Character Technical Artist / Rigger — Maya & Unity

Engagement: Monthly contract
Working schedule: 5 days per week
Monthly rate: Approximately USD 4,000 - 6,000
Ideal start date: As soon as possible

Role overview

Solace Games is looking for an experienced Character Technical Artist / Rigger to rig existing 3D characters in Autodesk Maya, validate them against our existing animation library, and integrate them into Unity as fully functional, playable characters.

Working within an established pipeline, you’ll follow our documentation, technical specifications, naming conventions, and production workflows to take each character from its supplied model through to tested in-game implementation.

When character rigging work is not available, you’ll contribute to animation tasks and help resolve long-standing technical issues, supporting the wider team in maintaining and improving the quality of our character pipeline

Responsibilities

  • Rig and skin existing character models in Maya, following our documented skeleton requirements, naming conventions, and production pipeline.

  • Assess model suitability and identify any issues that could affect rigging, skinning, or animation.

  • Test each character against the required animation library, checking skin weights, deformation, clipping, and animation compatibility.

  • Troubleshoot and resolve rigging and skinning issues, flagging problems that require changes to models, animations, or game systems.

  • Export characters from Maya and import them into Unity using the established workflow.

  • Configure character assets, materials, rig settings, and prefabs within the existing Unity character system.

  • Verify that characters are fully playable and that movement, animation transitions, attachments, and supported gameplay actions function correctly.

  • Maintain organised source files and document completed checks, fixes, and outstanding issues.

  • Support animation work and troubleshoot long-standing technical issues when rigging tasks are not available.

Required skills and experience

  • Strong practical experience in character rigging and skinning using Maya.

  • Experience taking animated characters from Maya into Unity.

  • A solid understanding of skeleton hierarchies, skin weights, deformation, and animation retargeting.

  • Familiarity with Unity’s character import settings, Animator system, and prefabs.

  • Ability to troubleshoot character-related issues across Maya, asset export, and Unity.

  • Ability to follow detailed documentation and apply technical standards consistently.

  • A methodical approach to testing, problem-solving, and quality assurance.

  • Clear communication skills and the ability to document technical issues and their resolution.

  • A portfolio demonstrating character rigging and in-game implementation.

Nice to have

  • Maya scripting experience using Python or MEL.

  • Experience adapting characters with different proportions to a shared skeleton and animation library.

  • Experience with version control in a game development team.

Expected deliverables for each assigned character

  • A completed Maya scene with a rigged and skinned character that meets the supplied specifications.

  • Correctly exported assets and a configured Unity character prefab.

  • Validation against the required animation set, with issues resolved or documented for review.

  • A playable character in Unity that passes the agreed animation, technical, and gameplay checks.

Apply by sending your CV and Cover Letter to careers@solacegames.com