges and real-time limitations specific to character deformation. In-depth knowledge of USD is a bonus.

Proficient scripting/programming in Python and/or C#.

A willingness to jump into the unknown and solve new problems to resolve technical challenges and limitations.

A Passion for Games!

Pay Transparency - North America

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

The ranges listed below are what EA in good faith expects to pay applicants for this role in these locations at the time of this posting. If you reside in a different location, a recruiter will advise on the applicable range and benefits. Pay offered will be determined based on a number of relevant business and candidate factors (e.g. education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, or business needs).

PAY RANGES

British Columbia (depending on location e.g. Vancouver vs. Victoria) $122,300 - $170,700 CAD

Pay is just one part of the overall compensation at EA.

For Canada, we offer a package of benefits including vacation (3 weeks per year to start), 10 days per year of sick time, paid top-up to EI/QPIP benefits up to 100% of base salary when you welcome a new child (12 weeks for maternity, and 4 weeks for parental/adoption leave), extended health/dental/vision coverage, life insurance, disability insurance, retirement plan to regular full-time employees. Certain roles may also be eligible for bonus and equity.

About Electronic Arts

We’re proud to have an extensive portfolio of games and experiences, locations around the world, and opportunities across EA. We value adaptability, resilience, creativity, and curiosity. From leadership that brings out your potential, to creating space for learning and experimenting, we empower you to do great work and pursue opportunities for growth.

We adopt a holistic approach to our benefits programs, emphasizing physical, emotional, financial, career, and community wellness to support a balanced life. Our packages are tailored to meet local needs and may include healthcare coverage, mental well-being support, retirement savings, paid time off, family leaves, complimentary games, and more. We nurture environments where our teams can always bring their best to what they do.