Senior AAA Gameplay Animator (Remote Contract)

Keywords Intl1; Canada; Remote; CAD 83,000 - 124,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Remote work

Contract role

Job summary

Keywords Studios is seeking a Senior AAA Gameplay Animator for a 3-4 month remote contract. You will craft polished combat-focused animations, from player attacks to cinematic moments, collaborating with designers and engineers to ensure responsive and impactful gameplay.

Applicants should have extensive AAA experience, strong melee timing, and the ability to deliver high-quality motion from both motion capture and keyframed work. Portfolio required.

Qualifications

• Extensive professional experience as a Gameplay Animator on AAA console or PC titles.
• Experience on third-person action or combat-heavy games.
• Strong understanding of melee combat systems, timing, anticipation, impact, and character weight.
• Experience creating cinematic gameplay moments and scripted in-game events.
• Excellent keyframe animation skills with performance and physicality focus.
• Comfortable with motion capture and bespoke keyframe work.

Responsibilities

• Create high-quality, polished gameplay animations for a combat-focused experience.
• Produce believable, weighty melee combat animations that feel responsive and satisfying.
• Animate combat encounters (player attacks, enemy reactions, finishers, traversal).
• Create animations for Quick Time Events (QTEs) and blend gameplay into cinematic moments.
• Collaborate with designers, technical animators, and engineers to iterate on feel and responsiveness.
• Maintain a high level of polish and work within an established animation pipeline.
• Help define and maintain the quality bar for a premium AAA action title.

Skills

Gameplay animation

Melee combat timing

Animation readability

Independent work

Communication

Tools

Maya

MotionBuilder

Unreal Engine

Animation Blueprints

State Machines

Job description

Keywords Studios is seeking a Senior AAA Gameplay Animator for a 3-4 month remote contract. You will craft polished combat-focused animations, from player attacks to cinematic moments, collaborating with designers and engineers to ensure responsive and impactful gameplay.

Applicants should have extensive AAA experience, strong melee timing, and the ability to deliver high-quality motion from both motion capture and keyframed work. Portfolio required.