CREATING ORIGINAL VIDEO GAMES OF THE HIGHEST QUALITY

Ascendant Studios is looking for a talented and creative environment artist to help bring our first title to life. This is a full time, on site position at our office in San Rafael, California. Prior work on an AAA title, or in the Unreal Engine, is a big plus, and our ideal applicant will be able to work independently alongside design to come up with and execute fantastical level ideas.

Key Responsibilities 

• Create efficient in-game models, UV’s and materials for both organic and inorganic environments, including props, foliage suites, and modular kits
• Prototype and grey block assets and environments, collaborating closely with level designers to uphold gameplay and flow as well as aesthetics
• Populate and decorate in game environments with organic and inorganic assets
• Work with the Art Director to maintain artistic style and quality in the environments (including asset and material creation, lighting, and level build out)
• Maintain a balance of art quality versus performance in the game engine
• Work with the art director and designers to come up with new level concepts and gather reference
• Give, receive, and make changes to your work based on constructive feedback

Requirements

• 5+ years experience as an Environment Artist or other role responsible for creating game-ready assets in a full-cycle game development studio
• Understanding of modularity and environment systems used in fast, iterative, and efficient production
• Experience in building worlds in engine. (lighting, time of day, fog/skyboxes, palette control, and post process effects)
• Understanding of modern materials and shaders and a high level of proficiency with Maya, Zbrush, and Substance Designer/Painter
• Strong traditional art fundamentals, including the function of form and color, proportions, shape, etc.
• Excellent problem solving skills, ability to identify and resolve issues, and understanding of technical dependencies

Good to Have 

• Familiarity with Houdini, World Machine, SpeedTree, or other industry standard software.
• Previous work with Unreal Engine
• Previous experience working on an AAA, 1st person, console title

To Apply
Please email jobs@ascendantstudios.com with your application materials. Please include the job title you’re applying for in the email’s subject line.

Ascendant Studios is looking for a talented and enthusiastic Senior Animator to help us us launch a brand new AAA title. Our ideal candidate has a passion for creating memorable and captivating experiences through animation. We are looking for a demo reel demonstrating an expert level of keyframe and motion capture animation, for both gameplay and narrative moments. The animation style for our project is based on realistic weight and body mechanics. We want you to make our team even stronger and push us to the highest level of achievement!

Key Responsibilities

• Creating hand keyed animations for both bi-ped and creatures
• Working with motion capture data
• Participating in gameplay and narrative animation needs
• Collaborating with design, art, narrative, engineering, and tech art to deliver amazing and exciting in-game performances
• Pushing the bar of our in-game animations to a AAA level, mentoring and providing feedback to other team members
• Planning, and participating in, motion capture sessions with both our in-house xsens pipeline, and our optical stage sessions
• Self driven, able to independently operate with minimal guidance

Requirements

• Outstanding demo reel demonstrating realistic weight and body mechanics
• 5+ years experience in game development
• An eye for animation quality and acting choices
• Positive attitude towards solving animation issues regarding in-game development
• Expert knowledge of keyframe or motion capture creation for creatures and realistic characters
• An understanding of animation pipelines
• Outstanding interpersonal communication skills with both in-house and external team members
• Drive to learn and be receptive to changes during development

Good to Have

• Knowledge of state machines and animation network authoring
• Experience working with Unreal Engine 4
• Debugging in-game animation defects, identifying the cause and providing solutions
• Experienced with outsourcing animations to external partners
• Leadership roles, whether official or unofficial
• Python scripting or other programming languages

To Apply
Please email jobs@ascendantstudios.com with your application materials. Please include the job title you’re applying for in the email’s subject line.

Ascendant Studios is looking for a passionate Senior Level Designer to bring life to an original IP AAA action game.  The perfect candidate will have  strong creative design and technical implementation skills with a focus on level and combat design and a strong eye for composition and visual aesthetic.    A background in AAA titles and experience working with UE4 is desired.

This is a full time, on-site position at our office in San Rafael, California.

Key Responsibilities

• Work alongside other designers and artists to create engaging gameplay spaces, encounters, and puzzles.
• Own the creation of levels from blockout through final art process and completion.
• Design, prototype, and finalize fun and exciting level systems
• Collaborate and give feedback on other gameplay levels and features, give and respond to constructive feedback, and continually work to improve gameplay
• Help to establish and maintain best practices for metrics, spatial flow, and interaction design

Requirements

• 5+ years of professional 3D level design experience, preferably with at least one first person title.
• Expert at designing, implementing, and polishing balanced and engaging first and/or third person combat experiences
• Experience and familiarity with Unreal Engine 4 for both level layout and blueprints
• Deep understanding of combat and puzzles
• Ability to work independently, problem solve on the fly, and collaborate efficiently across disciplines in a small, fast moving team
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, great time management and organization skills

Good to Have

• Experience with narrative driven design or quest writing
• Technical background with scripting or C++ programming
• Experience creating multiplayer maps

To Apply
Please email jobs@ascendantstudios.com with your application materials. Please include the job title you’re applying for in the email’s subject line.

Ascendant Studios is looking for a Senior Rendering Engineer to optimize the performance and ensure the highest visual fidelity in our upcoming title on consoles and PC. This is a full time, on site position at our office in San Rafael, California.

Key Responsibilities

• Work with Unreal Engine 4 to achieve cutting edge graphics on current and next gen platforms as well as PC.
• Improve stability and performance while maintaining high visual fidelity in gameplay and cinematics
• Collaborate with tech artists to create and expand systems for lighting, VFX, post-processing, and procedural systems
• Profile, optimize, and debug the rendering engine, lighting, and shaders on platform
• Work alongside the art department to bring the world to life

Requirements

• 3+ years of experience as a rendering or graphics engineer in games or other real-time applications
• Expert level knowledge of C++, 3D math, and graphics algorithms
• Previous experience with graphics programs like Houdini, Substance Painter and Designer, and Marvelous Designer.
• Experience with implementing and optimizing graphics algorithms in game engines using industry standard graphics APIs
• Familiar with GPU and CPU optimization techniques
• Previous work on Xbox One and Playstation 4
• Ability to work independently, problem solve on the fly, and collaborate efficiently across disciplines in a small, fast moving team

Good to Have

• Degree in computer science or engineering
• Prior experience as a graphics programmer on Unreal Engine strongly preferred
• Passionate about pushing the envelope when it comes to graphics technology
• Familiarity with raytracing and multi-threaded rendering

To Apply
Please email jobs@ascendantstudios.com with your application materials. Please include the job title you’re applying for in the email’s subject line.

Ascendant Studios is looking for an art outsource manager to help drive collaboration between our internal artists and our external partners. The ideal candidate will have previous experience working with outsourcers in a production capacity as well as a deep art background. 

Key Responsibilities

• Work alongside the art directors and team leads to kick off new projects and provide feedback on deliveries.
• Function as the first point of communication for outsource partners. 
• Work with other producers to schedule, scope, and budget asset creation. 
• Manage outsource assets, including tracking, review, organization, engine integration, and testing. 
• Create and distribute documents for art direction, technical requirements, and pipeline. 
• Track and communicate progress of outside studios, anticipate and mitigate problems before they arise. 
• Identify and screen potential outsource partners. 

Requirements

• 3+ years of experience in the game industry, including one full development cycle from preproduction to launch. 
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal. Ability to understand and give both artistic and technical feedback. 
• Understanding of artistic and technical fundamentals across environment art, character art, concept art, and/or animation. 
• Working knowledge of Photoshop, Maya, Zbrush, and the Substance suite. 
• Previous experience managing outsource relationships. 

Good to Have

• Previous experience as an art outsource manager or outsource integration artist. 
• Experience with Perforce, Jira, and Teamwork software. 
• Experience with Unreal Engine 4. 
• Fluency in Mandarin, Vietnamese, and/or Russian a plus. 

To Apply
Please email jobs@ascendantstudios.com with your application materials. Please include the job title you’re applying for in the email’s subject line.

Ascendant Studios is looking for a lighting artist capable of creating emotive and performant lighting scenarios for a realistic title. The ideal candidate will be able to quickly create beautiful lighting that holds up across a variety of hardware scenarios, and will have had previous experience working on a large team and a AAA project. 

Key Responsibilities

• Light game environments for gameplay and real time cinematics. 
• Work alongside art directors and tech artists to develop our lighting pipeline. 
• Ensure that lighting throughout the game is performant across consoles and PC. 

Requirements

• 3-5+ years of experience in games as a lighting artist, with a focus on realistic lighting environments and PBR based pipelines. 
• Experience working with the team at every stage of the project, from preproduction to release.
• Familiarity with visual effects and shader systems
• Understanding of color grading and other post process effects 
• Ability to work independently, problem solve on the fly, and collaborate efficiently across disciplines in a small, fast moving team

Good to Have

• Shipped at least one AAA title on modern consoles. 
• Previous experience working with Unreal Engine 4 a huge plus. 
• Familiarity with Enlighten or other third party lighting solutions. 
• Experience working with outsource partners. 

To Apply
Please email jobs@ascendantstudios.com with your application materials. Please include the job title you’re applying for in the email’s subject line.

Ascendant Studios is looking for a Texture/Material artist to work alongside our shader artists to create master materials in a PBR pipeline, for use on characters, environments, VFX, and UI elements. 

Key Responsibilities

• Create materials and textures using Substance Designer
• Collaborate closely with tech artists, environment artists, and character artists under the guidance of the art director to develop the look of our materials. 
• Optimize shaders and materials to stay ensure optimum performance on platform.  

Requirements

• Proficiency with Subtance Designer, Substance Painter, and Photoshop for PBR pipelines. 
• 3+ years experience creating realistic materials in games or a related field.
• Expert understanding of next gen texture pipelines and tools 
• Strong traditional art fundamentals
• Able to quickly implement changes based on creative feedback
• Ability to work independently, problem solve on the fly, and collaborate efficiently across disciplines in a small, fast moving team

Good to Have

• Previous work in Unreal Engine. 

To Apply
Please email jobs@ascendantstudios.com with your application materials. Please include the job title you’re applying for in the email’s subject line.

Ascendant Studios is looking for a gameplay programmer with Unreal Engine 4 background to help bring our first title to life. This is a full time, on site position at our office in San Rafael, California. Prior experience with Unreal Engine is a must, and our ideal applicant will be able to both work independently and alongside other engineers and designers to implement a variety of different gameplay functions.

Key Responsibilities

• Collaborate with design and art teams to implement and iterate on new features
• Rapidly prototype new gameplay and systems
• Give, receive, and act on daily constructive feedback with minimal supervision
• Debug and document both blueprints and C++ code
• Accurately access your workload, proactively communicate with the team about potential problems or new developments

Requirements

• 2+ years experience using Unreal Engine 4
• 3+ years of experience working with C++
• At least 3 years game industry experience, including at least one production cycle from start to finish
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Solid foundational programming skills (algorithms, data structures, OOP, etc.)
• Ability to work independently, problem solve on the fly, and collaborate efficiently across disciplines in a small, fast moving team

Good to Have

• Familiarity with programming for 1st person shooters, console titles, and/or multiplayer games
• BA/BS degree in Computer Science, mathematics, or equivalent field
• Experience with working alongside outsource teams
• Adept at working in a fast paced, iterative environment

To Apply
Please email jobs@ascendantstudios.com with your application materials. Please include the job title you’re applying for in the email’s subject line.

Ascendant Studios is looking for a gameplay programmer to help bring our first title to life. This is a full time, on site position at our office in San Rafael, California. Prior experience with Unreal Engine is a must, and our ideal applicant will be able to work independently to implement a variety of different gameplay functions.

Key Responsibilities

• Collaborate with design and art teams to implement and iterate on new features
• Rapidly prototype new gameplay and systems
• Give, receive, and act on daily constructive feedback with minimal supervision
• Debug and document code
• Accurately access your workload, proactively communicate with the team about potential problems or new developments

Requirements

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Proficiency in Unreal Engine 4 and the Blueprint system
• BA/BS degree in Computer Science, mathematics, or equivalent field
• 4+ years of experience working with C++
• Solid foundational programming skills (algorithms, data structures, OOP, etc.)
• Ability to work independently, problem solve on the fly, and collaborate efficiently across disciplines in a small, fast moving team

Good to Have

• Familiarity with programming for 1st person shooters and console titles
• At least 3 years game industry experience, including at least one production cycle from start to finish
• Prior work on multiplayer titles
• Adept at working in a fast paced, iterative environment

To Apply
Please email jobs@ascendantstudios.com with your application materials. Please include the job title you’re applying for in the email’s subject line.