Senior Animator, Unannounced Super Fun Video Game (Contract)

About the role

We're building a PvE co-op action game with a small, highly autonomous team. Each discipline is represented by a single owner. There is no large animation department, dedicated technical animation team, or production layer separating disciplines. The people who thrive here are comfortable making decisions, solving problems independently, and moving work forward without extensive process or oversight. We care more about demonstrated capability than years of experience, previous titles, or studio pedigree. Show us great animation work, shipped games, side projects, game jam projects, mods, tools you've built, pipelines you've improved, or anything else that demonstrates your ability to create and ship great experiences.

Responsibilities

• Create high-quality character, gameplay, and combat animation.
• Bring personality, appeal, emotion, and charm to characters through performance and facial animation.
• Create responsive, readable, and satisfying gameplay animation that supports combat and player feedback.
• Rig, skin, and prepare assets for animation.
• Implement, iterate on, and polish animation directly in Unreal Engine.
• Work closely with Design and Engineering to improve gameplay feel, responsiveness, readability, and player experience.
• Cook with Character Art, Environment Art, and VFX to ensure assets integrate smoothly into the game.
• Identify bottlenecks and improve workflows through tooling, automation, technical solutions, or process improvements.
• Evaluate and leverage AI-assisted workflows when they meaningfully improve iteration speed, content creation, or production efficiency.
• Occasionally collaborate with external art partners to review deliverables, communicate feedback, and maintain quality standards.
• Own animation as a discipline from concept through final implementation.

Requirements

• A portfolio demonstrating exceptional animation work.
• Demonstrated strength in both character performance animation and gameplay animation.
• Strong understanding of character acting, facial expression, appeal, timing, and physicality.
• Strong understanding of gameplay readability, responsiveness, combat feel, and player feedback.
• Strong rigging skills.
• Experience implementing animation content in Unreal Engine.
• Comfort working directly in-engine to solve problems and iterate on content.
• The ability to independently own a discipline and make forward progress with minimal oversight.
• Strong written communication skills and comfort working in a fully remote, asynchronous environment.
• The ability to discuss technical and creative tradeoffs with designers, engineers, artists, and external partners.
• The ability to learn unfamiliar tools, workflows, or disciplines when doing so benefits the project.
• The ability to use AI-assisted tools as part of a modern game development workflow.

Qualifications

• Experience as a Technical Animator, Tech Artist, Art Director, or other cross-disciplinary role (Nice to Have).
• Experience building tools, pipelines, procedural systems, or workflow automation (Nice to Have).
• Experience managing external vendors or outsourcing relationships (Nice to Have).
• Experience shipping an indie game, game jam project, mod, or significant personal project (Nice to Have).
• Experience working on small teams where individuals routinely contribute outside their primary discipline (Nice to Have).
• Experience with cooperative action games, boss-focused encounters, or other highly replayable multiplayer experiences (Nice to Have).
• Experience with endgame MMO content such as raiding in World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy XIV, or similar games (Nice to Have).
• Familiarity with anime-inspired visual styles, character archetypes, and modern anime storytelling conventions (Nice to Have).

Skills

• Technical proficiency in Unreal Engine.
• Ability to work independently and make progress without extensive oversight.
• Strong written communication skills.
• Ability to learn and adapt to new tools and workflows.
• Experience with AI-assisted workflows.

Benefits

Individual pay within this range may span multiple levels within the discipline and is determined by assessed job-related skills, experience, relevant education, or training. It also factors in market demands and business needs.

Pay

This position pays a range of $60 - 70 per hour (USD).

Schedule

This role is contracted through a third-party that provides health benefits, etc., which your recruiter can discuss more during the hiring process.