Principal Animation Engineer at AGBO
Company: AGBO
Location: Raleigh, NC, United States
Job Type: Full-Time
Salary: Not Disclosed
About the Company
Founded in 2017 by visionary directors Anthony and Joe Russo, AGBO is an artist-led,
Academy Award–winning independent studio redefining global storytelling across film,
television, and gaming. The studio has produced major global hits including
Avengers: Endgame, Everything Everywhere All at Once,
The Gray Man, and Extraction.
With more than $7 billion at the global box office and 15 #1 openings, AGBO continues to
expand storytelling across multiple platforms. The company is building immersive worlds
that span film, television, and interactive entertainment.
In 2023, AGBO welcomed Donald Mustard, former Chief Creative Officer at Epic Games and
co-creator of Fortnite, as a partner. Together, AGBO is pushing the boundaries of
interconnected storytelling across media and is seeking innovative talent to help shape
the future of interactive entertainment.
Job Overview
AGBO is seeking a Principal Animation Engineer to lead the technical
development and architecture of animation systems for its interactive projects.
This role focuses on building scalable, high-performance animation frameworks that
support expressive and responsive gameplay experiences.
The successful candidate will define the technical direction for animation systems,
collaborate closely with animation, design, and technical art teams, and ensure
character performance meets cinematic storytelling standards.
Key Responsibilities
- Define and lead the technical strategy for animation systems within Unreal Engine 5.
- Architect and implement advanced runtime animation systems including locomotion systems, motion matching, state machines, and animation blueprints.
- Develop blending frameworks and procedural animation solutions to support gameplay.
- Collaborate closely with animators to ensure animation content integrates efficiently in-engine.
- Establish best practices for animation pipelines, performance optimization, and networked animation systems.
- Translate creative animation goals into sustainable engineering solutions.
- Identify performance bottlenecks and implement solutions to maintain high frame-rate targets.
- Work with gameplay and design teams to integrate animation systems with combat mechanics and player controls.
- Improve internal tools and workflows to increase iteration speed and development efficiency.
- Mentor engineers and lead technical initiatives within the animation engineering team.
Qualifications & Skills
- 10+ years of professional experience in gameplay or animation engineering.
- Experience contributing to multiple shipped titles, including one in a senior or principal role.
- Professional experience as an Animation Engineer on at least one shipped UE4 or UE5 title.
- Strong expertise in C++ and Unreal Engine animation systems.
- Deep understanding of Animation Blueprints, Montages, Blend Spaces, and Control Rig.
- Experience developing animation systems for third-person gameplay.
- Strong understanding of locomotion, combat animation, and character responsiveness.
- Experience optimizing animation systems for performance across platforms.
- Excellent communication skills for cross-disciplinary collaboration.
- Proven leadership ability and experience mentoring engineers.
Bonus Skills
- Experience with motion matching, procedural animation, and IK systems.
- Familiarity with network replication for character animation systems.
- Experience developing narrative-driven or cinematic gameplay.
- Background in prototype or early-stage development environments.
Education
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Game Development, Software Engineering,
or a related technical discipline is preferred, or equivalent professional experience.
Benefits
- Opportunity to work with a globally recognized storytelling studio.
- Collaborative environment with experienced engineers, designers, and artists.
- Work on innovative interactive entertainment projects.
- Career growth within a fast-growing studio pushing the boundaries of storytelling.