About Us

Hardsuit Labs, located in Seattle, was founded in 2015 with the same goal as every other game development studio that has ever existed – to make great games. What sets us apart is the way we make that happen:

It’s all about our people.

It takes talented, driven people to make great games. Here at the Lab, we work hard to create and to maintain an environment that not only attracts those people and keeps them here, but that allows them to thrive and to do what they do best – to make great games. It’s not always as easy as it sounds, but it really is that simple.

We might as well admit it: we’re obsessive about our people and our culture here at the Lab. We believe in hiring a mix of seasoned industry veterans and talented young upstarts, but talent and shipped titles aren’t enough; we’re looking for people who bring a variety of experiences and perspectives – people who we can spend time with, and people who can navigate the unpredictable waters of modern game development as a tight-knit group.

We believe in low turnover, and take steps to guard against the “staff-up and lay-off” cycle that is so common in this industry. When we hire, we hire for the long term, and we’re unapologetically picky about it.

About the Job

Hardsuit Labs is looking for a skilled and motivated Character Artist to join our team. Help contribute and develop the character art pipeline, while collaborating with a talented team of artists, animators, designers, and programmers.

You should be: An artist who is not only passionate about your craft but knowledgeable as well. The pursuit of artistic mastery should be at the forefront of all you do. You should be ready to effectively communicate with the team about anatomy, sculpture, form, perspective, and other key foundational principles. You can effectively/efficiently work in realism and this is demonstrated currently in your portfolio.

We are also looking for someone who is a gamer and wants to bring fresh, creative ideas to the table. You enjoy creating assets within a wide range of visual styles. It doesn’t matter if you are tasked with sculpting a perfect recreation of a human face or hard surface/sci-fi character model, you can create both with ease. You really strive in a team-oriented environment and feel comfortable working with minimal input.

Basic Qualifications

• 3+ years of experience making realistic character models for games.
• In-depth knowledge of surface anatomy, especially the head.
• Can sculpt/build realistic clothing.
• Understanding of 3D character art pipelines.
• Understanding of foundational artistic analog principles and how they apply to digital character creation.
• Life Drawing/Gesture Experience.
• Traditional Sculpture Experience.
• Intermediate – Advanced knowledge of Zbrush.
• Basic – Advanced knowledge of Marvelous Designer
• Intermediate – Advanced knowledge of Photoshop for texturing (Bonus for digital painting).
• Basic – Advanced Knowledge of Substance Painter.
• Intermediate – Advanced knowledge of a retopology package.
• Basic – Advanced knowledge of scan cleanup pipeline for clothing and heads.
• Intermediate – Advanced Maya or 3Ds Max
• Must have an understanding of real-time PBR shader development in Unreal Engine 4.

Day-to-Day

• Develop characters based on project art and technical specifications.
• Create high-poly and low-poly models and accompanying texture sets that use advanced shaders.
• Help in developing character content pipeline and art production pipeline.
• Work under the guidance of Lead Character Artist to develop character look and feel.

Required Materials

• Resume
• Portfolio
• Must be willing to complete an animation test if requested to do so

Our Benefits

We take our commitment to our people seriously, and we make sure that our benefits directly reflect that commitment; we’re always looking to improve quality of life for our people in any way we can.

• Medical / Dental / Vision
• Life and STD/LTD Insurance
• 401K Program
• Unlimited Vacation Time
• 9 Sick Days / 9 Holidays