Senior Technical Animator

Yellow Brick Games; Quebec; Hybrid; CAD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible work schedule

Remote/hybrid arrangements

Unlimited vacation policy

Group insurance

Job summary

Yellow Brick Games is seeking a Senior Technical Animator to own the design, implementation, and evolution of animation systems in Unreal Engine. You will bridge Animation, Design, and Programming to turn ideas into responsive gameplay experiences while keeping the pipeline scalable.

You will mentor the animation team, optimize tools and workflows, and collaborate with designers and engineers to ensure high-quality, performant character animation across titles.

Qualifications

• 3+ years in Gameplay Animation or technical roles within game development.
• Strong understanding of how animation contributes to player experience and game feel.
• Professional experience implementing gameplay animation systems in Unreal Engine.
• Strong knowledge of Animation Blueprints, State Machines, Blend Spaces, Animation Montages, and animation graphs.
• Experience with Maya and/or MotionBuilder and animation pipelines.

Responsibilities

• Own the implementation and long-term maintenance of gameplay animation systems in Unreal Engine.
• Design, build, and iterate on Animation Blueprints, State Machines, Blend Spaces, Animation Montages, and other runtime animation solutions.
• Collaborate with Designers to ensure animation systems support gameplay intentions and overall game feel.
• Work with Animators to translate direction into scalable technical implementations while maintaining quality.
• Integrate new features with Programmers and resolve animation-related challenges.
• Develop reusable animation frameworks, tools, and workflows to improve efficiency.
• Identify bottlenecks in the animation pipeline and drive improvements.
• Troubleshoot animation and runtime issues balancing quality and performance.
• Document systems and workflows, mentoring the team to boost technical proficiency.
• Push for state-of-the-art animation quality within performance constraints.

Skills

Gameplay Animation

Technical Animation

Unreal Engine

Animation Blueprints

State Machines

Blend Spaces

Animation Montages

Maya

MotionBuilder

Python

Tools

Unreal Engine

Maya

MotionBuilder

Python

C++

Job description

Full-time position

Senior Technical Animator

Founded in 2020, Yellow Brick Games is committed to building digital playgrounds and memorable worlds using an ethical and human approach to game development. Inspired by our warrior princess Dorothée, we strive to make each moment down the road count, brick by brick. Yellow Brick Games launched its debut fantasy action-adventure title Eternal Strands in 2025.

ABOUT THE ROLE:

Yellow Brick Games seeks a Senior Technical Animator to own the design, implementation, and evolution of animation systems. As the bridge between Animation, Design, and Programming, you will transform creative ideas into responsive, polished gameplay experiences while ensuring our animation pipeline remains efficient, scalable, and easy to use. You will play a key role in defining how characters move, react, and feel in-game by building robust animation systems, supporting the animation team with technical expertise, and continuously improving workflows and tools throughout production. Yellow Brick Games is based in Quebec City, Canada, and we are open to discuss remote-work situations. We are committed to diversity, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to place of origin, age, status, religious beliefs, personal orientations, or physical condition.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Own the implementation and long-term maintenance of gameplay animation systems in Unreal Engine.
• Design, build, and iterate on Animation Blueprints, State Machines, Blend Spaces, Animation Montages, and other runtime animation solutions.
• Partner closely with Game Designers to ensure animation systems support gameplay intentions, responsiveness, and overall game feel.
• Collaborate with Animators to translate creative direction into scalable and maintainable technical implementations while preserving animation quality and style.
• Work alongside Programmers to integrate new gameplay features and resolve animation-related technical challenges.
• Develop reusable animation frameworks, tools, and workflows that improve production efficiency and reduce implementation overhead.
• Identify bottlenecks within the animation pipeline and drive continuous improvements across production.
• Troubleshoot animation, gameplay integration, and runtime issues while balancing quality, performance, and maintainability.
• Document animation systems, technical workflows, and best practices, and help increase the technical proficiency of the animation team through mentoring and knowledge sharing.
• Push for state-of-the-art animation quality while taking into account our performance constraints.
• Collaborate across disciplines to ensure animation systems integrate seamlessly with gameplay, AI, camera, and other game systems.

REQUIREMENTS:

• 3+ years of experience in Gameplay Animation, Technical Animation, Technical Design, or a related role within game development.
• Strong understanding of gameplay animation principles and how animation contributes to player experience and game feel.
• Professional experience implementing gameplay animation systems in Unreal Engine.
• Strong knowledge of Animation Blueprints, State Machines, Blend Spaces, Animation Montages, and animation graphs.
• Experience working with animation pipelines and DCC software such as Maya and/or MotionBuilder.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to diagnose complex gameplay animation issues.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills with multidisciplinary teams.
• Ability to take ownership of systems, prioritize work effectively, and work autonomously.
• Passion for improving workflows, tools, and production efficiency.

NICE TO HAVE:

• Experience with Control Rig.
• Experience with Motion Matching, Full Body IK, procedural animation, or other modern animation techniques.
• Experience creating tools or automation using Blueprints, Python, or other scripting languages.
• Familiarity with Gameplay Ability System (GAS) or other gameplay frameworks.
• Experience working on one or more shipped AAA titles.
• Experience with C++.
• English, spoken and written.

WHAT WE OFFER:

• A highly creative environment alongside gaming industry veterans
• Flexible work schedule and remote/hybrid arrangements
• Unlimited vacation policyTime off between Christmas and New Year’s Day to help you start the year off right
• Group insurance program with 24/7 access to a virtual medical clinic
• And more!