Principal Gameplay Animation Engineer

Who We Are

2K Games is headquartered in Novato, California and is a wholly owned label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO). Founded in 2005, 2K Games is a global video game company, publishing titles developed by some of the most influential game development studios in the world. Our studios responsible for developing 2K’s portfolio of world-class games across multiple platforms, include Visual Concepts, Firaxis, Hangar 13, CatDaddy, Cloud Chamber, 31st Union, and HB Studios. Our portfolio of titles is expanding due to our global strategic plan, building and acquiring exciting studios whose content continues to inspire all of us! 2K publishes titles in today’s most popular gaming genres, including sports, shooters, action, role-playing, strategy, casual, and family entertainment.

Located in Vancouver, BC, 2K Sports Lab is a small collective being formed within 2K Games that is driving the research and development of future sports interactive entertainment programs. Within this group, speculative work will be done on future sports games with an eye towards taking the magic of 2K’s publishing and development expertise and applying them to future opportunities. 

Our team of engineers, marketers, artists, writers, data scientists, producers, thinkers and doers, are the professional publishing stewards of our growing library of critically-acclaimed franchises such as NBA 2K, 2K PGA, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, Lego Drive, BioShock, Borderlands, The Quarry, Mafia, Sid Meier’s Civilization, Marvel’s Midnight Suns, WWE 2K, and XCOM.

At 2K, we pride ourselves on creating an inclusive work environment, which means encouraging our teams to Come as You Are and do your best work! We encourage ALL applicants to explore our global positions, even if they don’t meet every requirement for the role.  If you're interested in the job and think you have what it takes to work at 2K, we encourage you to apply!

What We Need

We are looking for a Principal Software Engineer to contribute to the development of core runtime animation technology and features at our new studio. In this role, you will be working closely with Animators, Design and Production to develop nuanced and sophisticated animation behaviors that authentically replicate sport. You will help build the foundation, then iterate and innovate upon it and polish world class gameplay for what will be the next massive sports franchise in our industry.

What You’ll Do

• Research, develop and implement new industry leading animation technologies
• Collaborate closely with gameplay engineers/designers to identify and develop new animation features
• Support requests and features for content creation tools, and animation review/analysis
• Keep up to date with the latest industry/academic work for consideration for our Animation toolset
• Mentor engineers on programming techniques and robust engineering practices
• Partner with studio leadership to define engineering standards and direction for animation technology development
• May assume a tech lead role for game components, including system responsibility and technical leadership of other specialists
• Write and maintain robust and performant code
• Optimize code and debug animation issues as they arise

What Will Make You A Great Fit

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or a related field (or equivalent work experience)
• Excellent 3D math and linear algebra skills
• Advanced expertise with C++
• 7+ years of proven experience working on computer animation
• Implementation experience in one or more of the following areas, inverse kinematics techniques, ragdoll and physics-based character animation, procedural animation techniques, cloth/hair animation, keyframe animation and forward kinematics, motion matching, machine learning driven animation techniques
• Ability to explain technical topics to people of varying levels of expertise
• Dedicated and self motivated with an ability to identify areas for research/development
• An eye for detail in creating dynamic, authentic, and responsive character animation
• Love for video games (not just ours!)

Beneficial Qualifications

• Experience developing and shipping AAA games on Unreal Engine 4 and 5
• Master’s/PhD in a related field with a focus on animation related topics
• Familiarity with Python and/or C#

The pay range for this position in British Columbia at the start of employment is expected to be between CAD $139,400 and CAD $223,000 per year. However, actual pay offered is based on market location and may vary further depending on individualized factors for job candidates, such as job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and other objective business considerations. If hired, the company reserves the right to modify base pay (as well as any other discretionary payment or compensation or benefit program) at any time, including for reasons related to individual performance, company or individual department/team performance, and market factors.

As an equal opportunity employer, we are committed to ensuring that qualified individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform their essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us if you need reasonable accommodation.

Please note that 2K Games and its studios never uses instant messaging apps or personal email accounts to contact prospective employees or conduct interviews and when emailing, only use 2K.com accounts. 

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