Lead Technical Animator - FPS

Lead Technical Animator / Character Rigging

Were you a fan of Wolfenstein back in the day? This was one of the few FPS shooter games that got me into video games in the first place. Looking at this picture makes me chuckle and I wonder, does anyone else thinks back to these days?

This nostalgic feeling was sparked because I am currently looking for a Lead Technical Animator for our client in Seattle, WA. Although they aren't creating a game set in World War II they are building a japanese cyberpunk first person shooter console game in Unreal Engine 4.

As Lead Character TD, you’ll be working with the Animation Director (a Powerhouse in the industry) and discipline leads to stand up animation style and vision for an exciting, unannounced title. If you've been looking for the chance to work elbow to elbow with some of this industry’s fiercest contributors, in a nimble, quality-driven environment, let’s talk!

What are the responsibilities for the position?

• Create and maintain animation rigs (characters and hard surface) in Maya
• Create tools and scripts that will help animators and artists to be more productive and efficient in production
• Work in collaboration with animators and artists, identifying and solving problems, to assist and maintain efficient production pipelines and workflows
• Provide technical support to the art and design teams
• Build and manage a small team of character TDs as the project evolves

What are the requirements for the position?

• Comprehensive Python and MEL scripting experience on shipped game titles or in a related field
• 8+ Years of experience in creating industry leading animation rigs, tools and pipelines
• 5+ Years of building and managing technical teams in the AAA space
• Extensive knowledge of Maya and creating flexible animation rigs to match the animation style (stylized and/or realistic characters) of the game
• Excellent knowledge of human and creature anatomy and muscle deformation as well as mechanical and hard surface systems
• Strong communication skills
• Experience with motion capture implementation and retargeting a plus
• UE4 experience a plus
• Must be authorized to work in the US

If you are interested or know of an awesome Tech Animator you think would love this, please feel free to reach out to me via my Linkedin.