ANIMATOR JOB DESCRIPTION

Gameplay animation spans the full spectrum from blocking a combat idle to shipping a motion-captured traversal system in a AAA title. Without an Animator who owns character performance end-to-end, teams ship stiff NPCs, broken state machines, and animation bugs that surface only in gold review. The Animator is the person who prevents that, taking human character acting from concept through in-engine implementation, working directly under an Animation Lead or Director within a multidisciplinary art team. This role demands equal command of keyframe craft and real-time engine logic.

As the Animator, you translate creative and design intent into believable, responsive character performances across gameplay and cinematic contexts, owning your assets from initial blocking through final in-engine polish. You sit within the animation department and collaborate daily with Technical Artists, Gameplay Programmers, and designers to hit both quality benchmarks and production milestones.

Career Impact: Shipping gameplay animations for a AAA title, especially across NPC, combat, and 3C systems, establishes a portfolio body of work that Senior Animator and Animation Lead roles are directly assessed against.

Business Impact: Player experience in action and simulation titles is measured substantially through character feel; the Animator's work on movement responsiveness and acting fidelity determines whether a character reads as alive or mechanical to millions of players.

Growth Opportunity: Hands-on ownership of animation state machines and motion capture pipelines builds the technical depth that Principal Animator and Animation Director tracks require, expanding your scope from craft execution to system authorship.

• Develop keyframe character animations for gameplay systems, including combat, traversal, and NPC behavior, maintaining consistent acting quality from block-out through final polish.
• Implement animation assets and state machines in a real-time game engine, ensuring technical constraints and naming conventions are met.
• Collaborate with Gameplay Programmers and Designers to support tuning, balance, and design goal fulfillment across character animation systems.
• Integrate and process motion capture data, blending mocap performance with hand-keyed refinement to achieve the target artistic direction.
• Review and verify animation content against visual targets and engine performance requirements, identifying and resolving bugs in coordination with other disciplines.
• Document animation implementations, maintain asset tracking, and contribute technical knowledge-sharing to the broader animation team.
• Mentor junior team members in animation best practices and proactively surface pipeline improvements to leads.

• Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts, Animation, or a related field, or equivalent work experience.
• 3 or more years of character animation experience in game development, with demonstrated ownership of in-engine implementation.
• Proficient understanding of animation state machine design within a real-time engine environment.
• Strong foundational knowledge of traditional animation principles, including timing, weight, staging, and full-body acting.
• Demonstrated ability to process and refine motion capture data alongside hand-keyed animation workflows.
• Solid understanding of character rigging and skinning as it relates to animation production constraints.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to give and receive direct feedback within a multidisciplinary team.
• Proven ability to manage personal task workload, meet milestones, and flag scope concerns proactively.

• Experience shipping at least one title in the AAA action, simulation, or open-world genre.
• Knowledge of scripting languages such as MEL or Python as applied to animation pipeline tooling.
• Familiarity with Motion Matching technology and its application to NPC and character locomotion systems.
• Experience using production tracking software within a game development pipeline.

• Animation asset completion rate per milestone, measured against the team's sprint deliverable count.
• Bug count attributable to animation implementation, tracked per weekly integration build.
• Mocap session-to-game turnaround time, reflecting processing and integration speed for captured performances.
• State machine iteration cycles before design sign-off, indicating alignment between animation logic and gameplay requirements.
• Peer review pass rate on submitted shots before lead revision, measuring craft consistency.
• Typical tools: 3D animation software (commonly Maya or 3ds Max); game engine editors (commonly Unreal Engine); production tracking (commonly Jira or Shotgun).

• Base Salary Range: $75,000 to $110,000 annually, depending on seniority and studio size
• Bonus: Annual performance bonus, typically 5-10% of base salary
• Equity: Stock options or profit-sharing at mid-to-large studios; rare at independent studios
• Health Benefits: Medical, dental, and vision coverage; employer contribution varies by studio
• PTO: 15-20 days annually, plus studio holidays and crunch recovery time
• Common Perks: Remote or hybrid scheduling, game library access, professional development budget

Figures are estimates based on general US market benchmarks and may be outdated. Adjust based on location, company size, and seniority level.

Work authorization in the United States is required, and employment is contingent on successful completion of a background check. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state, or local law. Applicants requiring a reasonable accommodation to participate in the hiring process are encouraged to request one at the time of application.

The Animator owns the creation and iteration of human character animations spanning full body acting, state machine design, and in-engine implementation within a pre-production game development environment. Reporting to Senior Animators and the Animation Director, this role delivers high-quality content that advances both visual targets and technical prototyping goals.

Key Responsibilities

• Work with Animation Lead and Director to create high-quality keyframe animation with heavy emphasis on full-body character acting.
• Produce content under tight game development deadlines.
• Collaborate with technical and art disciplines to solve implementation challenges and fulfill design goals.
• Estimate and provide scoping options for content.
• Design animation assets and state machines using a proprietary engine.
• Present implementation strategies alongside other contributors.
• Use Maya and art tools to implement animated characters and objects in a proprietary engine.
• Use proprietary engine and pre-vis tools to technically verify animation content for self and others.
• Work with other disciplines to solve complex game bugs and maintain and track related animation assets.
• Create technical documentation and hold focused discussions to spread knowledge across the animation team.

Required Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience as a Gameplay Animator working with and designing animation state machines in Unity, Unreal, or similar.
• Exceptional keyframe animation skill with a primary emphasis on full-body character acting.
• Proficient understanding of both game animation and in-engine state machine design, with excellent technical comprehension of game animation implementation.
• Experience in the Simulation genre and with motion capture processes.
• Comfortable creating entertaining acting performances as a reference for animations.
• Experience with Atlassian Confluence, Jira, Shotgun, or similar tools.
• Excellent collaboration skills with a passion for working across diverse groups and learning new workflows, processes, and technology.

Embedded within the animation team, the Senior Gameplay Animator develops and manages an animation vision and production plan spanning NPCs, 3Cs, combat systems, and live-product foundations for a current-generation title. Working closely with the Animation Director, Lead Character Artist, Lead Technical Artist, Game Designers, and Gameplay Programmers, this role advances the studio's player experience through innovation, mentorship, and cross-platform animation quality.

Leadership Responsibilities

• Work with the team to develop and manage an animation vision and production plan capable of delivering upon the promise of the game.
• Stay current with bleeding-edge animation trends in video game development and evangelize ideas that innovate both the player experience and the product.
• Produce, maintain, and optimize gameplay animation graphs for NPCs, 3Cs, combat, and related systems.
• Work with Animation Director, Lead Character Artist, and Lead Technical Artist to design, implement, and communicate best practices to the entire art team.
• Collaborate with Game Designers and Gameplay Programmers to prototype and build gameplay systems, including 3C, combat, and NPC.
• Support and improve the integration of animation assets into the game engine.
• Mentor team members in animation best practices and proactively identify opportunities and risks to improve team output and studio knowledge.
• Ensure animation supports a seamless cross-platform experience and maintains a live product foundation capable of regular updates and key changes.

Qualifications & Experience

• At least 8 years of professional AAA game development experience, with at least one AAA action title and one current-generation title shipped.
• Passion for innovation, especially in the design and development of open-world games.
• A portfolio of visionary, industry-leading animation demonstrating direction and capacity to execute on large-scale projects.
• Proven ability to define and manage animation direction and roadmap for large-scale projects.
• Proficient with Unreal Engine, 3ds Max, Maya, and MotionBuilder.
• Strong knowledge of animation principles, artistic eye, and troubleshooting skills.
• Excellent teamwork, verbal, and visual communication skills with a positive attitude and openness to new ideas.

Reporting to the Incubation team leadership, the Principal Animator delivers responsive combat and traversal animations across a wide range of styles and fidelities as the studio prototypes, refines, and deploys gameplay systems. Partnering with combat designers and engineers, this role shapes animation production processes and team productivity within a fast-iteration game development environment.

Strategic Responsibilities

• Deliver responsive combat and traversal animations, working closely with combat designers and engineers.
• Plan, commit to deliverables, and manage goals within regular milestones and deadlines.
• Ensure open communication flow with all team members.
• Continually refine animation production processes to increase team productivity.
• Document animation processes and track tasks throughout the game development cycle.
• Work in a range of styles from cartoony to realistic and maintain the appropriate style across a project.
• Stay current on industry trends in animation, rigging, modeling, and texturing.

Skills & Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in character animation for games, with 2+ years as a Lead or Senior.
• Strong understanding of traditional animation fundamentals and all areas of character creation, including mesh, texturing, skinning, and IK.
• Strong background with hand-keyed animations and melee combat, with experience in modern real-time game engines.
• Familiar with Unreal Engine, with knowledge of MEL scripting and Motion Matching technology.
• Highly motivated and able to self-direct as an individual contributor.
• Strong communication skills, positive attitude, and ability to manage stressful situations as a team player.

Sitting at the intersection of rigging and real-time animation pipeline engineering, the Tech Animator collaborates with animators, artists, designers, and gameplay programmers to deliver characters and weapons that are satisfying to play and technically robust for a AAA VR title. Operating across authoring and real-time pipelines, this role builds and maintains Maya-based scripted rig systems and Unreal Engine integrations that raise character quality and production efficiency.

Technical Responsibilities

• Collaborate with animators, artists, designers, and gameplay programmers to deliver characters that are satisfying to play and engaging to look at.
• Set up characters and weapons in Unreal Engine for integration into gameplay.
• Utilize tools and techniques from both authoring and real-time pipelines to deliver highly functional, dynamic, and robust assets.
• Develop rigging and deformation solutions using a Maya-based scripted rig build system.
• Develop and maintain animation and asset tools to improve efficiency of the rigging, deformation, and animation pipeline in Maya.

Requirements

• 3+ years of experience in games or related fields.
• Expert knowledge of Maya tools and architecture, with working experience in Unreal Engine, including Blueprints.
• Proficient with Python scripting in Maya, with solid math skills including matrices and vectors.
• Comfortable problem-solving in both DCC and Unreal Engine while wearing multiple hats.
• Strong self-management and communication skills across multiple departments.
• Passion for games and enthusiasm for the future of VR.

A key member of the CG production team, the 3D Character Animator creates high-level animation for characters, creatures, and elements used in final compositing, ensuring realism, weight, and visual continuity across all assets. Collaborating with other artists and reporting to 3D Leads and Supervisors, this role enables cohesive storytelling and production-ready output across games and related media.

Core Functions

• Animate a wide variety of characters, creatures, and elements to show realism and weight.
• Handle hands-on operation of CG workstations and report to 3D Leads and Supervisors.
• Design and execute high-level animation for use in final compositing.
• Consult with other artists to maintain continuity and a cohesive overall look.
• Animate using effective storytelling skills through knowledge of camera angles and framing shots.

Experience & Qualifications

• 3+ years in a 3D animation role with a strong portfolio covering characters, monsters, and animals.
• Experience rigging and animating for games.
• Experience using UE4 and Maya animation tools.
• Solid experience with Shotgun and familiarity working within a production pipeline.
• Demonstrated ability to produce high-quality animation showing weight and solid body mechanics with strong keyframe skills.
• Knowledge of anatomy, physics, and human and creature motion.
• Ability to take direction, communicate effectively with team and management, and work in a fast-paced environment.

High-quality first-person and gameplay animations shape the competitive player experience that the Animator at Ubisoft Studio San Francisco builds for XDefiant, crafting hand-keyed and motion-capture-refined assets across weapons, characters, and cinematic sequences. Based within a cross-functional studio team and collaborating directly with the Animation Lead, Director, designers, and engineers, this role serves as the connective point between creative vision, gameplay tuning, and pipeline improvement.

Primary Duties

• Work with the Animation Lead and Director to develop gameplay animations.
• Animate assets for use in game as well as some cinematic work.
• Work closely with Design and other departments to facilitate gameplay tuning, balance, and user-facing expectations.
• Collaborate with artists and engineers to ensure the highest quality output.
• Create work from scratch through polish and take on and refine data in various states of progress.
• Interact with Technical Artists and Technical Animators to define character animation pipeline needs and improvements.
• Develop and adhere to quality review processes and exchange feedback with others in open forums.

Technical Qualifications

• Mid-level experience in game, film, or commercial animation with extensive first-person weapon game experience.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with cross-functional teams.
• Experience implementing animations in game and working with motion capture.
• Experience with Maya and/or 3DS Max and MotionBuilder.
• Deep understanding of anatomy and motion.
• Strong prioritization and task management skills to meet deadlines with clear communication.

As the Animator at d3t, this role leads the creation of world-class character animations across a variety of games, taking work from initial block-out through final in-game polish for both gameplay and cinematic scenes. The animation team relies on this work to maintain consistency between creative vision and final output while building pipeline documentation, mentoring junior talent, and upholding technical constraints across all deliverables.

Ownership Areas

• Help create world-class character animations on a variety of games.
• Create highly polished animations from initial block-out through to final polish in-game.
• Create high-quality animations for both in-game and cinematic scenes with a strong understanding of anatomy, motion, and camera composition.
• Ensure animation work meets all technical constraints and adhere to guidelines for naming conventions, texture layering structures, and folders.
• Respond to animation direction effectively and assist in providing and implementing feedback.
• Maintain an organised approach, stick to schedules, update Jira, and communicate progress promptly.
• Keep up to date with industry advancements and share knowledge with the animation team.
• Work with Animation Leads to ensure consistency between initial vision and final animations.
• Add to the library of tutorials, documents, and technical guides to improve pipeline efficiency and proactively find solutions to technical issues.
• Mentor Junior Animators.

Position Requirements

• Strong animation skills demonstrated through a show reel.
• Proficiency in Maya/3DS Max, UE4/Unity, Excel, and Jira.
• Practical and methodical approach to technical and creative problem-solving, including experience in mentoring and sharing knowledge with junior team members.
• Good communication and organisation skills with confidence working within a multidisciplinary animation team.
• Flexible and calm approach with the ability to adapt to change.
• Ability to deliver quality work within fixed time constraints.
• Passion for staying up to date with the latest game animation techniques.

Technical Animator integrates cinematics and gameplay animation content from Maya and MotionBuilder into the game engine while building tools, documenting workflows, and communicating across departments to uphold animation quality and artistic integrity. Success in the position means maintaining effective relationships with animation directors, leads, and stakeholders so that production environments run efficiently and animation content meets both technical and aesthetic standards.

Project Responsibilities

• Integrate cinematics and gameplay animation content into the game engine.
• Provide creative and technical problem-solving to deliver efficient, quality animation content.
• Define, estimate, and prioritize tasks in a well-organized manner.
• Document workflows, technical processes, and tools.
• Communicate effectively across multiple departments and disciplines.
• Provide animation support to content creators as required.
• Create basic tools and utilities.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• 2+ years of animation industry experience creating game content.
• Proficient in Maya and MotionBuilder, with proven ability to integrate animation content into game engines.
• Knowledge of body and facial production rigs.
• Experience in Maya/MotionBuilder API and editor-based engines such as Unreal and Unity.
• Familiarity with C#, MEL, or Python.
• Experience with Qt/PySide.
• Experience designing, implementing, and maintaining animation content workflows as part of an end-to-end animation pipeline.

The Gameplay Animator produces lively, personality-driven animations for monsters and trainers in a 3D gaming environment, covering characters, creatures, props, vehicles, weapons, and objects with unique movement styles and attack behaviors. Collaborating with modelers, other artists, managers, and directors, this role advances project quality by researching visual styles, applying design guidelines, and staying current with rigging tools and animation methods.

Duties

• Animate characters, creatures, props, vehicles, weapons, and objects.
• Design simple and intuitive control mechanisms.
• Transfer blendshapes for characters.
• Develop animation composites and apply knowledge of animation layouts.
• Amend animations per instruction from designers and developers.
• Stay current with new tools and methods for rigging on animated projects.
• Research visual style, genre, and technologies to produce each project.
• Collaborate with modelers and other artists and attend meetings with managers and directors to discuss ongoing projects.
• Follow design guidelines, asset naming conventions, and other technical constraints.

Professional Experience

• 4 years of experience in animation in the gaming industry.
• Experience with rigging for characters and props is a plus, as is using motion capture data to produce AAA animations.
• Proficient in Blender, Maya, or equivalent animation tools.
• Strong problem-solving drive.
• Willingness to experiment with new approaches.

Reporting to the Outsource Animation Director, the Animator creates and implements character animation using mocap, keyframe, and in-engine tools, including specialized work on winged creatures, in collaboration with Designers, Technical Animators, Programmers, VFX Artists, Audio Designers, and Production Partners. Working closely with this cross-disciplinary team, the Animator develops animation that fully realizes characters in-game and supports external partner feedback cycles.

Functions

• Create and implement character animation using mocap, keyframe, and in-engine tools.
• Animate winged creatures.
• Iterate and refine animation based on both aesthetics and feel.
• Collaborate with Designers, Technical Animators, Programmers, VFX Artists, Audio Designers, and Production Partners to fully realize characters in-game.
• Work with the Outsource Animation Director to provide feedback to external partners.

Education & Experience

• Diploma or degree in Fine Arts, Animation, Graphic Design, or equivalent experience.
• 2+ years of related industry experience.
• Strong traditional animation skills with the ability to apply them to gameplay systems.
• Proficiency in Maya or similar software and runtime engine animation workflows.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Self-motivated, collaborative attitude in a team environment.
• Strong attention to detail.

Sitting at the intersection of open-source software production and high-quality animated feature filmmaking, the Animator at Tangent Animation develops character performances in Blender that serve each scene's story purpose while meeting studio quality standards and weekly delivery quotas. Operating across collaboration with team members, leads, supervisors, and producers, this role advances the studio's artistic output by proactively troubleshooting problems and continuously growing animation craft.

Activities

• Understand assigned scenes and their story purpose, then create animated character performances that effectively serve that purpose.
• Work collaboratively with team members, leads, supervisors, and producers to meet assigned weekly quotas efficiently.
• Deliver animated performances that meet studio quality standards while adhering to given deadlines.
• Revise shots as directed.
• Learn from peers and strive to grow artistically.
• Proactively recognize problems and troubleshoot solutions.

Minimum Qualifications

• Minimum of 2 years of animation experience producing quality work with high-end 3D animation tools for film and television.
• Demonstrated knowledge of animation timing, posing, lip sync, acting, and storytelling techniques.
• Solid proficiency in animating in Blender is an asset, along with experience using Shotgun.
• Thorough understanding of all aspects of animation, including rigging.
• High level of creativity and willingness to participate in a team environment.
• Detail-oriented, organized, and able to independently handle a variety of tasks efficiently.
• Good communication skills.

A key member of a multi-disciplinary team, the 3D Animator delivers character, camera, and object animations for real-time and pre-calculated sequences in line with project creative direction, technology constraints, and quality benchmarks. Collaborating with other departments to balance design intent and engine limitations, this role enables final high-quality animation output from scratch, pre-designed drafts, or motion capture footage.

Delivery Expectations

• Deliver work in accordance with the artistic direction of the project.
• Work alongside other departments to understand both design intent and engine limitations and deliver the best functional animations possible.
• Animate characters, cameras, or objects for real-time or pre-calculated sequences.
• Integrate animations into the game while ensuring technical constraints are met.
• Deliver animatics and quick draft animations to proof ideas.
• Produce final high-quality animation from scratch, pre-designed drafts, or motion capture footage.
• Participate in the creation of in-game animations and cinematic sequences.
• Share experience and help less experienced team members.

Required Qualifications

• Knowledge of a 3D package such as 3DS Max, Character Studio, or MotionBuilder.
• Good knowledge and experience in keyframing to produce convincing, realistic, and well-timed animations.
• Good understanding of animation principles, including timing, weight, and staging, as well as acting fundamentals.
• Good rigging skills with an understanding of all aspects of character rigging and skinning.
• Good understanding of motion capture technique and mo-cap data processing.
• Very good artistic skills with enthusiasm for game development.
• English at an intermediate level or higher.

Brand consistency and direct response performance across digital platforms depend on the Animator at CAFU, who develops storyboards, creates multiple design drafts, and finalizes animation projects spanning traditional, 3D, and 2D vector techniques. Based within the in-house brand and creative team and collaborating with teams and stakeholders throughout the approval process, this role ensures each animation fits the specific requirements of its target social or digital platform.

Operational Focus

• Understand CAFU's specific creative brief and develop ideas to fit each digital platform.
• Understand which design techniques provide the most effective solution for each stated business problem.
• Develop storyboards as required.
• Create multiple design drafts and collaborate with teams and stakeholders for final direction.
• Utilize industry animation tools and methods to finalize animation projects.
• Work collaboratively with brand and creative team members to ensure consistency and accuracy of deliverables.

Qualifications & Experience

• 2 to 3 years of experience drawing and animating.
• Proven ability to draw across different artistic styles and implement various animation techniques, including traditional, 3D, and 2D vector animation.
• General computer literacy, including experience with Windows, MacOS, and common productivity tools.
• Comfortable presenting and explaining animations, storyboards, and designs to stakeholders.
• Attention to detail.
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively to fulfill project demands.

As the Animator at Larian Studios, this role creates charming and believable in-game animations for creatures and assets of all scales while maintaining the established animation style across polish and bug-fixing stages of production. The animation team relies on this work to meet deadlines, sustain emotionally engaging world-building, and uphold quality through a cycle of peer feedback and ongoing collaboration with designers.

Key Deliverables

• Understand and maintain the animation style of the game.
• Meet deadlines and vocalize obstacles and needs to the team lead.
• Give and receive peer feedback as part of a team.
• Create charming and believable in-game animations from the largest creature to the smallest asset.
• Partner with designers to help create an emotionally engaging world.
• Maintain animations through polish and bug fixing.

Skills & Qualifications

• Proficient with Autodesk Maya.
• Strong understanding of animation fundamentals, techniques, and acting and staging principles.
• Knowledge of game development processes, limitations, and character and animation pipeline problem-solving.
• Knowledge of Python and MEL.
• Excellent written and verbal English skills.
• Ability to collaborate and give and receive feedback in a studio environment.

Bring a demo reel showcasing animation work and a passion for video games.

Reporting to the Art Manager and Animation Director, the Animator refines an animation style that enhances the visual art direction of the game across stylized vehicles, characters, and creatures for gameplay and cutscene sequences built in Unreal 4. Partnering with Technical Art, Animation, and off-site development partners, this role strengthens pipeline procedures and drives innovation in character and creature animation quality.

Accountabilities

• Bring life and emotion to stylized vehicles, characters, and creatures.
• Develop an animation style that enhances the visual art style of the game.
• Help design, construct, document, and implement pipeline procedures.
• Create both gameplay and cutscene animations.
• Work with Technical Art and Animation to implement animations and animation systems.
• Help support off-site development partners and assist the Art Manager in planning within this discipline.
• Collaborate with the Art Director to deliver innovation and drive quality.

Background & Experience

• BA in art or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• 2+ years of production art experience in the gaming industry with at least 2 published games, including at least one released title built in Unreal 4.
• Proven ability to create exceptional stylized and realistic keyframe animation for characters, creatures, and vehicles across gameplay systems.
• Proficient with Autodesk Maya and experienced with animation systems such as blueprints and state machines, with strong ownership of animation quality from source to engine.
• Good understanding of game animation pipelines, optimization, and asset management.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to give and receive critique professionally.
• Strong organizational and self-management skills around individual and team tasks, schedules, and budgets.
• Understanding of expressive storytelling with a passion for making and playing games, and awareness of current industry trends.