Lead Animation Director: Shape Cinematic Gameplay

Placements24; Newlands; Hybrid; AUD 97,000 - 145,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary & bonus

Career advancement

Health & wellness benefits

Collaborative studio culture

Professional development

Job summary

Placements24 is seeking a Lead Animation Director in Queenstown to guide the animation team and shape the visual style across character and environmental animations.

You will lead a team of animators, ensuring performances support narrative and gameplay while pushing creative boundaries and maintaining storytelling quality. Strong leadership and deep knowledge of animation principles are essential.

Qualifications

• Extensive 3D character animation experience with senior/lead/director roles.
• Strong portfolio showing artistic direction and animation quality.
• Deep understanding of animation principles, rigging, and performance capture.
• Experience working in game development or film production pipelines.

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and inspire the animation team throughout the production pipeline.
• Define and maintain the animation style guide and quality benchmarks for projects.
• Oversee key animations, including character performance, facial animation, and motion capture cleanup.
• Collaborate with game designers, art directors, and narrative teams to ensure animations meet project requirements.
• Review and provide constructive feedback on all animation assets.
• Manage animation schedules and resource allocation to meet project deadlines.

Skills

Lead animation

Character animation

Animation principles

Team leadership

Communication

Maya

Blender

Pipeline management

Performance capture

Tools

Maya

Blender

Job description

Placements24 is seeking a Lead Animation Director in Queenstown to guide the animation team and shape the visual style across character and environmental animations.

You will lead a team of animators, ensuring performances support narrative and gameplay while pushing creative boundaries and maintaining storytelling quality. Strong leadership and deep knowledge of animation principles are essential.