Houdini Technical Artist Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Description & Requirements
Electronic Arts creates next-level entertainment experiences that inspire players and fans around the world. Here, everyone is part of the story. Part of a community that connects across the globe. A place where creativity thrives, new perspectives are invited, and ideas matter. A team where everyone makes play happen.
Locations: Vancouver, BC or Orlando, FL (Hybrid onsite)
EA SPORTS is one of the most iconic brands in entertainment - connecting hundreds of millions around the world to the sports they love through a portfolio of industry-leadi ng video games.
The EA SPORTS Tech Art team provides specialized technology teams working on modern character articulation and motion, content pipelines and workflows, machine learning, game security, dev ops, as well as long lead feature and technology development for all EA SPORTS titles. As part of EA SPORTS Tech, the Initiatives Team pushes visual boundaries and experiences for our players. We invest in future technologies, shared tooling, and production workflows. We combine creativity and imagination with technical expertise. We are a diverse group that encourages team members to bring their unique perspectives and expertise to work every day.
The Role
We are looking for a Senior Technical Artist to bridge the gap between creative vision and technical execution. In this role, you will act as a force multiplier for art teams across our sports titles, designing scalable art pipelines, optimizing real-time performance, and developing innovative workflows for characters, environments, lighting, or VFX.
Reporting to a Technical Art Directo, you will lead complex technical initiatives, mentor junior and mid-level technical artists, and collaborate closely with Rendering Engineers, Art Directors, and Tools Developers to push the boundaries of visual fidelity in sports games.
Key Responsibilities

• Pipeline & Tool Development: Architect, build, and maintain robust, scalable art creation and content integration pipelines using Python, C#, or DCC scripting (Maya, Houdini, Blender).
• Performance & Optimization: Lead runtime performance profiling (GPU/CPU, memory, draw calls) across current and next-gen hardware platforms, establishing performance budgets and best practices for art teams.
• Engine Integration: Deeply integrate procedural workflows, complex shaders, rigging systems, and visual effects into our proprietary engine.
• Cross-Discipline Collaboration: Work as a primary liaison between artists and software engineers-translating creative needs into technical specifications and engineering requirements into user-friendly art tools.
• Technical Leadership & Mentorship: Guide and mentor mid and junior-level technical artists, advocate for best practices, and contribute to standardizing technical art workflows across the Sports Tech organization.
• R&D & Innovation: Prototype new rendering techniques, procedural content generation setups, and digital human or apparel workflows to elevate visual realism across our titles.

Qualifications

• Experience: 6+ years of professional experience in video game production or visual effects, with at least 3+ years in a Technical Art role.
• Engine Expertise: Deep experience working with modern game engines (e.g., Unreal Engine, Unity, or proprietary AAA engines) with a strong understanding of rendering pipelines, lighting, materials, and asset assembly.
• DCC Proficiency: Advanced expertise in Maya and/or Houdini, including scripting and tool creation.
• Programming/Scripting: Strong skills in Python (PySide/PyQt for GUI development is a plus) and familiarity with HLSL/GLSL shader languages or visual shader graphs.
• Performance Profiling: Proven track record of optimizing game performance using profiling tools (RenderDoc, PIX, Razor, or engine-native profilers).
• Problem-Solving & Communication: Outstanding communication skills with the ability to explain complex technical concepts clearly to non-technical stakeholders.

Desirable / Bonus Skills

• Experience with procedural workflows (Houdini Engine / PCG).
• Experience with character technical art (rigging, skinning, cloth dynamics, or facial pipelines).
• Familiarity with modern sports tech domains (stadium generation, dynamic crowd systems, realistic biomechanics, or apparel capture).
• Background in C++ development or extending DCC plugins.

Pay Transparency - North America
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
The ranges listed below are what EA in good faith expects to pay applicants for this role in these locations at the time of this posting. If you reside in a different location, a recruiter will advise on the applicable range and benefits. Pay offered will be determined based on a number of relevant business and candidate factors (e.g. education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, or business needs).
PAY RANGES
* British Columbia (depending on location e.g. Vancouver vs. Victoria) *$141,400 - $204,400 CAD
Pay is just one part of the overall compensation at EA.
For Canada, we offer a package of benefits including vacation (3 weeks per year to start), 10 days per year of sick time, paid top-up to EI/QPIP benefits up to 100% of base salary when you welcome a new child (12 weeks for maternity, and 4 weeks for parental/adoption leave), extended health/dental/vision coverage, life insurance, disability insurance, retirement plan to regular full-time employees. Certain roles may also be eligible for bonus and equity.
About Electronic Arts
We're proud to have an extensive portfolio of games and experiences, locations around the world, and opportunities across EA. We value adaptability, resilience, creativity, and curiosity. From leadership that brings out your potential, to creating space for learning and experimenting, we empower you to do great work and pursue opportunities for growth.
We adopt a holistic approach to our benefits programs, emphasizing physical, emotional, financial, career, and community wellness to support a balanced life. Our packages are tailored to meet local needs and may include healthcare coverage, mental well-being support, retirement savings, paid time off, family leaves, complimentary games, and more. We nurture environments where our teams can always bring their best to what they do.
Electronic Arts is an equal opportunity employer. All employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, genetic information, religion, disability, medical condition, pregnancy, marital status, family status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We will also consider employment qualified applicants with criminal records in accordance with applicable law. EA also makes workplace accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities as required by applicable law.
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