As a leading mobile games developer, Jam City is looking to “level up” our talent. We’re searching for innovators who consider themselves dynamic, collaborative, and thrive in a fast-paced environment.

PERKS & BENEFITS

Unlimited Vacation, Paid Sick Days, Recharge Days & Holidays

100% Employee Covered Medical, Dental, Vision Plan Base Plan

Life Insurance, 401k, Flexible Spending Accounts, Commuter Benefits & More

Happy Hours

Company Events

Jam City Carlsbad is seeking a passionate and highly skilled Senior Visual Effects Artist to elevate our Puzzle Division. You will collaborate with artists, game designers, and engineers to develop visual effects that enhance gameplay, provide satisfying player experiences, and improve the overall quality of our games. Your work will contribute to the visual appeal and success of our titles, directly strengthening player engagement with a player-first approach.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Lead the creation of stunning visual effects for our games, focusing on enhancing gameplay experiences, cinematic moments, and marketing initiatives.
Model, rig, shade, and animate FX meshes in Maya and Unity, tailored specifically for our brands.
Develop sprite sheets and texture atlases using After Effects, optimized for real-time effects pipelines in Unity.
Utilize Unity to create 2D and 3D particle simulations that bring the world of Cookie Jam and other titles to life.
Collaborate with designers and artists to understand game requirements, iterating on real-time visual effects that offer optimal player feedback and contribute to an engaging gameplay loop.
Work closely with the creative team to establish visual effect styles that align with the overall creative vision of our games, ensuring consistency and visual harmony.
Support and optimize the technical development of the effects pipeline, ensuring it remains effective, scalable, and aligned with the needs of match-3 puzzle games.
Partner with User Experience designers to develop animated UI elements alongside visual effects, creating a seamless and satisfying gameplay experience.
Continuously research, analyze, optimize, and troubleshoot effects for both quality and performance, ensuring the highest standards are met.
Collaborate with producers to create plans, milestones, and goals that align with broader team initiatives and project timelines.
Provide constructive feedback to both internal teams and outsourcing partners to ensure the highest quality visual effects.

QUALIFICATIONS

5+ years of experience as a VFX artist in the games industry, with a strong emphasis on experience within Unity.
Exceptional problem-solving skills with the ability to develop innovative solutions for complex visual effects challenges.
A keen visual eye, capable of identifying and producing high-quality visual experiences utilizing motion, color, timing, and lighting, particularly suited for the casual and vibrant aesthetic of match-3 puzzle games.
Strong communication skills, with the ability to effectively collaborate with cross-functional teams.
A versatile skill set that encompasses art, animation, design, and technical ability, ensuring the delivery of visually stunning effects.
Mastery of Adobe Creative Suite, Maya, and other relevant visual effects software.
A solid understanding of shader development to create impressive visual effects that enhance 3D game environments.
Experience in establishing and maintaining a cohesive visual effects style that aligns with the game’s overall aesthetic.
A deep understanding of what makes a compelling player experience, with a portfolio that reflects a strong track record of creating engaging visual effects.

NICE TO HAVE

Programming and scripting experience is a plus, providing additional flexibility and control over the effects pipeline.
A strong foundation in traditional art, including figure drawing and painting, which informs your creative approach to visual effects.
Experience working with files from Spine for 2D animation in Unity, enhancing the visual dynamism of our games.
Prior experience in setting up and refining a technical visual effects pipeline.
Experience leading a team, mentoring junior artists, and driving the creative vision forward.

In compliance with local law, we are disclosing the compensation for this role. The range listed is just one component of Jam City’s total compensation package for employees, which may also include annual bonuses, short- and long-term incentives, and program-specific awards. The disclosed range estimate has not been adjusted for the applicable geographic differential associated with the location at which the position may be filled. Starting pay for the successful applicant will depend on a variety of job-related factors, which may include education, training, experience, certifications, location, business needs, or market demands. This range is based on a full-time position. This range may be modified in the future. In addition, Jam City provides a variety of benefits to employees, including but not limited to medical, dental, vision, parental leave, paid time off, a 401(k) plan, life, disability, and accident insurance. Pay Range: $94,000 — $123,000 salary per year.

OUR COMMITMENT TO EQUITY, DIVERSITY, & INCLUSION

We believe in creating games that unite people across the world and that showcase our commitment to providing an environment that is both inclusive and diverse for our players and employees. We strive to create a workforce that is reflective of our global player community as we know that we are stronger and better when we play together. To help promote an inclusive culture, we celebrate the visible and invisible diversity of our Jam Citizens through initiatives including Employee Resource Groups, cultural events, trainings, speaker series, and more.

Jam City is an equal opportunity employer. We enthusiastically accept our responsibility to make employment decisions without regard to race, age, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, ancestry, religion, ethnicity, marital, or domestic partnerships status, disability, genetic information (including the refusal to submit to genetic testing), predisposing genetic characteristics, military status, veteran status, domestic violence victim status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expressions, or any other classification protected by federal, state, and local laws. Our management is committed to following this policy with respect to hiring, placement, promotion, transfer, demotion, layoff, termination, recruiting, pay, and other forms of compensation, training, and general treatment during employment.

ABOUT JAM CITY

Jam City is an award-winning mobile entertainment studio providing unique and deeply engaging games that appeal to a broad, global audience.

Led by CEO Josh Yguado, former 20th Century Fox executive, Jam City is the creative powerhouse behind some of the highest-grossing and most enduring mobile games. Jam City’s global franchise Cookie Jam has generated more than half a billion dollars, and Panda Pop has more than 120 million downloads to date.

The company also is the go-to studio for Hollywood, having developed immersive, narrative-rich mobile games around iconic entertainment brands. The company’s popular RPG game Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery was the #1 game in more than 40 countries at its launch in April 2018.

Jam City has nine studios located in Los Angeles (HQ), Berlin, Buenos Aires, Bogotá, Burbank, Cedar Falls, San Diego, San Francisco, and Toronto.

Compensation Overview

RESPONSIBILITIES

QUALIFICATIONS

NICE TO HAVE

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