Senior Technical Animator

Posted 56 Minutes Ago
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Montréal, QC, CAN
Hybrid
Senior level
Gaming • Information Technology • Mobile • Software • Esports
2K develops and publishes interactive entertainment for video game consoles, personal computers, and mobile devices.
The Role
Develop and optimize advanced animation systems and runtime character performance in Unreal Engine 5. Create Animation Blueprints, procedural animation systems, locomotion and Motion Matching solutions, cloth, IK, and secondary dynamics. Diagnose issues across Maya and Unreal Engine, improve animation pipelines and editor tools, document workflows, collaborate across disciplines, and mentor team members. The role supports high-quality, memory-efficient animation for a AAA BioShock game.
Summary Generated by Built In

 

 

 

As a Senior Technical Animator at Cloud Chamber, you will join our talented development team to help shape advanced animation systems and runtime character performance in Unreal Engine 5. In this role, you’ll collaborate with a passionate group of game developers to build scalable technical solutions and animation workflows that support immersive gameplay to bring the richly imagined world of BioShock to life. 

What You’ll Do:

  • Implement and configure animation assets and systems directly inside Unreal Engine 5. 
  • Author, maintain, and optimize complex Animation Blueprints as well as runtime procedural systems, including cloth, IK, and secondary dynamics. 
  • Tune, refine, and troubleshoot Motion Matching and advanced locomotion systems to deliver fluid, responsive movement. 
  • Ensure all animation assets, runtime systems, and editor frameworks are fully optimized for smooth runtime performance and memory efficiency. 
  • Diagnose and resolve technical animation issues spanning Maya and the game engine. 
  • Partner with animation and engineering leads to refine authoring pipelines, document tools and processes, and mentor team members in best practices. 

What We’ll Do Together:

At Cloud Chamber, we are champions of high standards, pushing for progress and embracing change. We will work closely and constructively across design, art, engineering, animation, and audio teams to realize our creative ambitions. Together, we will stay current on technological advancements and identify solutions to overcome developmental obstacles to deliver a world-class AAA experience.

Skills & Experiences:

  • 5+ years of professional technical animation experience in video game development, with at least one shipped AAA title. 
  • Deep practical knowledge of UE5 animation toolsets, including Animation Blueprints, Control Rigs, Montages, Notifies, and the Rewind Debugger. 
  • Thorough understanding of procedural runtime animation technologies such as Motion Matching, Motion Warping, Control Rigs, Full-Body IK, Retargeting, Ragdoll, and Cloth. 
  • Solid grasp of human anatomy and kinesiology, with an understanding of how skeletal mechanics drive deformation rigs and realistic performance. 
  • Clear understanding of traditional animation principles and how to effectively apply them within real-time gameplay constraints. 

Who You Are:

  • A reliable, positive force multiplier, actively seeking opportunities to integrate work across disciplines and contribute to a healthy, supportive team environment.
  • A solid communicator with excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex ideas clearly, package information for diverse audiences, and deliver difficult feedback with empathy and professionalism.
  • Experienced in working in cross-disciplinary teams with strong communication skills.
  • Persistent and self-motivated with a proactive mindset.
  • Able to maintain effectiveness and quality under pressure, ambiguity, and fast-changing priorities.
  • An active listener able to build and maintain trust-based relationships across all levels of the organization, understand differing perspectives, and navigate organizational complexity with tact and emotional intelligence.
  • Highly open to feedback and direction, possessing a desire to learn new skills, and capable of producing quick, quality revisions based on new insights or constraints.
  • A strong ownership of tasks, striving to drive work forward autonomously while maintaining a critical eye for detail and organization, ensuring high standards of quality.
  • Dedicated to upholding Cloud Chamber's core values, contributing to a positive and respectful company culture while striving for excellence in all endeavors.

Who We Are:

At Cloud Chamber, we strive to make BioShock games that move people: evocative, immersive, and meaningful experiences that stay with you long after you’ve rolled credits. Great games are born from great collaborations, supported by a culture that brings out the best in our teams. We work openly, learn through play, take ownership, push ourselves to be better, and deliver for our players.

 

For candidates located in Quebec:
This position requires professional proficiency in both French and English. Proficiency in English is required to collaborate with our U.S. teams and international partners, as well as to handle specialized technical documentation (reading, writing, and communication).

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, perform their essential job functions, and receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us if you need reasonable accommodation.

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

Skills Required

  • 5+ years of professional technical animation experience in video game development
  • Experience shipping at least one AAA title
  • Deep practical knowledge of Unreal Engine 5 animation toolsets, including Animation Blueprints, Control Rigs, Montages, Notifies, and Rewind Debugger
  • Thorough understanding of Motion Matching, Motion Warping, Control Rigs, Full-Body IK, Retargeting, Ragdoll, and Cloth
  • Solid understanding of human anatomy and kinesiology
  • Understanding of traditional animation principles and their application in real-time gameplay
  • Professional proficiency in both French and English for candidates located in Quebec

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The Company
HQ: Novato, CA
4,200 Employees
Year Founded: 2005

What We Do

2K 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. 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, Battleborn, BioShock, Borderlands, The Quarry, The Darkness, 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!

Why Work With Us

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 push ourselves creatively to do the best work of our careers. We’re direct, open, and you’ll probably meet some new best friends – along with their dogs – sitting nearby. In short, it’s kinda awesome.

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Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.

We are a blend of onsite, hybrid, and remote roles. Please refer to individual job descriptions for more details on location.

Typical time on-site: Flexible
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