Animation Director

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Job details

Opportunity to Work on the Most Prestigious AAA Franchise in the Game Industry!!

This Jobot Job is hosted by Kristin Ursua

Are you a fit? Easy Apply now by clicking the "Easy Apply" button and sending us your resume.

Salary $150,000 - $215,000 per year

A Bit About Us

We pride ourselves on attracting and developing the best talent available to concept, create, and contribute to the most exciting projects in gaming. Our 25-plus years of game development experience, as well as our combined AAA games industry pedigree, has established us as one of best studios to work for today.



Why join us?


Prestigious AAA Studio!!

100% Paid Health Benefits, Day 1!!!

401(k) matching!!

Flexible schedule!!

BEST Company Culture!!

Career Growth!!

Job Details

We’re looking for a visionary Animation Director to lead and inspire our team of talented animators, playing a pivotal role in defining the animation vision for our upcoming high-fidelity action-adventure titles. As the Animation Director, you will blend strategic leadership with hands-on contribution, directly influencing the gameplay experience through the execution of top-tier animations. This role offers a unique opportunity to shape the visual and interactive elements of our games, making a substantial impact on our projects.

We are an award winning AAA studio, looking for an Animation Director who can take on the challenge of directing and managing anything animation related to one of our prestigious titles. The job is to deliver full AAA quality in animation.

Responsibilities

• Drive the overarching animation vision in collaboration with the Creative Director and Art Director, ensuring the game's visual and interactive identity is maintained.
• Work in close partnership with Department Leads, Animators, and Designers to assess and meet the game's animation requirements.
• Lead and develop a team of skilled animators, directing the creation of high-fidelity game animations and systems.
• Deliver engaging combat and traversal animations in collaboration with combat designers and engineers.
• Set and manage team goals, aligning deliverables with project milestones and deadlines.
• Conduct and direct motion capture shoots for both gameplay and cinematic performances as needed.
• Manage, direct, and review co-developers and external vendors in different countries and time zones.
• Run full pipelines (both internal and external), from narrative / storyboard to fully implemented in-game shippable content.
• Utilize your team's diverse strengths to produce superior quality animations.
• Promote team growth through regular individual meetings, performance reviews, and targeted training.
• Foster a positive, collaborative team environment that values open communication and constructive feedback.
• Streamline animation processes to enhance team productivity throughout the game development cycle.
• Document and manage animation tasks and processes.
• Guide animators across various styles, ensuring a consistent animation approach throughout the project.
  
  

Education/Requirements

• Extensive experience in a leadership role within animation (Director, Lead, or Principal Animator) in the game development industry, particularly for high-fidelity action-adventure games.
• Demonstrated leadership abilities with a track record of nurturing and developing animation talent.
• In-depth understanding of gameplay systems, especially in 3rd person perspectives, including weapon, traversal, melee, and ranged combat animations.
• Expertise in animation trees, animation blending, and node-based animation editors.
• Proficiency in Motion Capture, Motion Matching, Maya, and real-time game engines/editors.
• A collaborative mindset, particularly in working with design and engineering teams.
• Examples of relevant work (i.e., demo reel, portfolio, or contributions to shipped title). An ideal reel will include
• Up to date examples of realistic animations that clearly demonstrate your skills/expertise
• Inclusion of a breakdown sheet detailing your specific contributions to each piece is highly recommended.
• Note If you directed others, then we would be looking for a director’s cut.
  
  

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Preference will be given to candidates who have

• Experience with cinematic tools in Unreal Engine.
  
  

It'll be a bonus if you also have

• Shipped 2+ AAA titles as an Animation Director.
  
  

MUST HAVES

• Gameplay animation – Experience working closely with the design department to blend world class animation performances with responsive and fun gameplay (particularly 3rd
  
  

person combat / traversal).

• Performance and cinematics – Experience in running full pipelines (both internal and external), from narrative / storyboard to fully implemented in-game shippable content.
• Motion capture pipeline - Experience conducting and directing shoots for both gameplay and cinematics.
• The Animation Director will Manage 1 Animator and work with an outsource studio.
  
  

Interested in hearing more? Easy Apply now by clicking the "Easy Apply" button.

Want to learn more about this role and Jobot?

Click our Jobot logo and follow our LinkedIn page!