Animation Director (2D)

Princess Bento; Melbourne; Remote; AUD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

HellaGoodAudio is seeking an Animation Director to provide strategic leadership and creative direction for our animation team in Melbourne, with remote options for eligible Australian residents. The role emphasizes maintaining artistic vision, quality, and coherence across productions.

The ideal candidate brings extensive experience leading 2D animation projects, collaborating with Producers and Directors, and delivering client-focused results while guiding large teams through complex pipelines.

Qualifications

• Significant studio animation experience supervising or directing stylised, hand-drawn projects.
• Based in Australia with full work rights.
• 7+ years of experience in 2D Animation and 5+ years in a similar leadership role.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership and creative direction for the Animation team.
• Lead animation teams, mentor staff, and maintain high-quality standards.
• Review and approve animation sequences to ensure consistency and production standards.
• Coordinate with departments to integrate animated elements into final shots.
• Oversee outsourcing and maintain communication with external studios.

Skills

2D Animation

Leadership

Team Collaboration

Time Management

Toon Boom Harmony

Tools

ShotGrid/Flow

Job description

• Applicants must have significant studio animation experience supervising or directing on stylised, hand-drawn projects

• Applicants must be based in Australia with full work rights

The Animation Directors provide strategic leadership and creative direction to the Animation team.

The role is pivotal in maintaining the artistic vision, quality, and coherence of animation across our productions.

Strategic Creative Direction

• Uphold the artistic vision and style of the animation, ensuring consistency and alignment with the show's creative goals.

• Collaborate with other Animation Directors to ensure animation consistency across the production.

• Collaborate closely with Producers, Directors, and other department heads to establish and maintain animation pipelines and workflows.

• Provide creative feedback and direction to animators to enhance character performances, storytelling, and visual appeal.

• Collaborate with the creative leads to ensure animation supports the overall visual style and narrative of the production.

• Address feedback from Directors, Producers, and Showrunners to incorporate revisions as necessary.

• Ensure animation is properly reviewed prior to client deliveries at critical milestones and project processes are aligned with the standard set by the show creators.

• Communicate effectively with the production team to align on project goals, milestones, and creative objectives.

Leadership

• Lead the animation teams, providing mentorship, guidance, and strategic direction to achieve high-quality animation standards.

• Promote a collaborative and creative work environment with open communication and a positive atmosphere.

• Plan, prioritise and provide thoughtful guidance and feedback to the animation team to ensure consistency and quality in their work.

• Delegate tasks appropriately, ensuring workload distribution is balanced and efficient.

• In conjunction with Production, review and contribute to asset/bid and or lead sheets where required.

• Collaborate with Production to plan, distribute and manage workload of crew in relation to the schedule.

Animation Production

• Review and approve animation sequences to maintain visual consistency and meet production standards.

• Coordinate with other departments to ensure seamless integration of animated elements into final shots.

• Conduct regular reviews and critiques of animation work to uphold high standards of quality, consistency, and technical execution.

• Provide clear and concise direction to animators and collaborate with other departments to resolve animation-related challenges.

Outsourcing

• In conjunction with other Animation Directors, oversee the launch of animation to outsource studios.

• Review animation submitted by outsource studio and provide clear and concise feedback.

• Approve outsource animation for delivery to downstream departments.

• Maintain strong communication with the outsource studio to ensure seamless delivery of animation.

Client Management

• Review and specify creative and/or technical revisions and requests impacting the time and budget.

• Effectively facilitate discussion with the client to discuss improving the quality of our work.

Skills/Experience

• 7+ years of experience working in 2D Animation and 5+ years experience in a similar role.

• Have a collaborative and supportive working style.

• Strong time management and organisational skills, working effectively to deadlines.

• Proficiency in Toon Boom Harmony.

• Proficiency in Shotgrid/Flow is desirable.

• Confident presentation and facilitation skills.

• Able to lead a client-focused approach to deliver shows to their expected standards.

• Effective leadership and management of large teams.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills, ensuring that the necessary information is flowing across production and within the department.

• Show a high degree of professionalism, maturity and initiative.

We are based in Melbourne, but offer remote working for Australian residents who live outside of Victoria. To be eligible for this role you must have the right to work in Australia. Unfortunately we cannot offer visa sponsorship for this role.