Studio: Firesprite
Job Opening: Lead Gameplay Animator
Location: Liverpool, United Kingdom – Remote
Type: Full-Time
Responsibilities:
- Be the voice for the Gameplay Animation team.
- Work with the Art Directors and Art Leads to shape and uphold the project direction/vision.
- Deliver that vision for features and animation systems and empower feature owners and members of the animation team to do so.
- Work with related teams on block-out to final animations & systems, that work seamlessly with non-gameplay animation where required.
- Establish clear and consistent schedules in conjunction with production and identify potential problems in the pipeline and work with other product owners to mitigate them.
- Mentor, motivate, collaborate with, and guide animators; Amplify their strengths, review their work on technical and aesthetic bases, and stay aware of their workloads.
- Create a welcoming and respectful atmosphere for collaboration, communication, and creativity.
- Interview, hire, and train new team members in collaboration with the Recruitment team.
Qualifications & Skills:
- Experience as a Lead Animator on at least one PC or console title.
- Solid knowledge of animation principles and an eye for dynamic poses, strong in keyframe animation and motion capture methods.
- A deep understanding of human behaviour, and a strong sense of expressing character through movement.
- Experienced in developing animation for game engines and movement systems; Working with motion capture data and relevant pipelines; working with Unreal Engine or similar.
- Experience with Motion Matching and State Machines development.
- Experience shooting and directing motion capture for gameplay animation.
- Excellent communication, organisational and interpersonal skills.
Desirable Skills:
- Experience in MotionBuilder.
- Knowledge of UE4 or similar engines.
- A passion for video games and an understanding of current trends in relation to animation.
- Experience mentoring and growing an animation department.
- Understanding of facial animation.
