Studiowildcard

We're Studio Wildcard, developers of the smash indie hit ARK: Survival Evolved -- one of the most popular and original video games in recent years. Despite our massive success, we've been able to stay independent, so that we can steer our own future in games and beyond. There's never been a better time for you to join this adventure and help us build   ARK Survival Ascended , the next chapter of our original hit franchise! We're expanding and updating many of the ARK community's most beloved features while taking full advantage of the latest tools and technologies. We’re looking for an exceptionally talented Technical Animator who lives and breathes Unreal Engine Animation Blueprints and Control Rig. You will own high-impact animation systems that bring creatures, characters, and gameplay to life. This is a systems-focused technical animation role: deep expertise in visual programming (AnimBPs + Control Rig) is the core requirement. Comfort with programming logic is essential, but day-to-day C++ work is not the focus. Responsibilities: - Design, write, and implement animation systems, using Unreal Engine Animation Blueprints and Control Rigs - Create sophisticated Control Rig solutions (procedural animation, IK/FK systems, full-body IK, terrain adaptation, foot placement, active ragdoll blending, etc.) - Develop responsive, scalable animation systems for bipeds, quadrupeds, and fantasy creatures - Work closely with cross-functional teams to improve current solutions and create new ones - Create documentation and provide pipeline improvements - Optimize animation systems for performance, LODs, and large-scale creature ecosystems Requirements: - Minimum 3 years of professional experience as a Technical Animator / Animation Programmer / Technical Artist focused on real-time animation systems, with at least one shipped title. - Expert-level proficiency with Unreal Engine Animation Blueprints (complex state machines, layered blends, procedural logic, gameplay-driven systems). - Strong self-motivation and willingness to participate in many areas of game development - Experience using Unreal Engine 5 Pluses: - C++ experience (useful for deeper engine integration or performance work, but not a primary focus of the role) - Experience with character/creature rigging and skinning in Maya, or Control Rig - Degree in computer science or a related field - Experience with Rigging and Animation - Physics-driven animation (ragdoll, physics blending, cloth, custom physics solvers) - Tool Programming, MEL, PyMel Python - Houdini experience Required Application Materials: - Resume - Cover Letter which should include - Why you are interested in working for Studio Wildcard - What games you are currently playing - Portfolio or examples demonstrating Animation Blueprint and/or Control Rig work

Studio Wildcard, creators of the smash indie hit ARK: Survival Evolved , was founded in 2014. ARK has become one of the most successful cross-platform indie titles ever and continues to break industry records.  We are looking for a Senior Technical Producer who perfectly combines an engineer's high-level technical understanding with a producer's mentality of critical-path organization. Reporting directly to the Chief Technical Officer, Live Ops Lead, and Executive Producer, you will take ownership of the engineering task pipeline. Your primary goal is to ensure the engineering team is operating at maximum efficiency, freeing up the CTO and Live Ops Lead to step away from schedule-and-people management to perform deep technical analysis and guidance. Responsibilities: - Triage, prioritize, assign, and follow up on all technical tasks across the engineering department. - Meet daily with the Live Ops Lead and CTO to review the day's tasks, followed by individual meetings with each programmer to ensure they are briefed, on-task, and operating at maximum efficiency. - Proactively seek out and resolve any inefficiencies and blockages, both within the engineering department and cross-departmentally, to ensure the most effective output possible. - Work closely with other key members of the production team, including managing the Technical Producer, collaborating with the Director of Production (owner of the content pipeline), and Executive Producers. - Actively attend and participate in gameplay reviews to maintain a sharp, firsthand understanding of how technical implementations are translating to the actual player experience. - Own the release management pipeline for new releases and un-shipped content. This includes writing the timeline for each release, creating release cards, adding/tracking issues, and reminding engineers of their specific goals and deadlines for that release. - Drive the full occupancy of every engineer's time daily, ensuring a high volume of successfully completed tasks each month toward the Studio's major deliverable products. Requirements: - Minimum of 3 years working directly with Unreal Engine 4 or 5 as an engineer. - Minimum of 2 years working with Unreal Engine 4 or 5 as a technical producer. - An engineer's essential, high-level technical understanding of complex programming tasks, paired with a producer's ruthless managerial skills. - Ability to work core hours of 10:00 AM PST to 5:00 PM PST . - Willingness to be on-call for live issue firefighting and to crunch around critical shipping periods to support major content launches. <span style="font-family: georgia, palati

Studio Wildcard, creators of the smash indie hit ARK: Survival Evolved, was founded in 2014. ARK has become one of the most successful cross-platform indie titles ever and continues to break industry records. We are looking for a Senior Graphics Programmer with an obsessive focus on performance and visual fidelity to push Unreal Engine 5 to its absolute limits. Reporting directly to the Chief Technical Officer, you will be responsible for wrestling with core rendering systems, GPU performance, and cutting-edge visual tech. This role sits at the bleeding edge of game development, wrestling with core rendering systems, massive hardware budgets, and cutting-edge tech to ensure our wildest, most ambitious environments look stunning while maintaining a respectable frame rate. Responsibilities can include: - Dive into the Unreal Engine C++ source code to implement complex refactors and engine upgrades that support massive open-world gameplay. - Profile GPU performance and resolve severe rendering bottlenecks related to draw calls, level of detail (LOD) transitions, and overdraw - Dive deep into the specific hardware profiles of modern consoles (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S), pushing the limits of their architecture while strictly adhering to their unique VRAM constraints, memory bandwidths, and certification standards - Enhance and optimize Unreal Engine 5's rendering ecosystem, working intimately with features like Lumen, Nanite, and hardware ray tracing. - Collaborate directly with the Technical Art and VFX teams to build and optimize custom rendering systems for dynamic in-world elements. You will provide deep technical support for materials and shader pipelines to bring complex environmental reactions to life, such as dense interactive foliage and physical weather systems. - Partner with the Creature Art and Tech Animation teams to pioneer new rendering techniques, including advanced fur, skin shaders, and deformation. You will support their creative vision while aggressively optimizing draw calls and rendering costs for scenes densely packed with massive numbers of creatures. - Define scalability scenarios across different GPU tiers to manage VRAM budgets and hit strict performance targets. - Integrate, tweak, and optimize modern upscaling and frame generation technologies (such as DLSS, FSR, PSSR, and TSR). - Co-define engine-level technical artist tooling and create documentation or best practices to raise the rendering capability floor for artists across the studio. - Vigorously investigate, debug, and solve complex low-level graphics crashes and rendering anomalies across PC and modern console platforms. - Perform periodic memory tracking, deep performance analysis, load time analysis, and critical race condition/deadlock fixes. - Develop internal tools and extend engine features to im