New Gaming Full-Time Hybrid

Senior Animator at Electronic Arts

Company: Electronic Arts

Location: Canada / USA

Job Type: Full-Time

Salary: British Columbia: C$133,500–C$186,400/year | California: US$153,700–US$233,600/year

About the Role

Electronic Arts is hiring a Senior Animator for its Research & Engineering team, working across its creative technology and game development initiatives. The role focuses on creating high-quality gameplay animation while helping establish animation standards, visual direction, and scalable production workflows.

The Senior Animator will collaborate with art direction, design, technical animation, and engineering teams to deliver visually convincing and responsive character experiences for modern games.

Job Overview

The Senior Animator will develop gameplay animation covering locomotion, traversal, combat, reactions, interactions, and character performance. The position combines hands-on animation production with animation leadership, mentoring, reviews, and technical implementation in real-time game engines.

This is a hybrid position with three days per week onsite in Redwood City, California, Montreal, Canada, or Vancouver, Canada.

Key Responsibilities

  • Gameplay Animation: Create polished animation for locomotion, traversal, combat, reactions, interactions, and character performance.
  • Animation Standards: Establish animation quality standards, movement principles, production practices, and craft direction for the discipline.
  • Creative Collaboration: Work with Art Direction and Design to define posing, timing, weight, impact, responsiveness, and gameplay readability.
  • In-Engine Implementation: Take animation from early exploration through polished implementation within real-time game engines.
  • Runtime Systems: Collaborate with Technical Animation and Engineering on state machines, blending, procedural animation, motion matching, IK, and scalable animation workflows.
  • Motion Language: Help establish a cohesive animation style that supports character personality, visual direction, gameplay requirements, and player feedback.
  • Animation Reviews: Lead internal and external animation reviews and provide actionable feedback to maintain creative and technical quality.
  • Mentorship: Mentor animators and contribute craft guidance as the animation discipline and production team develop.

Qualifications

  • 8+ years of professional animation experience in AAA game development with shipped console or PC titles.
  • A strong demo reel demonstrating gameplay animation, locomotion, combat, reactions, and character performance.
  • Advanced experience with Maya, Blender, ZBrush, Substance 3D, Marvelous Designer, or comparable digital content creation tools.
  • Experience with Unreal Engine, Unity, Frostbite, or another modern proprietary game engine.
  • Strong knowledge of animation fundamentals, including posing, timing, spacing, weight, impact, and motion clarity.

Education

  • Degree or equivalent professional training in Animation, Game Development, Computer Graphics, Fine Arts, or a related discipline.
  • Extensive professional AAA game animation experience may be considered alongside formal education.

Benefits

  • Paid vacation and sick time programs.
  • Medical, dental, and vision coverage for eligible US employees.
  • Health, dental, vision, life, and disability coverage for eligible Canadian employees.
  • Retirement savings plans, including 401(k) in the US and retirement programs in Canada.
  • Paid family and parental leave programs, along with career development opportunities.

How to Apply

Apply through the official application page below:

Electronic Arts is seeking an experienced Senior Animator to help shape high-quality gameplay animation and animation technology across its Research & Engineering team. The role is suited to professionals with extensive AAA experience, strong real-time animation skills, and a proven ability to guide animation quality.

Qualified candidates can apply through the official Electronic Arts careers portal for opportunities based in Montreal, Vancouver, or Redwood City.

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