Lead / Principal Animation Programmer

Sega Europe; Horsham; Hybrid; GBP 50,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading company in the gaming industry is seeking a Lead Animation Engineer to join their team in Horsham. This role involves leading the animation engineering efforts for a high-profile sequel game, requiring extensive C++ experience and proficiency in Unreal Engine. The position offers hybrid work options and a range of benefits to support employees and their families.

Benefits

Work from Anywhere for a temporary period

Enhanced holiday allowance

Private medical and dental insurance

Wellbeing support and virtual counselling

Community activities

Qualifications

• Extensive professional C++ programming experience in animation.
• Experience using Unreal Engine 4 or 5 on AAA titles.
• Ability to communicate effectively for collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Lead a team of animation engineers for a new game project.
• Act as technical owner for animation engineering needs.
• Ensure timely delivery of animation features with quality.

Skills

C++ programming

Animation systems

Communication

Tools

Unreal Engine 4

Unreal Engine 5

Job description

Based at our well-established studio in Horsham, in the heart of West Sussex, you will be working as a key member of the team on our upcoming Survival title, the sequel to Alien: Isolation.

In this role, you will be able to make a real impact on our games, while bringing your knowledge and experience to help push the boundaries of the genre by collaborating with the wider development team striving to make our titles better than ever before.

This role is Hybrid and has an expectation of a minimum of 2 days per week in our Horsham studio.

Key Responsibilities

In this role you will be required to lead a small team of animation engineers in the development of top-quality animation capabilities for our project.

On a day-to-day basis, you will:

• Act as technical owner and primary point of contact for the project’s animation engineering needs
• Work closely with animators, production team and technical directors to ensure all project animation engineering work is identified, well defined, planned and scoped.
• Collaborate with your team to plan, estimate and author high-quality performant animation code
• Ensure animation features are delivered on time and meet quality expectations
• Ensure animation systems are documented and have appropriate auto-testing
• Debug, diagnose and resolve any animation problems as they arise
• Mentor members of your team in their technical and professional development.

Knowledge, Skill and Experience:

+ Essential

• Extensive professional C++ programming experience in the field of animation
• Experience in using Unreal Engine 4 or 5 on a AAA title
• Experience of building sophisticated animation systems
• Ability to clearly communicate using a variety of methods to enable effective collaboration.

+ Desirable

• Experience with Motion Matching, or equivalent advanced locomotion system, with a strong understanding of its utilization and limitations.
• Demonstratable awareness of emerging animation technologies
• Previous leadership experience
• Development experience on consoles
• Passionate about games and solving technical problems.

About Creative Assembly
Creative Assembly crafts deep and detailed games that last, entertaining millions of players across the globe for decades.

We are all game makers and we care deeply about the experiences we create. We empower our teams to make significant contributions to our games, supported by skills development and growth opportunities.

We are located in Horsham, UK and Sofia, Bulgaria.
We offer many benefits to support you and your family including:

• Work from Anywhere for a temporary period each year (restrictions apply such as VISAs)
• Enhanced holiday allowance, maternity and paternity breaks, flexibility with our core hours, and no-notice holidays
• Bespoke relocation package for you and your dependents
• Private medical and dental insurance, life insurance, permanent health insurance, critical illness cover and free health care screening
• Generous holiday allowance plus full studio closure over the Christmas and New Year period, and all Bank holidays
• Join our Diversity and Inclusion Network – an employee-led group
• Season ticket travel loans and cycle to work scheme with free bike servicing and discounted car valet service on site
• Wellbeing support and virtual confidential counselling
• Community activities including parties, football and more.
• Our studio sites have disabled access.

We are an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, religion or belief.

Note to Recruitment Agencies: SEGA Europe Limited and our studios do not accept unsolicited candidate introductions from unauthorised third parties. For the avoidance of doubt, SEGA Europe is not liable for any fees, compensation or any other costs associated with the introduction of a candidate or recruitment services unless and until an agreement has been duly executed. Further details can be found here.