System Era Jobs

Working At System Era

System Era Softworks is an independent game development studio located in Seattle, WA. We are always looking for talented and passionate people to join our team as we build Astroneer and beyond.

System Era is an equal opportunity employer and we value diversity at our studio. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We look for candidates who are eager to join a team with a varied set of backgrounds, experiences, interests, and viewpoints.

Current Open Positions

Lead 3D Artist

System Era is searching for a Lead 3D Artist to join our creative team and help shape the vibrant worlds of Astroneer!

As Lead 3D Artist you will be navigating a sea of possibilities alongside a team of artist all working together to bring exciting new worlds and features to life within Astroneer. Requiring a balance between advanced content creation, team leadership, and feature management, this role lives at the heart of the modeling team and provides the opportunity to truly guide Astroneer into the future. You will be responsible for creating a wide variety of artwork while supporting the production and planning of new features across every stage of development. Covering things such as prop and vehicle modeling all the way through environment planning and design. Discipline leads from across the team will be your close collaborators as you work together to leverage the unique procedural tools and experiences of Astroneer to create meaningful experiences for the player. A keen eye for detail and excellent communication skills will be critical as you work with your team of artists to maintain the games iconic style with each new feature or update.

And the creative sandbox of Astroneer is not just limited to our players, as part of the System Era art team you will have the opportunity to blaze new trails when it comes to the modeling tools and techniques used in the creation of new content. The beautifully unique art style was born out of a desire to keep the art creation process fun and efficient, and that still holds true today. On this journey you will be collaborating with a highly motivated team of individuals who are each responsible for contributing to the growth and well-being of the project and studio through open and honest discussion.

For this position, we prefer to hire a candidate willing to work in a hybrid model, spending regular time onsite at our office in Seattle, WA and relocation assistance is available for the move to Washington state. However, as System Era supports a variety of work routines to match the needs of our team, for an exceptional candidate we would consider permanent remote work within the US and Canada.

Compensation package includes salary, benefits with full medical and dental coverage for employee and dependents, 401k with company match, participation in profit sharing, equity plans, and discretionary bonuses. The base salary range for this position is $125,000-$135,000 depending on the skills and experience of the candidate. We look for candidates who value joining a team with diverse backgrounds, experiences, interests, and viewpoints, so we encourage you to apply even if you don’t meet every qualification, as long as you believe you have something positive to contribute. Applications for this position will close at 9am PDT on 10/16/2023. We will notify candidates of their application status shortly after that date.

Qualifications

  1. 8+ Years of game industry experience as a 3D artist.
  2. 3+ Years of experience in a leadership role.
  3. Online portfolio with high quality examples that showcase an array of different asset types with a focus on hard surface sci-fi aesthetics or heavily stylized content.
  4. Demonstrated ability to own and manage large areas of content or feature development.
  5. Experience managing a team of artists or collaborators working on a shared feature set.
  6. Excellent understanding of 3D game asset pipelines including modeling, texturing, material construction, optimization, and engine integration
  7. Strong understanding of artistic fundamentals and a solid use of color, composition, and form .
  8. Expert proficiency with 3D Studio Max, Photoshop, and Unreal Engine 4 or 5 (or equivalent programs)
  9. Self-motivated, excellent communication skills, and the ability to provide mentorship and instruction.
  10. Experience working with offsite team members or outsource partners.
  11. Ability to quickly iterate and adapt when in collaborative work scenarios.

Responsibilities

  1. Internalize the project's visual direction and work to maintain a cohesive style across all relevant game assets.
  2. Create and implement a wide variety of complex props, vehicles, environments, and other supporting assets.
  3. Share map ownership responsibilities with with the design team.
  4. Lead a team of artists and help establish strong collaborative relationships with other disciplines.
  5. Manage art content needs across the project in close collaboration with the production team.
  6. Help maintain a high standard of asset quality and efficiency through team reviews and feedback sessions.
  7. Drive new feature development in collaboration with other discipline leads to ensure that art content meets gameplay, narrative, and performance goals.
  8. Work with Art Director to establish visual systems and guidelines for the creation of new content families that extend the visual language of the project.
  9. Create documentation or proposals for new techniques or systems to help increase art quality and efficiency.
  10. Support ongoing development by actively participating in design reviews, playtests, and feedback sessions.
  11. Work directly with external partners on the creation of specialized or supplemental outsource game assets.

Nice To Have

  1. Solid understanding of Astroneer’s art style.
  2. Animation skills and an ability to create assets with final animation in mind.
  3. Some competency in 2D art software like Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.
  4. Experience with VFX pipelines and asset creation.
  5. An interest in science fiction, aerospace, and space exploration.
Apply to: Lead 3D Artist Position

Senior 3D Artist

System Era is looking for a highly motivated Senior 3D Artist with a well-rounded skill set to join the team and help shape the future of Astroneer. Coming from a strong generalist background, the ideal candidate should be ready to hit the ground running in order to start creating a wide variety of content. Art tasks may range from creating bizarre alien plants to near future visions of space faring technology and even striking Astroneer suit cosmetics. We are looking for someone who is extremely creative, not only in terms of their artistic abilities, but also when tackling new challenges. As a Senior artist on the team it is expected that this person can also work effectively and efficiently with minimal oversight. The team at System Era is highly collaborative, so in addition to your creative toolkit you’ll need strong communication and interpersonal skills. Each member of the team is responsible for contributing to the growth and well being of the project and studio through open and honest discussion.

While we prefer working in a hybrid model, System Era supports a variety of work routines to match the needs of our team, including permanent remote work within the US and Canada.

Compensation package includes salary, benefits with full medical and dental coverage for employee and dependents, 401k with company match, participation in profit sharing and equity plans, discretionary bonuses, as well as relocation assistance for those interested in moving to Washington state. The base salary range for this position is $100,000-$115,000 depending on the skills and experience of the candidate. We look for candidates who value joining a team with a diverse set of backgrounds, experiences, interests, and viewpoints so we encourage you to apply even if you don’t meet every qualification, as long as you believe you have something positive to contribute.

Applications for this position will close at 9am PDT on 10/09/2023 We will notify candidates of their application status shortly after that date.

Qualifications

  1. Proficient with 3D Studio Max, Photoshop, Unreal Engine 4
  2. Solid generalist with proficiency in organic models, hard surface, characters, etc.
  3. Strong understanding of 3D game asset pipelines including modeling, texturing, and integration.
  4. Can interpret artistic direction and work within a set art style, with or without concept designs.
  5. Able to create high quality assets that effectively communicate complex gameplay goals.
  6. Solid understanding of Unreal Engine material graphs.
  7. Strong visual design sensibilities and a general understanding of UX design.
  8. Good time management skills and an ability to balance content quality with roadmap goals.
  9. Self-motivated, strong communication skills and capable of problem solving creative challenges.
  10. Comfortable working in a smaller studio and taking on a wide variety of tasks.
  11. Effectively handle feedback and be able to respond in a meaningful way.

Responsibilities

  1. Collaborate with the Art Director to maintain a consistent visual style for all Astroneer content.
  2. Work closely with the art, design, and engineering teams to create new content for Astroneer.
  3. Act as feature owner for specific art focused features or content sets
  4. Provide constructive feedback to other members of the art team, both internally and externally.
  5. Refine and integrate existing and outsourced assets while maintaining quality goals.
  6. Serve as a representative for the art team in planning and implementation discussions.
  7. Work with leads and production to track and estimate tasks
  8. Create and maintain documentation on various content systems or features
  9. Actively engage in playtest sessions and provide quality feedback about the experience.

Nice To Have

  1. 5+ Years industry experience.
  2. In depth understanding of Astroneer’s art style.
  3. Basic understanding of Unreal Engine Blueprint system.
  4. Basic animation skills and an ability to create assets with final animation in mind.
  5. Traditional or digital 2D illustration skills.
  6. An interest in science fiction, aerospace, and space exploration
Apply to: Senior 3D Artist Position

Contact Us

For business inquiries, contact us here. For all Astroneer related questions please go to our support page.