Senior Technical Animation Designer at 31st Union
Company: 31st Union
Location: San Mateo, California, United States
Job Type: Full-Time (Hybrid)
Salary: $108,900 – $161,160 per year
About the Company
31st Union is a game development studio focused on creating immersive and innovative AAA gaming experiences. The team is driven by creativity, collaboration, and inclusivity, building high-quality games that engage players worldwide.
Job Overview
The Senior Technical Animation Designer will design, implement, and maintain animation systems that power gameplay mechanics. This includes working on locomotion systems, character abilities, UI animations, and procedural animation solutions while collaborating across animation, engineering, and design teams.
Key Responsibilities
- Design and maintain animation systems for gameplay mechanics
- Develop solutions for locomotion, abilities, and UI animations
- Collaborate with animation, engineering, and design teams
- Implement scalable animation workflows and pipelines
- Balance performance requirements with animation quality
- Provide technical support and mentorship to animators
- Document workflows and improve team processes
- Act as a communication bridge between disciplines
Required Qualifications
- 4+ years of professional animation experience
- Experience shipping at least one AAA game title
- Strong knowledge of Maya and animation pipelines
- Expertise in Unreal Engine (Blueprints and/or C++)
- Understanding of animation systems (state machines, blendspaces, animation graphs)
- Experience with procedural animation tools (IK, Control Rig, ragdolls, retargeting, motion matching)
- Strong problem-solving and cross-disciplinary communication skills
- Solid foundation in vector math and technical concepts
Education
Bachelor’s degree in Animation, Computer Science, Game Development, or a related field is preferred.
Benefits
- Competitive salary with bonus and potential equity
- Comprehensive medical and financial benefits
- Inclusive and collaborative work culture
- Career growth and development opportunities
- Access to cutting-edge game development technologies