IMPORTANT: Please note you will need to have working rights in Australia. At this stage, we cannot sponsor a working visa. This is an in-person, on-location, in-studio position.
Big Ant Studios is looking for a talented Junior UI Technical Artist who lives at the intersection of logic and layout. While our UI Artists focus on the look, you will focus on the how. This is a specialised role designed for someone who wants to kickstart their career in game dev by bringing sports interfaces to life, ensuring that complex data systems are implemented efficiently across console and PC.
You are the bridge between the Creative and Engineering teams. You will work side-by-side with UI Artists to understand the visual intent and the UI Programming Team to implement logic, animations, and data-binding. Under the guidance of our senior staff, you will learn to speak both “Art” and “Code,” ensuring that no design is too complex to be realised.
You have a keen eye for visual design but are deeply passionate about the technical side of implementation. You are a problem-solver who enjoys building scalable systems and finding the most efficient path from a design mock-up to a high-performance in-game interface.
How to Stand Out:
We want to see how you think. To stand out, please include a technical breakdown of a project in your portfolio (student work or personal projects are welcome). Show us how you organised a UI hierarchy, how you handled a data-binding challenge, or share a script or tool you created to make your own design process faster.
Core Areas of Focus:
- Implementation Support: Learning to take high-fidelity mock-ups and translate them into functional, engine-ready UI layouts with a focus on clean logic.
- Data Integration: Working closely with UI Programmers and Artists to help hook up dynamic, data-driven elements like scoreboards and player stats.
- Pipeline Maintenance: Assisting in the maintenance of tools and workflows that streamline the journey from Figma/Photoshop into the game engine.
- Performance Awareness: Learning the ropes of UI profiling—helping ensure our interfaces are lightweight by assisting in draw call and memory optimisation for console.
Experience Required:
- 0-2 Years Experience: Industry experience is a plus, but a standout Graduate portfolio is equally valued.
- Technical Toolkit: Basic proficiency or high interest in XAML, C#, or JavaScript (or similar scripting languages).
- Artistic Foundation: Proficiency in Figma, Adobe Photoshop, and Illustrator to manipulate and prepare source assets.
- Communication: An ability to explain technical hurdles to artists and artistic requirements to programmers.
Bonus Experience:
- Animation & VFX: Basic knowledge of UI shaders, particle effects, or motion graphics implementation.
- Engineering: Any exposure to Unreal Engine (UMG), Unity (UI Toolkit/UGUI), or proprietary UI middleware.
- Automation: A curiosity for building custom scripts or actions to automate repetitive export tasks.
You also need to be:
- Flexible & Open-Minded: You thrive on feedback and are comfortable refining systems based on evolving technical requirements or engine changes.
- Driven & Accountable: You take ownership of the implementation pipeline, ensuring that the final in-game UI matches the high-quality vision of the art team.
- Solution-Oriented: You love solving puzzles. You are prepared for (and embrace) the technical complexities of making data-rich designs function flawlessly.
- Detail-Obsessed: You ensure pixel-perfect execution, catching the technical hitches, like clipping or text overflows, that others might miss.
- A Technical Navigator: You are innovative enough to find fresh, efficient ways to display massive amounts of data without compromising engine performance.
The Company:
Big Ant Studios is one of Australia’s oldest and most respected game developers.
With our flagship studio in Melbourne’s Southbank and our rapidly growing second home in the Adelaide CBD, we specialise in high-quality sports simulations. We continue to push the boundaries of what is possible in sports gaming on a global stage, leveraging the incredible talent across both Victorian and South Australian development hubs.
Benefits:
- Catered Lunches: Provided by the studio Monday to Thursday.
- Social Culture: Optional Breakfast and Dinner Fridays.
- Commuter Support: Yearly Myki cards (Melbourne Studio).
- Growth: Professional development and training support.
- Environment: A social, collaborative culture in a centralised workplace.
At Big Ant, we believe diverse perspectives and backgrounds are key to creating experiences everyone can enjoy. All applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.
REMINDER: *Applications will only be considered from those with existing Australian working rights.*
Please include links to your Portfolio and LinkedIn/Personal Website with your application.