Lead Technical Artist

Company Overview

2K is a globally recognized video game company, operating as a wholly owned label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Novato, California, 2K publishes a diverse portfolio of titles across multiple gaming genres such as sports, shooters, action, role-playing, strategy, casual, and family entertainment. Its renowned studios include Visual Concepts, Firaxis, Hangar 13, and several others producing acclaimed titles like NBA® 2K, BioShock®, Borderlands®, Mafia, Sid Meier's Civilization®, and XCOM®.

Role Summary

We are looking for a Lead Technical Artist with specialized expertise in materials, rendering performance, and artist pipelines to support our international art teams. This role acts as a crucial link between artistic vision and engineering implementation, ensuring artists have efficient, scalable tools and workflows that maintain high visual quality and real-time performance across various platforms including PC, consoles, mobile, and cloud.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide leadership and mentorship to a team of Technical Artists, guiding them with clear direction and developmental support.
• Work closely with rendering engineers to develop scalable, high-performance shaders compatible with multiple platforms.
• Establish and maintain material standards and best practices for all global art teams, including comprehensive documentation.
• Monitor and optimize performance metrics concerning materials, geometry, lighting, and visual effects to meet frame-rate and memory budgets.
• Collaborate with art and engineering teams to research and implement enhanced rendering techniques, improved workflows, and technology innovations for content creation.
• Utilize and contribute to existing tools and workflows, making necessary enhancements to improve overall capabilities.
• Foster professional growth within the team through coaching and mentoring.

Candidate Profile

• Proven experience in shipping high-quality video game titles in senior or lead technical art roles.
• Demonstrated ability to lead, mentor, and expand technical art teams effectively.
• In-depth knowledge of Unreal Engine and its Blueprints (BP) system.
• Strong expertise in dynamic lighting workflows and Physically Based Rendering (PBR) materials.
• Experience using performance profiling tools for CPU, GPU, and memory analysis across multiple platforms.
• Solid understanding of shader programming via node graphs, HLSL, or GLSL.
• Working proficiency in Python and C++ programming languages.
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written.
• Passion for video games is essential.

Additional Information

2K is dedicated to fostering an inclusive environment and encourages applicants from all backgrounds to apply, even if they do not meet every requirement listed. Reasonable accommodations are provided to qualified applicants with disabilities throughout the hiring process and employment. Please note that communications regarding employment are conducted only through official 2K email accounts; beware of impostor contacts using personal emails or instant messaging.