Role Summary We are seeking a Senior Technical Artist to lead and execute technical art across multiple real-time products. This role sits at the intersection of art, animation, and engineering, with a strong emphasis on Unity. You will own and improve character pipelines, runtime animation systems, tooling, shader/VFX workflows, and performance optimisation across multiple platforms, while establishing standards and mentoring others. This is not a narrow “rigging-only” role. We need a senior technical artist with deep, proven Unity production experience who can take ownership of end-to-end delivery from DCC to engine and confidently diagnose and resolve issues across content, code-adjacent tooling, and runtime constraints. Applicants must demonstrate substantial Unity runtime ownership (character animation systems, prefab/scene setup, profiling and optimisation); DCC-only rigging experience is not sufficient for this role. Key Requirements 8 years’ professional Unity experience, including shipped games/real-time products with substantial character work (rig/animation integration, runtime controllers, retargeting/IK, and performance optimisation as outlined in this role). Strong experience building and integrating character rigs/controllers for real-time, including runtime debugging and optimisation. Proficiency in Maya with strong animation and rigging pipeline knowledge. Deep understanding of human biomechanics (natural body motion, weight, balance, timing) and how to apply it when evaluating rigs, mocap, and animation quality for real-time use. Strong understanding of FK/IK systems in both DCC (Maya) and Unity runtime contexts. Proven ability to set standards and workflows, and to drive technical-led projects end-to-end. Ability to act as a bridge between art and engineering: clear communication, pragmatic decision-making, and the confidence to challenge assumptions constructively. Strong troubleshooting mindset and structured approach to problem-solving. Responsibilities Technical Art Leadership & Cross-Team Delivery Lead technical-led initiatives spanning character pipelines, runtime animation, shaders/VFX, scene performance, and tools. Partner with key stakeholders to refine product requirements, workflows, and the technical stack; translate creative intent into implementable, scalable solutions. Act as the primary interface between Art/Animation and Engineering, ensuring shared standards, predictable outcomes, and reduced iteration overhead. Mentor and guide other artists/technical artists; establish documentation and best practices across the studio. Character, Rigging & Animation Pipeline (DCC → Engine) Create and maintain character rigs for real-time use, including FK/IK setups and runtime-friendly constraints. Collaborate with animation teams to ensure rig usability and animation quality; review motion for biomechanical plausibility and call out issues early. Support motion capture workflows: system familiarity, cleanup, retargeting, and integration into runtime controllers. Manage blend shape workflows (facial/secondary motion), including performance-aware implementation. Define and enforce standards for skeletons, naming, hierarchy, export settings, clip conventions, and validation. Unity Animation Systems & Runtime Setup Full working ownership of Unity’s character animation systems: humanoid setup, retargeting, controllers/state machines, blend trees, IK solutions, and Timeline-based sequencing where appropriate. Prepare and integrate assets into Unity: import settings, author prefabs, set up animation clips, integrate scenes, and create team-ready templates. Provide hands-on troubleshooting of animation, rig, and scene issues; instrument problems with clear reproduction steps and diagnostics. Shaders, VFX, Lighting & Rendering Workflow Build/optimise shader networks and materials suitable for production; support VFX Graph workflows where required. Own lighting workflows, including light baking and best practices for consistent, performant results across target hardware. Establish guidelines and reusable components for materials, VFX, and lighting to enable consistent quality at scale. Performance & Optimisation Define and uphold performance budgets; profile and optimise CPU/GPU, memory, and content complexity. Own LOD strategy and implementation standards (including authoring guidance and in-engine configuration). Identify systemic performance risks early and drive mitigations through tooling, workflow changes, or content constraints. Tools, Automation & Technical Operations Develop workflow tools (DCC scripts and/or Unity editor tooling) to reduce friction and errors: exporters, validators, batch processors, import rules, and setup automation. Maintain documentation and knowledge base material (standards, checklists, troubleshooting playbooks). Work effectively with version control and production tooling to support stable team workflows. UI & 2D Asset Support (as needed) Support UI pipelines and implement basic UI asset preparation and integration. Create or adapt textures/sprites for game assets and UI when required, coordinating with art direction and performance constraints. Tools & Workflow Familiarity Unity (advanced), Maya (advanced). Version control: Git (e.g., Sourcetree) and repo workflows (e.g., Bitbucket or equivalent). Production collaboration: Jira, Confluence, and whiteboarding tools such as Miro. Art tools: Figma, Photoshop, Substance (or equivalent). Bonus / Nice-to-Have Unreal Engine experience (strong bonus). Unity FinalIK experience (bonus). Unity Bakery lightmapping workflow experience (bonus). Experience with photogrammetry and/or volumetric capture pipelines. Strong comfort with “code-adjacent” work: basic programming/scripting knowledge (C# tooling, Python/MEL/MaxScript, etc.). Ability to troubleshoot hardware and advise on technical requirements for artist workstations, peripherals, and capture setups. What Success Looks Like A robust, documented pipeline where characters, biomechanic data and animation behave predictably in-engine and are easy for the team to iterate on. Clear standards and tooling that reduce rework and improve consistency. High-quality motion that holds up biomechanically and visually in real-time. Measurable performance improvements and fewer late-stage surprises. Strong cross-team alignment: art and engineering operate with shared constraints, expectations, and vocabulary. Candidate Materials CV and/or LinkedIn. Portfolio/case studies demonstrating Unity technical art work (character pipeline, runtime animation systems, tools, shaders/VFX, optimisation). (Optional) A short write-up of a complex cross-discipline issue you solved (root cause, mitigation, and prevention).