Lead VFX Artist - High Moon Studios at Activision Publishing Inc in Carlsbad, California

Job Description:

Job Title: Lead VFX Artist - High Moon Studios

Requisition ID: R009605

Job Description:
Great Games Start with Great People! We pride ourselves on our unique vision for the industry, and we developed a team that cares about one another, our games, and our players. We treat each other with respect. We bring no egos. We focus on what is best for the game. We hire stunning peers. We own our mistakes. As we enter the next exciting chapter of our story, we look for people to grow with us. If you want to work with a world-class team on exciting new projects, then apply today! We look forward to hearing from you.

We are looking for a talented Lead VFX Artist who will inspire, mentor, and lead a team of high-caliber VFX artists to create immersive and compelling visual effects that millions of gamers across the globe enjoy. You will be a trusted gatekeeper for performance, efficiency, and quality. You will provide your team with guidance, goals, opportunities, and resources. As Lead VFX Artists, you will be a role model who manages the team through challenge and change and builds individuals into highly engaged, efficient, and effective teammates. Above all, we are looking for an innovative and dedicated leader to bring all forms of real-time VFX to life, working with the VFX team to push the visual development of a new game.

Your Mission

• Collaborate with Creative Directors, Designers, Engineers, Artists, Producers, and Animators to help plan and accomplish the strategic goals and deliver epic visual content for world-class player experiences


• Lead the team of VFX artists and be an active participant in team discussions, critiques, and reviews to ensure the timely completion of VFX assets on style and at the desired quality bar


• Have a working knowledge of 3D rendering engines, 3D content creation DCC apps, and experience designing VFX shaders, particle systems, physics, ribbons, etc.


• Be a proactive self-starter that can independently execute high-level direction


• Learn all aspects of the COD VFX development tools and engine features to provide educated direction and suggest features to push the quality of real-time visual effects


• Be a trusted gatekeeper for performance, efficiency, and quality


• Define team goals, action plans, and schedules for the project


• Provide feedback to both internal teams and external partners


• Empower VFX artists to thrive on open and welcome constructive criticism


• As the team grows, help build a VFX team of highly talented artists who would thrive with the team and at the company


• Document and communicate specifications and visual benchmarks to support the game's artistic vision


• Contribute creative and original ideas towards all aspects of game production and development


• Champion best practices and advocate streamlining tools and processes


• Interface with other teams to ensure VFX requirements and plans are understood

Player Profile:

• 7+ years of experience on visual effects in games and/or film


• Highly skilled in in next-generation 3D VFX content creation tools, pipelines, and techniques for creating AAA quality real-time visual effects


• You have experience shipping a game as an art lead or art director, where you helped oversee the quality, scheduling, and implementation of a large portion of the VFX development


• You've hired exceptionally talented artists onto a team and helped them "learn and grow" through constructive art feedback and coaching


• Have the ability to lead by example echoed through a professional personality


• You possess solid communication and problem-solving skills


• Has proven ability to thrive in a challenging and often ambiguous environment


• Able to effectively collaborate with every department of a game development team (game designers, programmers, tech art, animation, etc.)

Bonus Points:

• Houdini Expert


• Coding experience in scripting or object-oriented languages such as Python, Java, C#, etc.


• Functional understanding of 3D vector math


• Passion for the Call of Duty franchise


• Strong traditional art foundation


• Experience creating VFX shaders using node graphs or shader languages

Note: A portfolio submission is required for this position. Please focus this portfolio on personal contributions to your projects and include a shot breakdown specifying what you were directly responsible for creating.

High Moon Studios

Founded in 2002, High Moon Studios is an award-winning studio developing for the Call of Duty® franchise, with past development on over 15 titles including Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Warzone , Bungie's Destiny 2: Forsaken, and Transformers: Fall of Cybertron . We employ more than 170 people in Carlsbad, CA, a seaside city in San Diego County.

Our pride is our people and the experiences we have successfully created for our fans. High Moon's talent is comprised of gifted entertainment and technology professionals responsible for some of the most successful games ever made. We have award-winning developers, published artists and specialists recognized as among the best in their fields. Our studio has a history of using innovative techniques designed to boost productivity and product quality, which in turn enhances our studio's quality of life.

High Moon Studios is wholly owned by Activision. To learn more about our studio, please visit us at www.highmoonstudios.com .

Our World

Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI), is one of the world's largest and most successful interactive entertainment companies and is at the intersection of media, technology and entertainment. We are home to some of the most beloved entertainment franchises including Call of Duty ®, World of Warcraft® , Overwatch ®, Diablo ®, Candy Crush ™ and Bubble Witch ™. Our combined entertainment network delights hundreds of millions of monthly active users in 196 countries, making us the largest gaming network on the planet!

Our ability to build immersive and innovate worlds is only enhanced by diverse teams working in an inclusive environment. We aspire to have a culture where everyone can thrive in order to connect and engage the world through epic entertainment. We provide a suite of benefits that promote physical, emotional and financial well-being for 'Every World' - we've got our employees covered!

The videogame industry and therefore our business is fast-paced and will continue to evolve. As such, the duties and responsibilities of this role may be changed as directed by the Company at any time to promote and support our business and relationships with industry partners.

High Moon Studios is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, protected veteran status, or any other basis protected by applicable law and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.