Senior Technical Artist – Coconut Lizard

Coconut Lizard and d3t are at the cutting edge of technology and creativity, delivering co-development video game services to our global triple-A clients. Our successful studios are growing and we are looking for a Senior Technical Artist to join the expanding Art Team. Our studio, part of the Keywords Studios Group, works on multiple exciting projects at any one time offering plenty of variety and involvement. Our studio projects have included: EA Sports FC 24, Hogwart’s Legacy, Vampire: The Masquerade - Blood Hunt, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Alan Wake Remastered, Mafia II: Definitive Edition and Assetto Corsa Competizione.

Our studios are based near Newcastle, Tyne & Wear (Coconut Lizard ) and Daresbury, Cheshire (d3t) - where we offer amazingly professional, fun and supportive working environments. We are passionate about what we do and pride ourselves on our anti-crunch mentality, mentoring ethos and have been awarded ’Best Places to Work’ multiple times by gamesindustry.biz including 2022 and 2023. In addition, we won ‘Best Creative Service Provider‘ at Develop 2022 and were nominated in 2023.

The Senior Technical Artist will be a key part of our growing Art Team. We are looking for a creative problem solver to support both the art and animation team requirements, assisting with resolving technical issues, streamlining workflows, improving performance and creating toolsets.  We work with very high-profile clients on amazing game titles and the Technical Artist will get to work on a wide variety of projects, raising the bar of the art productivity and efficiency, and therefore helping us satisfy and retain their loyalty.

Responsibilities – Senior Technical Artist:

·        Establish and maintain project art pipelines from inception and throughout the project life-cycle.

·        Support the art and animation team requirements and assist with resolving technical issues.

·        Creating and integrating in-house toolsets and create materials/shaders.

·        Ensure all artwork hits memory and frame rate guidelines/restrictions by means of performance profiling.

·        Collaborate with the artists and feedback on how they can improve the performance of the in-game assets while maintaining visual fidelity.

·        Able, when required, to take ownership of specific features of the game.

·        Ensure all artwork adheres to guidelines regarding naming conventions, texture layering structures etc.

·        Keep up to date with industry advancements and technologies and share knowledge with the art team.

·        Add to our library of tutorials, documents and technical guides to improve efficiency in the art pipeline and be proactive in finding solutions to technical issues.

·        With a professional and organised approach, you adhere to schedules and promptly feedback concerns regarding any aspects of the project. Ensuring the right tasks are tackled in the right order, updating Jira, communicating progress and helping to manage team deliverables.

·        Advise the Lead Technical Artist of resourcing concerns and productions risks.

·        Encourage and mentor other members of the Technical Art Team.

·        Self-driven, autonomous and confident, demonstrate responsibility for work quality and processes for both yourself and other members of the tech art team, actively contributing fresh ideas and encouraging the team.

·        Confident with motivating Tech Artists, inspire colleagues to flourish and help promote a culture of collaborative innovation.

Essential Skills:

·        Enjoy the technical challenge and constraints of real-time game art and have some understanding of modern rendering, shading and lighting techniques.

·        Must be performance and quality focused.

·        Must have an excellent working knowledge and proficiency in Maya and/or 3DS Max and an excellent in-depth knowledge in Python.

·        Must also have some knowledge of Houdini.

·        Excellent communication and organisation skills and confident working within a multidisciplinary art team.

·        Evidence of being an enthusiastic leader or role model in intermediate art role

·        Able to create materials/shaders and a good understanding of a PBR workflow.

·        Excellent understanding of the technical limitations of current console hardware.

·        Practical and methodical approach to technical and creative problem-solving.

·        Demonstrate dependability and commitment to projects and tasks, and a hunger to learn and improve as a Technical Artist.

·        Flexible and calm approach with the ability to adapt to change.

·        Ability to deliver quality work within fixed time constraints.

·        Excellent knowledge of current game development practices and terminology and a passion for staying up to date with latest technology and embracing new game art techniques.

Desirable Skills:

·        MEL and/or Maxscript knowledge is advantageous.

·        Knowledge of the Maya API and programming in C++ or C# is advantageous.

·        Some understanding of various other tools and software used in development, Photoshop, Substance etc is also advantageous.

·        Knowledge of Unreal Engine or Unity is advantageous.

·        Experience of working within game development for at least 4 years.

·        At least three published titles.

·        At least two full project cycles in an intermediate art position.

Benefits & Perks – just some of the many offered by our studio:

·        25 days holiday (+ bank holidays + up to 5 days extra for length of service)

·        Company Pension Scheme

·        Flexible working hours

·        Private Medical Insurance Scheme (including dental) & Eye Care Scheme

·        Employee Share Scheme

·        Anti-crunch ethos - an amazingly professional, fun and supportive working environment!

·        Income Protection

·        Game Vouchers twice a year

·        Annual Bonus – be rewarded for great teamwork!

·        Free Parking

·        Tech and Bike Scheme

·        Company Socials, Project Launch/Wrap Parties + Annual d3t Events

·        Breakout Areas – filled with perks such as games, BBQ area, complimentary snacks to suit all dietary preferences etc.

We offer a flexible working policy – this Senior Technical Artist role has the option to be studio based, hybrid or remote within the UK (not based overseas). You will have the option to be based out of the Daresbury, Cheshire or Newcastle, Tyne & Wear sites.

Initial interviews will be help by video call with a second interview at the studio depending on applicant’s location.

Don’t meet every single requirement? Not a problem - please apply. At our studios we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace and culture. If this opportunity excites you but your current skills or past experience don’t align perfectly with the job description, we encourage you to still apply. You may just be the right candidate for this or other roles within our team.