Animator

Frontier Developments; Cambridge; Hybrid; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation support

Cycle to Work

Private healthcare

Life assurance

Flexible hours

In-house catering

Social activities

Job summary

Frontier Developments in Cambridge is seeking an experienced Animator to join our talented team and help bring our worlds to life.

You will create high-quality character and creature animations, integrate them into our Cobra engine, and collaborate with Art, Design, Code and VFX to realise the creative vision. This role offers in-studio or hybrid work with relocation support and a range of wellbeing benefits.

Qualifications

• Proven experience producing high-quality animation assets.
• Strong proficiency with Maya for character animation.

Responsibilities

• Create high-quality character and creature animations using Maya.
• Integrate animations into Cobra engine.
• Collaborate across Character Art, Code, Design and VFX.
• Take direction from Lead Animator and Game Director to realise creative vision.
• Support junior teammates and share knowledge.

Skills

Maya animation

Creature animation

Animation state machines

Rigging basics

Version control

Tools

SVN

Perforce

Job description

Frontier is an independent video game developer and publisher, crafting immersive gaming experiences with fun gameplay and unparalleled artistic quality. Renowned for its iconic creative management simulation games, Frontier captivates players worldwide with immersive and authentic game worlds. The modern studio is located in the vibrant technology hub of Cambridge (UK). The talented team at Frontier are dedicated to nurturing our existing portfolio and delivering our exciting future roadmap.

This role is offered on a full in‑studio basis or a hybrid basis (minimum 3 days per week in the studio). We can provide a comprehensive relocation support package as part of any offer, should you need to relocate.

What’s The Role

Are you passionate about crafting compelling character and creature animation that elevates gameplay? At Frontier, animation is at the heart of our storytelling. We’re looking for an experienced Animator to join our talented team and help bring our worlds to life.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Create high‑quality, expressive character and creature animations using Maya.
• Implement animations into our proprietary Cobra engine.
• Collaborate across disciplines including Character Art, Code, Design, and VFX.
• Take direction from the Lead Animator and Game Director to realise the creative vision.
• Contribute to a culture of feedback and continuous improvement.
• Solve production challenges with creativity and technical know‑how.
• Maintain accurate task tracking and validate assets to minimise bugs.
• Provide feedback to external development partners when needed.
• Support junior team members and contribute to team knowledge sharing.

What You’ll Bring

• Proven experience producing high‑quality animation assets.
• Strong proficiency in Maya’s character animation tools.
• Excellent understanding of body mechanics, posing, timing, and acting choices.
• Experience with creature animation and believable movement.
• Familiarity with animation state machines.
• Understanding of versioning software (SVN, Perforce).
• Strong time management and communication skills.
• Basic knowledge of rigging pipelines.

Bonus If You Have

• Experience with external animation behaviour tree software (e.g. Havok, Unity, Unreal)
• Scripting knowledge (Python, MEL)
• Experience mentoring or training junior animators

What We Can Offer You

You will work with talented and passionate people to support, develop or publish our sophisticated and enduring games, in a creative, collaborative and inclusive environment. We love what we do, and we work hard to provide outstanding experiences for our players.

Wellbeing is a big focus at Frontier, and we are continually evolving how we can support our people. We encourage a healthy work/life balance and provide a range of wellbeing activities, initiatives and sessions to support both mental and physical health.

We offer a competitive salary and benefits package, which includes a success‑based annual bonus, share option schemes, life assurance, private family healthcare, flexitime working hours, enhanced maternity/paternity leave, in‑house subsidised catering, support with relocation, a Cycle to Work scheme, free bike servicing, and social activities and events.

We strive to create an environment where everyone can fully demonstrate their capability and potential. If you therefore need any reasonable adjustments to support you during the recruitment process, please speak to your Talent Acquisition representative.

For queries, please email: [email protected]