Associate Technical Animator / Rigger

Virtuos; Cergy; Remote; EUR 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Remote work is possible

Relocation support

Healthcare for staff

Internal mobility program

Job summary

Virtuos Paris is seeking an Associate Technical Animator / Rigger to join our team in Cergy, near Paris. You will design rigs for characters and props and implement animation systems in Unreal Engine, collaborating with engineers and artists to deliver production‑ready solutions.

You will balance hands‑on rigging with team coordination, mentoring junior staff, and helping keep projects on schedule. Remote work is possible, with relocation support and opportunities for mobility within Virtuos.

Qualifications

• At least 5 years of professional experience in Technical Animation and Rigging within the video game industry.
• Experience supporting a Lead or coordinating technical work within a team.
• Production‑quality rigs for characters, creatures, and props using Maya or equivalent.
• Experience implementing animation systems in Unreal Engine (Animation Blueprints, State Machines, Blend Spaces, Control Rig).
• Practical experience with C++ development in Unreal Engine for animation‑related gameplay systems.
• Proficiency in Python, MEL, or equivalent scripting for pipeline automation.
• Solid understanding of real‑time animation workflows and debugging skills.
• Excellent organizational and communication skills with English proficiency.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and maintain high‑quality rigs for characters, creatures, and props.
• Implement animation systems in Unreal Engine (Blueprints, State Machines, Blend Spaces, Control Rig).
• Collaborate with Animators, Technical Artists, and Engineers to build scalable animation tools and pipelines.
• Develop tools and scripts to streamline rigging workflows and production.
• Troubleshoot rigging, deformation, and integration issues across production.
• Balance hands‑on production work with team coordination responsibilities.

Skills

Technical Animation

Rigging

Animation pipelines

Team coordination

C++ in Unreal

MEL/Python scripting

English communication

Tools

Autodesk Maya

Unreal Engine

Control Rig

Blueprints

Python scripting

Job description

We are looking for an experienced and versatile Associate Technical Animator / Rigger with at least 5 years of professional game development experience.

As an Associate, you will work in close partnership with the Lead Technical Animator, helping coordinate the team's day-to-day activities while remaining hands‑on in both rigging and technical animation. You will contribute to task planning, work distribution, technical reviews, and production follow-up, helping ensure the team delivers high-quality results on schedule.

Alongside these leadership responsibilities, you will design and maintain production‑ready rigs, implement animation systems in the engine, and collaborate closely with Animators, Technical Artists, and Engineers to deliver performing and scalable animation solutions.

Responsibilities

Team Support & Coordination

• Partner with the Lead Technical Animator to support the day-to-day organization and execution of the team's work.
• Assist with task planning, prioritization, and work distribution across rigging and technical animation disciplines.
• Help monitor progress, identify production risks, and proactively communicate issues and solutions.
• Support the Lead in maintaining technical quality, consistency, and best practices across the team.
• Review work, provide constructive feedback, and mentor junior and intermediate team members.
• Act as a point of contact for the team when delegated by the Lead Technical Animator.

Technical Animation & Rigging

• Design, develop, and maintain high-quality rigs for characters, creatures, and props.
• Implement and maintain animation systems in Unreal Engine, including Animation Blueprints, State Machines, Blend Spaces, Control Rig, and related animation logic.
• Collaborate closely with Animators, Technical Artists, Gameplay Programmers, and Engineers to develop scalable, production‑ready animation solutions.
• Develop, maintain, and improve tools and scripts to enhance rigging and technical animation workflows.
• Troubleshoot and resolve rigging, deformation, animation, and integration issues throughout production.
• Optimize animation systems to meet runtime performance and memory requirements.
• Contribute to pipeline improvements, technical innovation, and the adoption of industry best practices.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of professional experience in Technical Animation and Rigging within the video game industry.
• Previous experience supporting a Lead or coordinating technical work within a team.
• Strong expertise in creating production‑quality rigs for characters, creatures, and props using Autodesk Maya or equivalent DCC software.
• Hands‑on experience implementing animation systems in Unreal Engine, including Animation Blueprints, State Machines, Blend Spaces, and Control Rig.
• Practical experience with C++ development in Unreal Engine, with the ability to debug, extend, and collaborate on animation‑related gameplay systems.
• Proficiency in Python, MEL, or equivalent scripting languages for pipeline automation and tool development.
• Solid understanding of animation principles, character deformation, and real‑time animation workflows.
• Strong analytical and problem‑solving skills with the ability to debug complex technical issues.
• Excellent organizational, communication, and collaboration skills.
• Ability to balance hands‑on production work with team coordination responsibilities.
• Professional proficiency in English.

Nice to Have

• Experience leading small feature teams or acting as a technical point of contact.
• Experience with facial rigging and facial animation pipelines.
• Experience with motion capture processing, cleanup, and integration.
• Familiarity with Motion Matching, procedural animation systems, or advanced Unreal Engine animation features.
• Experience shipping one or more AAA or large‑scale game productions.

Work at Virtuos Paris studio, close to the city center of Paris - the iconic capital of France

Contribute to the world’s biggest AAA titles in gaming

End-of-project celebrations, teambuilding outings, and studio bonding activities

Gaming corners with consoles and a common area

Comprehensive medical healthcare provided for all staff

Remote work is possible

Relocation support

Career and international mobility opportunities with Virtuos Internal Mobility Program

People matter. Diverse opinions and experiences matter. At Virtuos, our talented teams are the cornerstone of our success, and we recognize that fostering and advocating for inclusivity is at the center of what we do best - we make games better, together. Virtuos is proud to be an equal opportunity employer that embraces diversity of thought, expression, culture, and backgrounds.

Founded in 2004, Virtuos is one of the largest independent video game development companies. We are headquartered in Singapore with offices in Asia, Europe, and North America. Specializing in full‑cycle game development and art production, we have delivered high‑quality content for more than 1,500 console, PC, and mobile games. Our clients include 23 of the top 25 gaming companies worldwide.

About Our Team

Founded in 2004, our Paris studio is located within the lush confines of Parc Saint‑Christophe in Cergy - easily reachable by public transport.

Our studio has a full suite of capabilities to undertake projects of varying scopes, including co‑developments, adaptations, and remasters of AAA games. A great example of this is our recently launched homemade game, Mahokenshi, which was released in January 2023.

Virtuos Paris houses a team of experts from technical artists and game designers to engineers. Our Paris studio takes pride in its engineering team’s depth of experience, which has been providing its rich expertise in re‑engineering and adaptation, as well as in gameplay mandates to our global partners to bring some of the world’s top AAA games to life.