Technical Art Director

About Us

AEXLAB is a virtual reality technology studio. We create meaningful technologies that make people feel present and connected in virtual worlds for gaming, training, simulation and more. Our mission is to apply our technologies to further virtual reality as a first-class social experience.

In active development, we are building the ultimate VR first person shooter experience, VAIL VR. Our flagship title emphasizes tactical gunplay, high-caliber combat, and collaborative teamwork. Featuring social and matchmaking systems, players can find games for casual or competitive play. Forge lasting friendships and work together with your teammates to achieve victory.

The Role

AEXLAB currently has an opening for a talented Technical Art Director to help push the quality and innovation to the next level with our talented Technical Art Team.

Responsibilities:

• Spearhead the research and development of new art technologies and pipelines, working closely with artists, designers, engineers and more across multiple projects

• Drive the creation, improvement, and enforcement of pipelines and processes across all elements of game development, with the goals of efficiency, performance, and aesthetics

• Develop and train artists to be technically savvy, fostering technical understanding and discussion across all art disciplines

• Be the first line of defense for the art team when a technical problem arises

• Work with the artists to ensure they achieve the artistic vision, while meeting performance goals and technical requirements

• Work with the Engineering Team to ensure that the technology is in place to hit industry leading visuals

• Work with the Design Team to ensure the pipeline is capable of achieving key design pillars

• Serve as a mentor and coach for talent to grow in the Technical Art domain

Qualifications:

• 5+ years of leading edge game art experience in a technical position and must have shipped more than one 3D title on current-gen consoles

• Dedicated to promoting a positive technical art culture that champions new ideas to leadership, empowers artists to achieve their vision, while growing and maintaining a positive collaborative environment

• Excellent leadership, communication, interpersonal, organizational, and documentation skills

• Define and enforce standards and best practices for internal and outsourced art development, including the creation and curation of asset management tools and documentation

• A strong understanding of modern 3D engines, Art pipelines, and the techniques and technology behind them

• Ability to work well under pressure and with deadlines

• Technical proficiency in understanding proprietary tools and technology

• Creative problem solving skills

• Strong understanding of game planning and development

• A deep understanding of game art optimization

• Must be familiar with one or more types of 3D software (Blender, Maya, 3ds Max, ZBrush, Houdini, etc.) We are an Unreal / Blender studio

• Passion for making and playing great games, with an awareness of current titles and industry trends

Areas of Expertise:

A Technical Art Director should have a broad knowledge base, with working knowledge in many of the following areas, and a deep expertise in one or more, with a willingness to step into or delegate in any of of these areas:

• Character Pipelines (modeling, rigging, skinning, character re-use or customization systems, etc.)

• Environment Pipelines (“tile set” or “modular kit” construction, tiling / blending materials, collision/occlusion/technical data, streaming management, etc.)

• Scripting or Programming for tools and art systems (C++, Python, or Blueprint)

• Procedural Pipelines (Houdini, Substance, bespoke content systems)

• Shader / Lighting / FX / Rendering Pipelines 

• Physics including Ragdolls, Rigid Bodies, and Destructibles

• Scale content pipelines to support cross-platform development (we develop for a wide range of VR hardware (Oculus Quest, PSVR, PC VR)

Bonus, but not required:

• Previous experience working with VR

• Deep Experience in Unreal Engine

AEXLAB is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace that seeks to hire, develop and retain the most talented people from a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. If you are passionate about the future of gaming, VR, and community, we’d love for you to join us.