Senior Character Artist

Job Title: Senior Character Artist

Team: Art & Animation

Reporting into: Head of Art & Animation

Hybrid working status: Fully remote available/Hybrid

**Studio Overview**

We are Sports Interactive

The gaming studio behind: Football Manager.

Founded in 1994, Sports Interactive became a wholly owned subsidiary of SEGA Europe in 2006. Based at the Here East technology hub in Stratford, East London, the SI team continues to expand as we bring our titles to an ever-growing audience across an increasing variety of platforms.

To support our growth, we welcome the opportunity to connect with passionate people with the drive to match our ambitions and initiative to realise your individual potential.

**Position Overview**

**Key Responsibilities**

**High-Quality Characters**:

- Create highly detailed, realistic 3D character models, including heads, bodies, clothing, and accessories, adhering to the project’s artistic direction and technical constraints.
- Produce both high-poly sculpts and game-ready assets with optimised topology, UVs, and textures for use in real-time engines.

**Speed and Efficiency**:

- Work efficiently to meet deadlines and produce high-quality characters within a fast-paced production environment.
- Maintain a consistent pipeline that allows for rapid iteration and quick adjustments based on feedback.

**Material and Texture Creation**:

- Develop high-quality textures and materials, using tools like Substance Painter, Designer, and Photoshop, ensuring characters look stunning in the game’s visual style.
- Collaborate with the technical art team to ensure shaders and materials are optimised for performance.

**Cross-Discipline Collaboration**:

- Work closely with other departments, including animators, and technical artists, to ensure character models align with both artistic vision and gameplay needs.
- Communicate regularly with art leads and other team members to provide updates on character creation progress and any potential issues.

**Problem-Solving**:

- Proactively solve technical and artistic challenges, ensuring that characters look great and perform well within the engine's constraints.
- Work with riggers and animators to ensure models are optimised for movement and animation.

**Efficient Workflow Management**:

- Manage your workload effectively, ensuring that multiple characters can be produced in parallel while maintaining a high standard of quality.
- Follow and refine character creation pipelines and workflows to streamline the production process and improve team efficiency.

**Optimisation**:

- Ensure all character assets are optimised for real-time rendering, adhering to technical specifications and performance requirements.

**Knowledge, Skills, and Experience**- 3+ years of experience as a character artist in the video game industry, with a strong portfolio showcasing high-quality, game-ready characters and at least one released title.
- Proven ability to work quickly and efficiently without compromising on quality.
- Proficiency in **3D modelling software** such as **Maya**, **Blender**, or **3ds Max**.
- Strong expertise in **ZBrush** or similar sculpting software for creating high-poly characters.
- Extensive experience with **Substance Painter/Designer**, **Photoshop**, or equivalent texturing software.
- Solid understanding of real-time rendering pipelines, especially in game engines like **Unity** or **Unreal Engine**.
- Strong knowledge of topology, UV mapping, and asset optimisation for performance in real-time engines.
- Familiarity with rigging and skinning, ensuring characters can be animated fluidly.
- Strong communication skills and a collaborative mindset, with the ability to give and receive feedback constructively.

**Benefits of Working at Sports Interactive**:
A flexible working policy to best suit you and your team.

Subsidised mental health, therapy and coaching sessions are available.

Contributory Pension Scheme (up to 7% of annual salary).

Free onsite evening bar in the Sports Interactive London HQ.

A well-stocked breakfast bar with cereals, fruits, teas, and coffees.

Regular events in collaboration with our partnered football clubs. ️

Access to our on-site physical and massage therapist services.

Multiple clubs and societies to join e.g., book club and art workshops.

Free access to games released under the SEGA Europe umbrella. ️

A range of Gym Membership options through our Benefits partners. ️

Fully Subsidised Healthcare and Dental Plans.

Free Travel Insurance for yourself and your family. ✈️

A personalised football shirt upon passing probation.

**What is it like to work here?**

We approach everything with **passion**, whether that is making our mark on the gaming and football industries or doing our bit for the world around us. We want to share that outlook with everyone who shows up to work here each day.

For us, talent wins games, but teamwork wins titles. Collaboration is the key to constantly topping our best. We b