Hybrid 3D Technical Artist, Digital Twins

at SAS

• Job title: 3D Technical Artist, Digital Twins
• Job type: Full Time
• Experience level: Mid level, Senior
• Salary: Not specified
• Degree requirement: Bachelor's Degree
• Location requirements: Hybrid, Cary, United States

About the role

• 3D Technical Artist creating environments, models, and VFX for digital twins at SAS. Collaborating with engineers and optimizing assets for real-time simulation in Unreal Engine.

Responsibilities

• Create and modify model assets for simulation environment creation in Unreal Engine.
• Setup and troubleshoot basic and custom collision volumes.
• Implement optimized lighting, post-process, and camera effects with a focus on balancing visual quality and performance.
• Create, customize, and rig MetaHuman characters for real-time applications in Unreal Engine 5.
• Implement facial and body animations using Control Rig, Sequencer, or motion capture data.
• Identify, communicate, and resolve visual performance bottlenecks and defects using Unreal Editor and/or Unreal Insights.
• Collaborate with engineer team to transform 2D drawings (dxf, dwg, cad) into 3D spaces accurately.
• Maintain efficient asset organization, naming conventions, and version control standards.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Game Art, Animation, Computer Graphics, or related field (or equivalent experience).
• 5+ years of professional experience as a 3D Technical Artist, Character Artist, or similar role.
• Strong proficiency with Unreal Engine 5, particularly MetaHuman Creator, Control Rig, and Animation Blueprints.
• Proficiency in Maya, Blender, or similar 3D tools for modeling, rigging, and animation.
• Solid understanding of real-time rendering, performance optimization, and PBR material workflows.
• Experience with character retargeting, facial animation, and motion capture cleanup.
• Familiarity with version control systems (Perforce, Git, or Plastic SCM).
• Equivalent combination of related education, training and experience may be considered in place of the above qualifications.

Benefits

• Comprehensive medical, prescription, dental and vision plans.
• Medical plan options include: PPO with low annual deductible and copays.
• HDHP combined with a health savings account with a contribution from SAS (no access to on-site health care center).
• Onsite Health Care Center (HQ) that’s free to employees and family members enrolled in the PPO plan.
• There's a pharmacy too! Not local to HQ? The pharmacy will ship prescriptions for no additional charge!
• An industry-leading 401k plan.
• Tuition Assistance Program and programs and resources to support your development.
• Generous time away including vacation time, a variety of paid holidays, and our much-loved U.S. Winter Wellness Break between December 25 and January 1.
• Volunteer Time Off, parental leave and unlimited paid sick days.
• Generous childcare benefits for all full-time employees.