Lead Animator

Worlds Untold is seeking a Lead Animator with a curious, collaborative approach, who is about elevating gaming experiences through character development and engaging gameplay. 

As a key contributor, you will focus on crafting and setting the standards for in-world player character animations, especially within gameplay contexts, to ensure every movement is realistic, fluid, and elevates the overall gaming experience. This role requires a unique blend of exceptional artistic talent, in-depth technical knowledge, superior organizational skills, and a deep passion for video games.

Key Responsibilities:

• Establish and improve gameplay animation systems, in collaboration with art, programming and design.
• Create engaging and dynamic gameplay animations using keyframing and mocap data.
• Collaborate closely with our Tech team to develop and help implement our animation pipeline.
• Review gameplay animations and, in collaboration with the Animation Director, define our quality expectations.
• Ensure quality expectations are met throughout the different production phases.
• Collaborate with gameplay programmers, game designers and character artists to implement gameplay animations, ensuring the artistic vision is in sync with technical specifications.
• Identify potential risks and implement mitigation plans before issues arise.
• Participating in the planning and hiring of a team of animators to lead, manage and mentor as the team grows.
• Establish and maintain constructive feedback loops with the animation team, maintaining a consistent style and quality level, fostering a curious, collaborative, creative and safe environment.
• Work in collaboration with the Production team to define and improve animation pipelines, priorities and streamline workflows.
• Stay abreast of industry trends and best practices in animation and management, incorporating these insights into workflows.

Basic Qualifications:

• 10 years of experience working in video game animation, specifically for AAA games.
• Extensive experience in leading animation teams, building trust and driving results.
• Mastery of animations tools and software (Maya, MotionBuilder).
• Great knowledge of motion matching and inverse kinematics methods.
• Expert in animation fundamentals such as rhythm, timing, anticipation, and silhouette, skilled in expressing emotion and storytelling through movement to ensure characters are both believable and immersive.
• Good understanding of rigging and skinning techniques.
• Experience developing and maintaining animation pipeline (from conception to ship).
• Experience planning, organizing and directing mocap shoots.
• Proficiency in Unreal Engine, pertaining to character and in-world animations.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Ability to communicate efficiently, with an emphasis in maintaining positive interaction with the rest of the team.
• Ability to self-organize and organize others autonomously.
• Capability to cooperate and build positive relationships with key stakeholders.
• Proficiency in communicating ideas to others with simplicity and logic.
• Skill in preparing, presenting, and documenting comprehensive materials for various group.
• A passion for narrative driven games with a broad knowledge of the gaming landscape and market trends.

Compensation Range: 83,000 - 138,000 CAD