Senior Technical Character Artist
Axon
Senior Technical Character Artist
Axon
Builds weapons, cameras and software for police
At Axon, we’re on a mission to Protect Life. We’re explorers, pursuing society’s most critical safety and justice issues with our ecosystem of devices and cloud software. Like our products, we work better together. We connect with candor and care, seeking out diverse perspectives from our customers, communities and each other.
Life at Axon is fast-paced, challenging and meaningful. Here, you’ll take ownership and drive real change. Constantly grow as you work hard for a mission that matters at a company where you matter.
At Axon, we're committed to our mission of Protecting Life. We stand at the forefront of tackling society's most pressing safety and justice challenges. Our approach combines innovative devices and cloud software into a comprehensive ecosystem, all driven by collaboration, empathy, and diverse perspectives from those we serve and work with. At Axon, you're not just a team member; you're a key player in a global mission to make a significant difference. We connect with candor and care, seeking out diverse perspectives from our customers, communities and each other. We are on a moonshot mission to reduce police-related gun violence by 50% over the course of 10 years.
Police primarily go through 40 hours of in-service training a year outside of the academy, and most of that time goes to topics like firearms and CPR recertification. There is not enough time to train on everything police need to be aware of. Officers who do learn a skill at in-service practice it once or twice, then are expected to remember it eight months later, under stress. Our goal is training that is more accessible, more memorable, and done more frequently. We call this "Roll Call" training: training that can be done before and after a shift to keep skills sharp.
Public-safety training is broken. Today's training is ineffective, not scalable, and expensive. Axon's VR team creates engaging, effective training with scenario feedback, including Community Engagement Training and less-lethal weapon training (like TASER), so officers are prepared to use alternatives to Use of Force.
Most police interactions are verbal and non-verbal, so we emphasize hand gestures and natural language processing. The trainee's body language, what they say, and how they say it all shape how they interact with NPCs (Non-Playable Characters) in the scenario. A trainer observes these interactions and gives feedback in a post-training debrief, and every product ties back into the Axon ecosystem through Axon Academy, Axon Evidence, Axon Performance, and Axon Standards.
You will join an interdisciplinary team tackling the biggest challenges in public safety training head-on, including immersive VR-based empathy, coping and de-escalation training that helps officers engage with the communities they serve with greater awareness and safety.
As one of the expanding members of Axon's VR team, the Senior Technical Character Artist is the bridge between art and technology for our NPCs. Because most training is a conversation, the believability of our characters carries the training. You will own character creation and character technology for our standalone-headset training simulators, from MetaHuman-based workflows to parametric clothing and materials, and help the rest of the art team deliver the best possible content under our technical restrictions. You will partner with Art, Engineering, Content, UX and User Research to deliver the best immersive quality for our trainings.
This is a senior role. We expect you to work independently, own your area end to end, and take direction from the Lead Technical Artist and the Art Director rather than needing day-to-day management.
We believe happy teams make the best products, so we foster a friendly, open, introspective team culture that encourages everyone to speak their mind, collaborate, and have fun. The team runs daily check-ins and open-format meetings, plus a weekly VR Happy Hour in headset. We spend a lot of time with law enforcement officers to learn about their needs and see the real impact of our work, and we work closely with our Axon Community Impact team and community subject experts so our content reflects the needs of both law enforcement and community.
You will be a key member of the VR Art Team with a critical role in how our characters are built, clothed, and rendered. On any given day you may find yourself:
Axon is a total compensation company, meaning compensation is made up of base pay, bonus, and stock awards. The actual base pay is dependent upon many factors, such as: level, function, training, transferable skills, work experience, business needs, geographic market, and often a combination of all these factors. Our benefits offer an array of options to help support you physically, financially and emotionally through the big milestones and in your everyday life. To see more details on our benefits offerings please visit https://www.axon.com/careers.
Don’t meet every single requirement? That's ok. At Axon, we Aim Far. We think big with a long-term view because we want to reinvent the world to be a safer, better place. We are also committed to building diverse teams that reflect the communities we serve.
Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they check every box in the job description. If you’re excited about this role and our mission to Protect Life but your experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification listed here, we encourage you to apply anyways. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.
Important Notes
The above job description is not intended as, nor should it be construed as, exhaustive of all duties, responsibilities, skills, efforts, or working conditions associated with this job. The job description may change or be supplemented at any time in accordance with business needs and conditions.
Some roles may also require legal eligibility to work in a firearms environment.
We collect personal information from applicants to evaluate candidates for employment. You may request access, deletion, or exercise other CCPA rights at [email protected] or via our Axon Privacy Web Form. For more information, please see the Your California Privacy Rights section of our Applicant and Candidate Privacy Notice.
Axon’s mission is to Protect Life and is committed to the well-being and safety of its employees as well as Axon’s impact on the environment. All Axon employees must be aware of and committed to the appropriate environmental, health, and safety regulations, policies, and procedures. Axon employees are empowered to report safety concerns as they arise and activities potentially impacting the environment.
We are an equal opportunity employer that promotes justice, advances equity, values diversity and fosters inclusion. We’re committed to hiring the best talent — regardless of race, creed, color, ancestry, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship status, marital status, disability, gender identity, genetic information, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances — and empowering all of our employees so they can do their best work. If you have a disability or special need that requires assistance or accommodation during the application or the recruiting process, please email [email protected]. Please note that this email address is for accommodation purposes only. Axon will not respond to inquiries for other purposes.
Phishing alert: Axon will never ask you to pay for any part of the hiring process, including training, equipment, or background checks. We do not make job offers via text message, WhatsApp, or instant messaging platforms without a formal interview process. All legitimate job openings are listed on our official careers page at https://www.axon.com/careers. If you receive a suspicious offer or outreach from an email address that is not @axon.com, or if you are asked for sensitive personal information (bank details, Social Security Number) prematurely, please ignore the message and report it to [email protected].
Base Pay Range 104250 - 166800 USD
Axon builds public safety technology for police, emergency responders and security teams, combining connected devices with software that manages their work. Its TASER weapons and body cameras link field equipment to a cloud platform used throughout an investigation. Agencies use Axon Evidence to store recordings, control access and share case material with prosecutors, while its records and real-time operations tools organize reports and coordinate responses. Axon earns money from device sales and subscriptions that combine software, equipment upgrades and support over multiple years. Founded in 1993, Axon is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona.
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