Software Engineer

Description

The infinite care and loving detail put into every aspect of our games is something we take seriously and pride ourselves on delivering to our players. Are you passionate about creating cost effective software development tools which will be used to enhance game and cinematic development? Are you up for the challenge of joining a highly collaborative team while improving your professional skill set? Do you have a strong desire to work on a team and to contribute in meaningful ways with like-minded people?

Blizzard Animation is seeking an inventive software engineer for our Front End R&D Team which is responsible for building software tools and workflows for modelling, rigging, animation for all Blizzard Cinematic projects. Specifically we are looking for an engineer to help improve our Front End animation workflows by accelerating rig evaluations with improved cached play back for animators . We use Autodesk's Maya (with custom plugins and workflows) to build and animate character rigs. You will need to be conversant with Maya and will need to partner with the rigging and animation TDs/artists to help profile rigs, guide and at times define sound setups for efficient rig evaluation in parallel or otherwise. You will also need a deep understanding of geometry caching in order to appraise and implement real time animation playback in viewport 2.0. This is a full-time position at our Blizzard central office in Irvine, California.

• Setup automation and profiling of rigs in maya being able to hone down on evaluation bottlenecks.
• Partner with rigging/animation TDs to help redesign rig setups to facilitate efficient parallel evaluation.
• Help setup standard practices to allow efficient rig evaluation in parallel
• Assess Maya's background evaluation and caching procedures in viewport 2.0 to design the best iterative workflows for animators OR design alternatives using Maya's API
• Work with the following technologies and toolsets
  • Maya, C++ API
  • Python (with PySide / PyQt)

• Excellent software engineering skills with respect to profiling, debugging and trouble shooting. A real passion for tools development and efficient artist workflows.
• A minimum of 3 years working in production setups that involve Autodesk's Maya (worked with Maya's C++ API to design or maintain plugins, understand DAG architecture and evaluations).

• Experience with vfx or animation pipelines
• Working knowledge of DG, Serial and Parallel Evaluations in Maya
• Knowledge of Maya's viewport 2.0 DrawOverrides and caching

• Resume (a PDF please)
• Cover Letter which should include:
• Why you are passionate about working at Blizzard
• Interest in 3D animation or gaming

Blizzard Entertainment has been rated by Fortune as one of the "Best Places to Work" for several years running (and our ranking continues to rise!). We are a community of 4000 global employees who are passionate about not only gaming, but entertainment and the technology that drives our users experience. Our goal is to delight our customers by never settling for anything but the highest quality and providing worlds filled with creativity and adventure around every corner. You are bright, engaging, eager to learn and ready to make an impact. We've been waiting for you!