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Principal VFX Artist I - Diablo IV | Irvine, CA or Albany, NY

Blizzard Entertainment

California, United States (Hybrid)

Principal VFX Artist I - Diablo IV | Irvine, CA or Albany, NY

1 Month ago • 10 Years + • Game Production

About the job

4 skills required for this role

Add these skills to join the top 1% applicants for this job

creature

houdini

lighting-shading

real-time-vfx

Job Description

Blizzard Entertainment seeks a Principal VFX Artist I for Diablo IV. Responsibilities include creating player and creature abilities, environmental FX, and contributing to all VFX development stages. The role requires collaboration with various departments to enhance gameplay and visual experience. The ideal candidate possesses 10+ years of VFX experience in game development, expertise in next-gen pipelines, and a strong portfolio showcasing animation principles. This hybrid role offers a blend of on-site and remote work in either Albany, NY, or Irvine, CA.

Must have:

10+ years VFX experience in game development
Expert in next-gen asset creation pipelines
Strong portfolio demonstrating animation principles
Collaboration with multi-disciplinary teams

Good to have:

Houdini experience
Animation and rigging experience
Shader creation experience
3D sculpting experience

Perks:

Comprehensive benefits package (medical, dental, vision)
401k with company match
Paid time off and holidays
Tuition reimbursement
Relocation assistance (if applicable)
Mental health & wellbeing programs
Free and discounted games

Team Name:

Diablo IV

Job Title:

Principal VFX Artist I - Diablo IV | Irvine, CA or Albany, NY

Requisition ID:

R024232

Job Description:

We Need You

The minions of Hell are growing stronger...

Join us as we write the next chapter in the Diablo universe! Diablo IV is the next-gen action RPG experience with endless evil to slaughter, countless abilities to master, nightmarish Dungeons, and legendary loot. Come work with us, and together we’ll create something amazing. Our team of passionate developers is growing.

We are looking for a Principal VFX Artist to bring strong artistic fundamentals and knowledge of industry - standard VFX practices to the world of Diablo. Your responsibilities will range from creating textures and geometry needed for VFX to working in complex 2D and 3D pipelines, to collaborating with Art and Design direction to enhance gameplay and bring spectacle to the world of Diablo IV.

This role is anticipated to be a hybrid work position, with some work on-site and some work-from-home. The potential home studio for this role is either Albany, NY, or Irvine, CA.

Respons i bilities

Create player abilities, creature abilities, environmental FX, and more in the Diablo IV VFX style.

Ability to contribute to all stages of VFX development, from early R&D to final assets.

Work with production to ensure quality FX are delivered according to a schedule.

Be a source of knowledge on the team helping to guide and mentor junior artists.

Regularly work with multi-disciplinary departments to tackle problems and improve the visual and gameplay experience for players.

Minimum Requirements

10+ years of demonstrated ability working as a VFX Artist in game development.

Portfolio demonstrating a grasp of the principles of motion, anticipation, dynamics, follow-through, lighting, shading, and other facets of animation to create powerful imagery.

Expert understanding of next-generation asset creation pipelines, tools, and real-time game development needs.

Solid understanding and passion for gameplay.

Bonus

Experience with Houdini and Rigid/Soft Bodies

Animation and r igging experience

Experience creating shaders

3D S culpting experience

Your Platform

Best known for iconic video game universes including Warcraft®, Overwatch®, Diablo®, and StarCraft®, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. ( www.blizzard.com ), a division of Activision Blizzard, which was acquired by Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment experiences. Blizzard Entertainment has created some of the industry’s most critically acclaimed and genre-defining games over the last 30 years, with a track record that includes multiple Game of the Year awards. Blizzard Entertainment engages tens of millions of players around the world with titles available on PC via Battle.net®, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android.

Our World

Activision Blizzard, Inc., 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 innovative 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.

We love hearing from anyone who is enthusiastic about changing the games industry. Not sure you meet all qualifications? Let us decide! Research shows that women and members of other under-represented groups tend to not apply to jobs when they think they may not meet every qualification, when, in fact, they often do! We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment and strongly encourage you to apply.

We are committed to working with and providing reasonable assistance to individuals with physical and mental disabilities. If you are a disabled individual requiring an accommodation to apply for an open position, please email your request to accommodationrequests@activisionblizzard.com . General employment questions cannot be accepted or processed here. Thank you for your interest.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status, among other characteristics.

Rewards

We provide a suite of benefits that promote physical, emotional and financial well-being for ‘Every World’ - we’ve got our employees covered! Subject to eligibility requirements, the Company offers comprehensive benefits including:

Medical, dental, vision, health savings account or health reimbursement account, healthcare spending accounts, dependent care spending accounts, life and AD&D insurance, disability insurance;
401(k) with Company match, tuition reimbursement, charitable donation matching;
Paid holidays and vacation, paid sick time, floating holidays, compassion and bereavement leaves, parental leave;
Mental health & wellbeing programs, fitness programs, free and discounted games, and a variety of other voluntary benefit programs like supplemental life & disability, legal service, ID protection, rental insurance, and others;
If the Company requires that you move geographic locations for the job, then you may also be eligible for relocation assistance.

Eligibility to participate in these benefits may vary for part time and temporary full-time employees and interns with the Company. You can learn more by visiting https://www.benefitsforeveryworld.com/ .

In the U.S., the standard base pay range for this role is $116,800.00 - $216,000.00 Annual. These values reflect the expected base pay range of new hires across all U.S. locations. Ultimately, your specific range and offer will be based on several factors, including relevant experience, performance, and work location. Your Talent Professional can share this role’s range details for your local geography during the hiring process. In addition to a competitive base pay, employees in this role may be eligible for incentive compensation. Incentive compensation is not guaranteed. While we strive to provide competitive offers to successful candidates, new hire compensation is negotiable.

View Full Job Description

$116.8K - $216.0K/yr (Outscal est.)

$166.4K/yr avg.

Irvine, California, United States

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