Contract Game Animator

Accountabilities:

• • Collaborate with animators and cross-functional art, design, and engineering teams to develop high-quality in-game animations and cinematics.
  • Translate storyboards and creative direction into polished animation when provided.
  • Create strong poses and compelling visual frames that communicate character personality and support gameplay objectives.
  • Animate a diverse range of characters and creatures, including bipedal and quadrupedal designs, across dynamic and atmospheric gameplay experiences.
  • Present work to team members and leads, actively seek feedback, and incorporate revisions to improve the final result.
  • Own assigned animation deliverables while managing priorities, milestones, deadlines, and consistency across the project.
  • Maintain a consistent animation style and quality bar throughout production.
  • Continuously evaluate and refine animation processes to improve team productivity and production efficiency.
  • Contribute creative solutions to animation challenges and explore approaches beyond established workflows.
  • Support the implementation of animation into game environments when required.

  Requirements:

  • 5+ years of professional animation experience using Autodesk Maya.
  • Demonstrated ability to consistently produce high-quality animation while matching an established project style and visual quality bar.
  • Strong understanding of body mechanics and character movement.
  • Excellent eye for performance, timing, weight, and physicality.
  • Professional experience animating creatures, including both bipedal and quadrupedal characters.
  • Strong creative problem-solving skills and the ability to develop solutions beyond conventional approaches.
  • Self-motivated, dependable, and comfortable taking ownership of individual deliverables.
  • Strong collaboration skills and the ability to contribute positively to a creative, team-oriented environment.
  • Experience implementing animation directly into a game engine is a plus.
  • Familiarity with animation blend trees and node-based animation editors in commercial or proprietary game engines is a plus.
  • Ability to work effectively within milestones, deadlines, and iterative feedback cycles.
  • A professional animation portfolio or demo reel demonstrating relevant game animation work is required.
  • A practical animation test may be required as part of the selection process.

  Benefits:

  • Base salary of $86,000–$106,000 USD annually for specified high-cost metropolitan areas including San Francisco, New York City, Los Angeles, Seattle, Boston, and the DC metropolitan area.
  • Base salary of $75,000–$93,000 USD annually for locations including Austin, Denver, Nashville, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, and Miami.
  • Base salary of $63,000–$79,000 USD annually for all other U.S. locations.
  • Compensation within the applicable range is determined based on experience, qualifications, and work location.
  • Medical, dental, and vision insurance for eligible U.S.-based full-time project hires.
  • Paid time off.
  • Paid sick time.
  • Paid holidays.
  • Remote work opportunity within the United States.
  • Opportunity to contribute to a highly visible, rapidly growing game franchise.
  • Collaborative environment working alongside experienced animation, art, design, and engineering professionals.