Senior Tools & Pipeline Technical Artist - League of Legends, Champs Tech

As a Technical Artist focused on Tools/Pipeline, you’ll employ your expert-level knowledge of 3D tools and problem-solving skills to build tools, maintain pipelines and provide technical support for artists on their most critical missions. You will critique work, mentor fellow Rioters and foster the long-term growth of an ambitious group of artists.

As a Senior Tools & Pipeline Technical Artist on League of Legends, you’ll be an integral contributor towards high quality tools, pipelines, and systems used in the development of all forms of assets used to bring champs and skins to life in the League of Legends universe. You’ll be collaborating with engineering, art, and rendering partners to set and execute on targets for high quality developer experiences within the League engine, and advocate for new tools and processes on behalf of teams that will be authoring player-facing content and moments. 

This role is uniquely positioned to ensure Riot’s future-facing success by developing and enforcing processes used by Riot’s partner studios to deliver content at volume.

Responsibilities:

• Contribute to new and existing tools and pipelines used for the development of characters, materials, and rigs for League of Legends.
• Work with art teams to evaluate current development processes and craft plans to evolve existing systems to meet higher industry standards.
• Advocate on behalf of artists and designers for the continual, holistic improvement of content and data pipelines.
• Work with engineers to form and execute on plans for the maintenance of data at scale used for shipping thousands of pieces of content to players. 
• Form working relationships with producers and developers to advise and assist in development direction and risk assessment setting for multiple content types.
• Create and consolidate documentation for using our tools, systems, and processes.

Required Qualifications:

• 5+ years of professional experience as a technical artist in games or related industries with exposure to the development of character pipelines.
• A deep understanding of processes and techniques used by art teams to execute on high-quality, genre defining characters and creatures. 
• A high level understanding of Python development, and the Python programming ecosystem, such as linting, coding standards, and best practices. 
• A broad understanding of all aspects of content creation beyond Characters, such as VFX, Lighting, Rendering, and other disciplines in the art development space.
• A collaborative attitude towards helping developers locally and remotely solve problems while working to improve the League development experience holistically.

Desired Qualifications:

• Previous experience developing and maintaining character pipelines at scale for a live-service title.
• Past hands-on exposure to building content or tools for DCC apps such as Substance, 3dCoat, ZBrush, Marmoset, Adobe products, and other industry-leading tool suites.
• Expertise using custom in-house engines, scripting systems, and CI/CD development processes that are common in AAA development.
• An eye for industry-leading UI and UX within the tools space. 
• Experience in sculpting, modeling, rigging and animation and understanding of the related workflows is also valuable.
• Possess a working knowledge of League Of Legends from the perspective of a player.
• Experience writing C++, C#, or other strongly-typed programming languages. 
• Mini-plus: Language skills in Mandarin Chinese or Vietnamese. 

For this role, you'll find success through craft expertise, a collaborative spirit, and decision-making that prioritizes the delight of players. We will be looking at your past studies, experience, and your personal relationship with games. If you embody player empathy and care about players' experiences, this could be your role!

Our Perks:

Riot focuses on work/life balance, shown by our open paid time off policy and other perks such as flexible work schedules. We offer medical, dental, and life insurance, parental leave for you, your spouse/domestic partner, and children, and a 401k with company match. Check out our benefits pages for more information.

At Riot Games, we put players first. That mission drives every decision in our quest to create games and experiences that make it better to be a player. Whether you’re working directly on a new player-facing experience or you’re supporting the company as a whole, everyone at Riot is part of our mission. And just like in our games, we’re better when we work together. Our goal is to create collaborative teams where you are empowered to bring your unique perspective everyday. If that sounds like the kind of place you want to work, we’re looking forward to your application.

It’s our policy to provide equal employment opportunity for all applicants and members of Riot Games, Inc. Riot Games makes reasonable accommodations for handicapped and disabled Rioters and does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, handicap, veteran status, marital status, criminal history, or any other category protected by applicable federal and state law. We consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with applicable federal, state and local law, including the California Fair Chance Act, the City of Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, and the Washington Fair Chance Act.

Per the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, the following core duties may create a basis for disqualifying candidates with relevant criminal histories:

• Safeguarding confidential and sensitive Company data
• Communication with others, including Rioters and third parties such as vendors, and/or players, including minors
• Accessing Company assets, secure digital systems, and networks
• Ensuring a safe interactive environment for players and other Rioters

These duties are directly related to essential operations, safety, trust, and compliance obligations within our organization. Please note that job duties may evolve based on business needs and additional responsibilities may be assigned as necessary to maintain operational efficiency and security.