Lead Technical Artist

Pocket Gems develops free-to-play mobile games that are ridiculously fun. Pocket Gems was founded in 2009 by Daniel Terry and Harlan Crystal. Their first products pioneered the free to play mobile games industry and have delighted and entertained millions of players.

As a Lead Technical Artist you will serve as both an advocate for the Art department as well as the bridge between Art and Engineering. By collaborating with the Art Director and Engineering team, you will help enhance the visual quality of the game by creating art tools, advocating optimal art / engineering performance techniques and suggesting efficient and thoughtful pipeline processes. You must know what a healthy art pipeline 'looks like' and must help make sure that content creators have the tools & support necessary to do their jobs efficiently. You’ll be instrumental in developing the processes, tools, and pipeline from which innumerable games will spring forth.

* Work closely with art director / leads to drive and evangelize the artistic vision of the game * Collaborate with the engineers on the development of art pipelines including proprietary tools, software plug-ins, and in game technology * Assist in planning asset production in collaboration with the FX, concept, character, and other disciplines * Level up your team’s skills through mentorship of skills, process, and technical / artistic techniques

* Minimum of 5 years’ experience in game development serving in a technical art role * Experienced with creating assets within art pipelines including; rigging, scripting, shader development, lighting, and visual effects * Familiar with at least one development language such as mel, python, c#, or c++ * Effectively collaborate with game designers, artists, and engineers to ensure that technical art vision is serving project needs * Must have completed one full game development cycle * Self-motivation, good communication skills, and a great team-player attitude * Proven problem-solving / prototyping ability * Able to collaborate with multiple teams effectively * A passion for video games **Pluses:** * Mastery in one or more technical skills including; VFX, animation, character rigging, tools scripting, or shader development * Skill in one or more related disciplines – illustration, animation, visual effects, or modeling * Have shipped AAA PC or console titles * Have shipped mobile titles