Senior Technical Animator

THE OPPORTUNITY

Striking Distance Studios is looking for a Senior Technical Animator to work in a cooperative, cross-disciplinary team environment to push the boundaries of animation technology. You'll be on the forefront of our animation projects, bridging the gap between design and execution. 

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Collaborate with Animation, Design and Engineering to build out animation blueprints.
• Work closely with animators, and create first-pass animations as needed, to achieve their creative vision and support them when problems arise.
• Work closely with engineers to ensure Unreal animation blueprints are stable and performant.
• Contribute to the design, implementation, feedback, and maintenance of the animation and rigging pipelines. Develop scripts to expand upon and support these pipelines.
• Develop and optimize rigs for characters, weapons, vehicles, and props.
• Review the work of other technical animators and provide mentorship on your area of knowledge.
• Create physics assets for ragdoll simulations.
• Create and maintain documentation necessary to understand the functions involved in blueprints or other Unreal assets.
• Maintain consistent communication with the rest of the team, welcoming feedback and refining animation blueprints, rigs, or tools as necessary.
• Evaluate existing content and systems against future needs of the project.

QUALIFICATIONS

• At least one shipped title as a Technical Animator from start to finish within the gaming industry.
• 3+ years of experience using Unreal Engine 4/5.
• 1+ years of animation experience in a professional creative capacity, able to create first-pass animations that are usable in game.
• Advanced ability to be self-directed, focused and detail oriented.
• Strong proficiency in Maya.
• Experience owning features/leading systems from start to finish while driving animation implementation.
• Experience with software development (Python, C#, C++, ) and familiarity with Qt/PySide.
• In-depth understanding of character skinning techniques, weight painting, and deformations.
• Practical knowledge of Motion Capture data pipelines and workflows.
• Experience shipping games on current generation consoles (PS5 or XSX) and PC.
• Hands-on experience with version control systems like Perforce.
• Strong communication, collaboration, and problem-solving abilities.
• A demonstrable love / passion for playing and making video games.

Reasonable Accommodation

KRAFTON Americas is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, the Company will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations. If reasonable accommodation is needed to apply for an open position, perform essential job functions, and/or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please contact the HR Talent team at KRAFTON Americas, to begin the interactive process.

EEOC statement

KRAFTON Americas provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type.

In California, the expected salary range for this position is $124,000-$166,000. The listed expected salary range represents a good faith estimate and the actual pay may depend on a variety of job-related factors that can include experience, education, skills, and location.

Don’t meet every single requirement? 

Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply at jobs unless they meet every single qualification.  At Krafton we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway.  You might just be the right candidate for this or other roles.

Due to recent scams, our recruiters will only reach out to you via @sds.com, @krafton.com, @unknownworlds.com or @pubg.com. If you received an email and are unsure you can always email [email protected].