Technical Artist, Rigging/Animation at Yugalabs

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Location: Remote

Job Description

Yuga Labs is a web3 company exploring big ideas in identity, ownership, utility, and interoperability to push the crypto and NFT space forward. As The Defiant recently said, "The story of Yuga Labs is one where the improbable has become reality in the blink of an eye." Since debuting with our flagship collection Bored Ape Yacht Club in April 2021, we’ve created new IP for the ape ecosystem (Mutant Ape Yacht Club, Bored Ape Kennel Club), acquired other top collections (CryptoPunks and Meebits), and pulled off successful events (ApeFest) and partnerships (Rolling Stone). And we made both web3 and gaming history — the biggest NFT mint ever followed by a game demo with record-breaking synchronized player participation — for our newest initiative, Otherside.

See you on the other side 🫡

Our Team

We’re a highly creative and technical team that’s working to create new NFT collections and bring those collections to life in immersive ways. We work with other best-in-class teams around the world, and pride ourselves in being able to find innovative solutions to the unique challenges presented at the intersection of web2, gaming, and web3.

Who We’re Looking For

We are seeking a talented and experienced Character Rigger and Technical Animator to join our team of tech artists in creating lifelike and expressive characters for our video games. The ideal candidate should have expertise in rigging and animating high fidelity characters in Maya for games.

The Job

Collaborate with the character modeling team to ensure avatar body, clothing, hair, weapons, accessories, and faces are compatible and interchangeable in a modular system.
Design rigging workflows to assemble characters and environments procedurally for both offline and runtime usage.
Script, rig, animate and maintain bone-driven facial features for characters in Maya that are runtime compatible, optimized for performance and efficiency in Unreal Engine.
Design, build, test, and implement advanced animation rigging workflows for offline and runtime capabilities
Write scripts and develop tools to ensure a scalable pipeline for character and environment creation in digital content applications and runtime engines.
Author State Machines in Animation Blueprints using animgraphs, state machines, linked animation layers, supporting Unreal Control Rigs and retargeted animations.
Consult in development of breakdowns, task lists, estimates, schedules, milestones and overall project goals as necessary; participate in project stand-ups, meetings, and reviews

Your Skills

5+ years experience as a Technical Artist-Rigger or Technical Animator for AAA game development, directly supporting the production with rigging, scripting & tool development
2+ years experience authoring Blueprints and Animation Blueprints creating high fidelity character animation and deformation in Unreal 4/5.
Strong experience in rigging and animating facial features using procedural rigging systems such as AdvancedSkeleton5 and mGear in Maya
Strong understanding of anatomy, kinematics, deformation and facial expressions
Proficiency in character customization and modular accessory systems, preferred Massive Multiplayer Online (MMO) experience.
Excellent working knowledge of scripting (Maya Python/PyMEL, Unreal Python, Unreal C++ API, and PySide/PyQt GUI design experience)
Excellent problem-solving and communication skills
Ability to work collaboratively with other artists & developers
Strong attention to detail and ability to deliver high-quality work within deadlines
Up to date on the industry standard tools and systems (in Unreal Engine, Maya, Blender, Houdini, etc.) and constantly curious about promising new techniques for skeletons, facial animation methodologies, and constraints used for character animation
Knowledgeable of the real-time art production pipeline & process for different types of asset creation - especially of potential pitfalls and other risks involved with movement mechanics & deformation
Familiarity with multi-platform performance efficiency and optimization

Bonus

Experience working with web3 technologies and blockchain
Experience with integration of performance capture animation for both body & face
Experience with Unity or other game engines
Keyframe Animation Experience
3D modeling, animation and texturing skills a strong plus

If you are passionate about creating amazing characters for video games and have the required skills and experience, we encourage you to apply for this exciting opportunity.

The US base salary range for this full-time position is $125,000 to $150,000 in addition to equity and benefits. Our salary ranges are determined by role and level. The range listed encompasses several levels. Within the range, individual pay is determined by additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and market demand. Please note that the compensation details listed in role postings reflect the base salary only, and do not include equity, or benefits.

What We Offer

100% remote
Localized comprehensive health benefits
Monthly stipends for wellness, co-working, and mobile/internet service
Flexible Time Off, localized paid holidays, & Winter Recess (December 24-January 1)
A vibrant community of Employee Resource Groups (Women at Yuga, Blackchain3, Queer3)
Paid Parental Leave
Localized retirement plans

Apply anyway.
We believe true innovation in web3 requires diversity in perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds. But historically marginalized groups are underrepresented in the space, not just as participants but as leaders and creators. Luckily, we — and every web3 company — have the opportunity to bake necessary process and mindset shifts into our company DNA from the early days.

To help build a web3 that’s diverse and inclusive, we strive to build Yuga’s workplace to be diverse and inclusive. Not just how we do things day to day, but who does them and who decides what needs to be done.

So if you’re excited about one of our roles but your resume doesn’t align perfectly with the job description, please apply anyway. If you’re enthusiastic about web3 but come from an industry you think is unrelated, apply anyway. If you’re a great thinker and doer, apply anyway. The fate of web3 kiiinda depends on it.

At Yuga Labs, being an Equal Opportunity Employer means more than upholding discrimination-free hiring practices. It means that we cultivate an environment where people can be their most authentic selves and find both belonging and support. We're shaping the future of identity, community, and technology—an experience made whole by our unique backgrounds and perspectives.

Reasonable Accommodation
Yuga Labs applicants are considered solely based on their qualifications, without regard to applicant's disability or need for accommodation. Any Yuga Labs applicant who requires reasonable accommodations during the application process should contact the Yuga Labs Benefits Team (accommodations@yugalabs.com) to make the need for an accommodation known.

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