Technical Director
AREA 35 and SAFEHOUSE are multidisciplinary Japanese studios working across game development, real-time animation, and advanced digital human and visualization technologies. Our work spans consumer games, AAA Japanese studio collaborations, animated media, enterprise visualization, and hyper-real real-time production, including digital human systems such as ENHUMAN.
We are seeking a Technical Director who can operate at the intersection of Unreal Engine-based game development and real-time cinematic and animation pipelines. This role is responsible for defining and maintaining technical standards, building robust pipelines, and leading technical teams across both interactive and non-interactive real-time production.
This is a senior, hands-on role based in our Tokyo office, working closely with art, engineering, production, and leadership teams across both AREA 35 and SAFEHOUSE.
This is an in-office position in Tokyo, Japan.
Key Responsibilities
- Define and own the technical direction for Unreal Engine-based game projects and real-time animation and visualization pipelines.
- Lead and mentor Technical Artists, Engineers, and Pipeline Developers across both interactive and cinematic teams.
- Design, implement, and maintain scalable pipelines for real-time rendering, animation, digital humans, and hyper-real visual production.
- Oversee the development of custom shaders, materials, rigging systems, and rendering techniques to support both stylized and photoreal output.
- Extend Unreal Engine functionality using C++, Python, and internal tooling to support production efficiency and visual quality.
- Establish performance and quality standards across platforms and real-time targets, balancing fidelity and runtime constraints.
- Collaborate with production and leadership to assess technical risk, scope, and feasibility during planning and execution.
- Document workflows, create technical standards, and train teams on pipelines and best practices.
- Present technical strategy and implementation plans to internal leadership, clients, and external partners when required.
Requirements
- Deep, hands-on expertise with Unreal Engine, including rendering, Blueprints, shaders, animation systems, and engine-level customization.
- Proven experience leading technical teams in game development, real-time animation, or high-end visualization environments.
- Strong background in real-time rendering pipelines, performance optimization, and cross-platform deployment.
- Experience designing and maintaining rigging, animation, and character or digital human pipelines that integrate cleanly with Unreal Engine.
- Advanced programming skills in C++, Python, or other relevant languages used in game and tools development.
- Ability to translate creative goals into stable, scalable technical solutions.
- Strong communication skills, with the ability to work across art, engineering, production, and external stakeholders.
- Bachelor's Degree or equivalent, or 10 years working in the games industry in any capacity (required for Japanese VISA eligibility).
Preferred Skills
- Experience with hyper-real or digital human production pipelines, facial capture, performance capture, or high-fidelity character systems.
- Background in real-time cinematic production, virtual production, or animation workflows.
- Familiarity with building internal tools and technical standards for multi-project, multi-team environments.
- Pre-existing Japanese language skills equivalent of JLPT N2+
heavily
preferred.
Work Conditions and Benefits
- Competitive base salary
- Twice yearly bonuses
- National Health Insurance and Pension support (社会保険) in Japan
- Japanese VISA Sponsorship for foreign applicants
- Working hours under Japan's Discretionary Labor System
- No regular overtime
- Paid Holidays + Public Holidays
- Paid commute while residing in Japan (by public transport)
How to Apply
Interested candidates, please email your Resume/CV to , along with documentation of pertinent qualifications and referrals. We also request a portfolio or demo reel showcasing relevant technical work to be submitted via cloud storage. Applicants are responsible for ensuring submitted materials do not breach any existing NDAs or copyrights.
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