Studio: Sinn Studio Inc.
Job Opening: Senior Programmer – Animation (Gaming)
Location: Liberty Village, Toronto, Canada
Type: Full-Time
Responsibilities:
- Hands-on in programming animation features and systems in C++ and Blueprints.
- Help develop back-end systems for games, services, and tools.
- Engage in all facets of animation systems, covering engine features and gameplay integration, animation trees and graphs, dynamic objects, etc.
- Prototype and deliver on areas such as: combat, character locomotion, auto to facial synthesis, and movement mechanics.
- Support of integration and systems into engine such as APIs connecting industry standard software (may work with motion capture data).
- Building and maintaining any tools for animation related systems in Unreal (ie. with nodes, Animation Blueprints and Sequencer).
- Collaborate and communicate with a cross-disciplinary team to iterate on existing tools and features.
- Collaborate closely with other departments to implement essential components and ensure seamless integration.
- Liaise as a communication touch point for technical and non-technical translation within animation.
- Have a people-first approach, acting as a mentor for fellow programmers and encourage a support system that is task-forward.
- Maintain high-quality, clean code and documentation (including logging) throughout work.
- Maintain best practices and sustainable standards in coding.
- Actively contribute to the animation design and production of the game’s technical aspects.
- Think from both player’s and the game developer’s perspective for high impact throughout the production lifecycle.
- Demonstrate proactive initiative and an in-depth understanding of animation techniques.
- Help carry out the animation pipeline in a programming lens from concept to realization, adapting existing systems and pioneering new technology within Unreal Engine 5.
- Develop innovative animation technology and techniques, conducting research and sharing insights across teams.
- Explore coding techniques and algorithms, identify technical risks, and coordinate the implementation of new animation systems.
- Regular technical validation as well as testing between systems and modifications to respect conventions used.
- Champion streamlined best practices between animation and programming that produces quality results.
- Apply new techniques to increase team skill and output.
- Understand and analyze new industry practices and tooling.
- Navigate the unknown, tackling sophisticated problems and finding solutions adapted to the needs of the studio and its projects.
- Plan effectively for aligned progress to production needs and providing realistic updates.
- Proactively identify issues/risks, test, and debug often to mitigate their impact.
- Work with and help develop the interface to be used within Unreal Engine ( this may includes areas such as Blueprints).
- Ensure that solutions are intuitive, streamlined, and cross-platform.
- A focus on improving bandwidth via tools, memory consumption, performance and draw/API calls.
- Understand key learnings of XR elements for animation such as eye or finger tracking.
- Other related duties as required.
Qualifications & Skills:
- 5+ years of experience as a programmer in the games industry.
- 3+ years of proficient experience with C++ and Blueprint.
- 1+ years in mentorship (and/or leadership) capacity.
- Deep understanding and experience working with Unreal Engine 4 / 5.
- Ownership of modern techniques like Animation Layers and IK.
- Experience with animation techniques such as rigging, state machines, physics ragdolls, compression, facial animation, cinematics, as well as motion matching.
- Proficient in hair simulation, cloth, soft body, and GPU computing.
- Demonstrated ability and proficient grasp of animation-related systems in Unreal (ie. node-based, Animation Blueprints, and Sequencer).
- A good understanding of cross-platform game development requirements.
- Self-motivated to take initiative to obtain results.
- Ability to write robust, maintainable code.
- Reliable with strong attention to detail and problem-solving abilities.
- Creative, excited about innovation with a growth mindset.
- Agile and able to quickly iterate in a fluid environment.
- Ability to do code review and debugging.
- Extensive experience in writing, debugging, and optimizing C++ for real-time animation systems.
- Strong knowledge of game knowledge and design/animation principles.
- Knowledge of game pipeline lifecycle with experience working on at least one shipped game.
- Passion for creating immersive gaming experiences and delivering high-quality systems.
- Collaborative with technical and non-technical team members.
- Comfortable being in a virtual environment for varying times wearing a VR headset.
Added Advantages:
- Experience with VR / MR.
- Experience in a variety of game systems such as developing gameplay, player, and AI mechanics.
- Experience with R&D and machine learning in animation.
- PC and console experience preferred over mobile.
- Proficiency in Python.
- Passionate about games and working in the industry.
- Education in Computer Science, Animation, related fields, or equivalent experience.
