Technical Artist

Company: Age of Learning, Inc.
Location: Glendale
Posted on: February 25, 2021

Job Description:

Age of Learning is a leading education technology innovator based in Glendale, California, with a talented team of more than 600 individuals comprised of nationally-renowned educators, curriculum experts, developers, artists, writers, designers, engineers, producers, product managers,--analysts--and marketing experts! Together we develop engaging, effective digital learning technology and content to help children build a strong academic foundation for lifelong success. Our flagship product ABCmouse.com --Early Learning Academy--is a comprehensive online curriculum and the #1 digital learning product for young children. To-date, more than 30 million children worldwide have completed over 8 billion Learning Activities on ABCmouse. We recently launched Adventure Academy, the first massively multiplayer online (MMO) game designed specifically to help elementary- and middle-school-aged children learn. It features thousands of engaging Learning Activities-including minigames, books, original animated and live action series, and more-in a fun and safe virtual world. Other Age of Learning programs include immersive English language learning products for children in China and Japan; ReadingIQ, a digital library and literacy platform; and a groundbreaking personalized, adaptive digital learning system that individualizes math instruction for every child through AI-driven technology. We are committed to helping all children succeed. We provide our educational programs at no cost to teachers, Head Start programs, public libraries, and other community organizations, and have served millions of children through these initiatives. We recently established the Age of Learning Foundation to expand this work globally. As we expand our global reach and increase the educational impact of our programs, we're looking for passionate, ambitious, and collaborative leaders to become a part of our growing team. Summary: We seek a Technical Artist to provide robust support to the Adventure Academy team in the creation and implementation of final art assets. In addition to preparing assets, this person will track technical details, facilitate cross-discipline communication, define asset requirements, create guidelines, and develop methodologies. Join us in our effort to deliver a best-in-class, cross-platform product that delights and enlightens children and their parents around the world. The Technical Artist will support the Adventure Academy Art, Design, and UX teams in their production and delivery of final art assets to the development team. The Technical Artist will ensure that all assets created and delivered by the team meet the requirements for various platforms and technologies. This candidate will work hands-on in the preparation of final art, and will be responsible for developing guidelines and methodologies that enable all members of the Design and UX team. The Technical Artist will have a deep technical knowledge of 3D assets pipelines, Maya Character Animation / Rigging, Unity UI, Scene and Prefab workflows, Performance Profiling and Asset Optimization, as well as VFX Particles and Mobile Optimized Shaders. The role will act as a conduit between the Engineering Department, and the Art, Design, and UX teams. Responsibilities:

• Help establish standards, conventions, and best practices for asset creation and integration workflow.
• Develop Maya Python tools for rigging and exporting characters.
• Organize and manage new assets and convert legacy assets
• Clean and organize existing scenes and assets
• Convert assets to utilize prefabs--
• Develop conventions for Design Team to follow
• Train Design Team members on conventions and workflows--
• Profiling, identifying, and implementing areas of memory and CPU optimization
• Using existing scripts and extending scripts to create interactive gameplay
• Assist Artists and Designers in the creation and hand-off of production-ready art assets
• Ensure that assets are properly integrated
• Diagnose problems related to asset preparation and quickly deliver solutions
• Review assets relative to technical and integration requirements before hand-off
• Create and manage tools to expedite the production process
• Partner with Art Director and UX Director to ensure product vision and quality benchmarks are met
• Stay current with industry trends and technical advancements used in mobile game development Required Qualifications:
  • 4+ years experience in a similar role as Technical Artist within the games industry
  • Advanced understanding of the Maya Character modeling, skinning, rigging, animation, and export.--
  • Advanced understanding of the Unity UI workflow, Canvas Scaler, Rectangular Transforms for various aspect ratios, Sprites, and Texture Atlasing
  • Advanced knowledge of Unity Assets, Scenes, and Prefab workflows
  • Experience optimizing 3D and UI assets for mobile platforms.
  • Experience writing custom shaders--
  • Experience with C# and the Unity API
  • Experience with developing Maya tools with Python and MEL
  • Experience creating VFX with Unity particle systems
  • Understanding of the Maya to Unity workflow
  • Experience working in a fast-paced environment that requires rapid project turnaround and frequent priority shifts
  • Adept at balancing trade-offs between quality and performance
  • Strong verbal and written communication skills for both design and engineer audiences
  • A Team Player who can accommodate change quickly and is comfortable working in a fast-paced production environment
  • Agile at navigating multiple projects and priorities
  • Self-motivated, proactive, and detailed oriented
  • Able to manage time and schedules efficiently
  • Evidence of multiple shipped games Age of Learning currently provides: --- 90% - 100% of health and welfare benefit premiums --- A 401(k) program with employer match --- Team bonding events and a highly collaborative environment --- Commitment to Equal Opportunity Employment in addition to an inclusive and supportive company culture-- --- Access to our internal DEI Task Force that focuses on ensuring our products represent all children on a global scale --- Opportunities for professional growth through professional learning and development programs-- --- A temporary 100% remote work environment, due to COVID restrictions, to help ensure the safety of our employees-- --- Monthly internet stipend provided due to temporary remote work environment

Keywords: Age of Learning, Inc., Glendale , Technical Artist, IT / Software / Systems , Glendale, Arizona