Design Technologist, Robot Animation , Fauna

About the role

We are seeking a Design Technologist to define the expressive motion vocabulary that makes our robot feel alive. This role sits at the intersection of character animation and robotics.

Responsibilities

• Author expressive robot animations that articulate the robot's core personality: locomotion styles, conversational gesture, emotional reactions, interactive behaviors
• Partner closely with HRI researchers and robotics engineers to understand what the robot can physically do and what interactions need to feel like
• Work with motion capture to create base animations, then adapt and refine them for our robot's form factor and joint constraints
• Develop tools and workflows (Python, Blender/Maya scripting) to accelerate animation authoring and integrate with the robot's behavior pipeline
• Test animations on real hardware and iterate based on how they read in person, from all angles

Requirements

• Have an available online portfolio
• Experience with one or more of the following industry tools: 3D Studio Max, Maya, Photoshop, Zbrush, Substance, Unreal, Blender, etc
• 3+ years of professional experience in character animation, motion design, or technical animation
• Demonstrated ability to create expressive, personality-driven motion (demo reel required)
• Scripting ability in Python or equivalent for tooling, pipeline integration, and procedural animation
• Experience working within technical constraints (real-time engines, joint/physics limits, or hardware platforms)

Qualifications

• Experience with motion capture: directing sessions, cleaning data, retargeting to non-human characters
• Familiarity with real-time animation systems (state machines, blend trees, procedural layers)
• Experience animating for stylized characters (robots, creatures, mascots)
• Background in film, games, or themed entertainment where animation drives character personality

Skills

• Strong animation instincts — timing, weight, personality
• Technical fluency to work within the constraints of physical robots that must work in the real world

Benefits

Amazon offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance, 401(k) matching, paid time off, and parental leave. Learn more about our benefits at https://amazon.jobs/en/benefits.

Pay

The base salary range for this position is $145,000.00 - $196,100.00 USD annually.

Schedule

Not specified.