Principal Technical Animator

Insurely; Canada; On-site; CAD 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading animation technology firm in Canada is seeking a Technical Animator with over 5 years of experience. The role involves working closely with AAA game studios to integrate innovative animation solutions. Responsibilities include demonstrating technical viability and leading integration sprints with clients. Candidates should have strong proficiency in Unreal Engine and a robust understanding of animation pipelines. This is a fantastic opportunity to shape the future of game animation in a rapidly scaling company.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in the games industry as a Technical Animator, Rigger, or Technical Artist.
• Expert in Unreal Engine including Motion Matching, Control Rig, and Blueprints.
• Highly proficient in Maya and MotionBuilder.

Responsibilities

• Demonstrate the technical viability of Motorica in pre-sales conversations.
• Lead integration sprints to optimize Motorica within client pipelines.
• Act as the first line of defense for technical hurdles.

Skills

Technical Animation

Unreal Engine proficiency

Communication skills

Problem solving

Adaptability

Tools

Maya

MotionBuilder

Unreal Engine

Job description

Motorica is at a breakthrough moment.

We have just achieved product market fit through signing on a few of the biggest game studios in the world.

We are revolutionizing the game animation industry with products rooted in our proprietary AI models, delivering AAA quality character animations to game studios at a fraction of the traditional cost and time. We are now scaling rapidly due to early demand from major game studios.

Combining our proprietary motion capture data with state of the art diffusion models, Motorica lets teams generate dynamic, lifelike motion in minutes instead of weeks. We remove one of the biggest bottlenecks in game and cinematic production and empower studios to focus on creativity, iteration and building truly living worlds.

The Role

You’ll work closely with sales in our expanding commercial department; helping preeminent AAA studios discover new ways of creating animation with Motorica. Working across multiple products simultaneously, you will act as the technical bridge between Motorica and the production pipelines of the world’s top game studios.

We want you to play the role of an animation obsessed “Forward Deployed Engineer”. Rather than just supporting the software, you’ll provide guidance and best practices on how it works in real, complex production environments. You’ll work closely with our Account Executives in a “Sales Pod” setup, helping build technical credibility and trust with customers, and then stay involved to make sure Motorica is successfully integrated into their pipeline.

What You Will Do

• The "Trust Demo": Join pre-sales conversations to demonstrate the technical viability of Motorica with companies in North America. You will speak the language of Lead Animators and Technical Directors, showing them exactly how Motorica fits into their existing rigs and workflows.
• Integration Sprints: Post-signature, you will lead 2-4 week "integration sprints." You will work hands-on with the customer’s team to install, configure, and optimize Motorica within their specific pipeline (Unreal, Unity, Maya, MotionBuilder).
• Solutions & Support: Act as the first line of defense for technical hurdles. You won’t just file tickets; you will solve pipeline blockers, advise on retargeting best practices, and help studios blend Motorica with their existing animation logic.
• Product Discovery: You are the eyes and ears of the Product team. By working deeply with customers, you will identify gaps in our toolset and bring back "field learnings" that drive our roadmap.

Who You Are

• Production Experience: You bring 5+ years i n the games industry as a Technical Animator, Rigger, or Technical Artist, with a strong grasp of the full animation pipeline from motion capture to engine integration.
• Industry Authority: You have walked in our customers’ shoes. You are a former Technical Animator or Lead who understands real production workflows, day to day challenges, and pipeline pain points.
• Communication: You pride yourself on your abilities of communication; parsing the meaning behind the words, expressing complex technical concepts simply, and able to teach those who wish to learn.
• Deep Engine Knowledge: You have expert level proficiency in Unreal Engine, including Motion Matching, Control Rig, State Machines, and Blueprints (Bonus: other engines).
• DCC Proficiency: You are highly proficient in Maya and MotionBuilder, with a deep understanding of constraints, IK and FK systems, and retargeting logic.
• Problem Solving Mindset: You enjoy debugging a broken rig or a failed import just as much as crafting great animation. You take pride in untangling complex technical issues.
• Adaptability: You switch contexts easily. One moment you are explaining diffusion models to a CTO, the next you are helping a junior animator fix a bone hierarchy in Maya.

This would make you a particularly good match

• Commercial Aptitude: While this is a technical role, you understand the business value of efficiency and can help the Account Executive articulate the ROI of our platform during the pre-sales process.
• Educator Mindset: You will be teaching a lot. Teaching our customers the Motorica best practices and teaching Motoricans deep insights into the industry.
• AAA Studio Experience: You’ve done your best work inside notable AAA studios.

Why Join Us?

If you excel in this role, you will find no shortage of opportunities to grow with us. As we scale globally, you will have the path to build a regional team of Technical Animators around you. You will work directly with the most creative teams in gaming, see the impact of your work immediately, and help define a new era of generative animation.