Senior Animator at Confidential Company
Company: Confidential Company
Location: San Rafael, CA / Santa Monica, CA, USA
Job Type: Full-Time (On-site)
Salary: $120,000 – $150,000 per year
About the Role
We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced Senior Animator to join a dynamic game development team. In this role, you will create high-quality character and creature animations that elevate gameplay and define the visual experience. Your work will directly impact player immersion by ensuring animations are fluid, responsive, and realistic.
Job Overview
As a Senior Animator, you will collaborate closely with designers, engineers, and technical animators to deliver world-class animation systems. You will also contribute to pipeline improvements, mentor junior team members, and help shape the overall animation quality across the project.
Key Responsibilities
- Create high-quality keyframe and motion capture animations for characters, enemies, and NPCs.
- Collaborate with designers and engineers to integrate animations into gameplay and AI systems.
- Define and refine animation pipelines and workflows for efficiency and quality.
- Develop animation systems including state machines, blend trees, and procedural solutions.
- Maintain high artistic and technical standards while meeting project deadlines.
- Mentor and support junior animators, sharing best practices.
- Iterate on animations based on feedback from playtests and internal reviews.
Qualifications
- 5+ years of experience in game animation.
- Strong proficiency in Maya.
- Experience with animation systems in modern game engines (preferably Unreal Engine).
- Deep understanding of animation principles, character performance, and motion dynamics.
- Experience with motion capture workflows, cleanup, and implementation.
- Knowledge of state machines, blend trees, and animation-driven gameplay mechanics.
- Strong collaboration and communication skills across multidisciplinary teams.
- Portfolio showcasing high-quality character animation work.
Education
Bachelor’s degree in Animation, Game Design, Computer Graphics, or a related field is preferred, or equivalent professional experience.
Benefits
- Competitive salary with potential bonuses and equity.
- Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance.
- Paid vacation, sick leave, and company holidays.
- Parental leave support.
- Life and disability insurance.
- 401(k) retirement plan with company matching.