Principal Gameplay Technical Animator

GDA; Brighton; Hybrid; GBP 80,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Hangar 13 in the UK is seeking a Principal Technical Animator (Gameplay) to define the technical vision for character animation across AAA titles using Unreal Engine. You will shape pipelines, drive R&D, and collaborate with design, animation and engineering to deliver world-class animation quality.

While not a people manager, you will mentor senior and mid-level technical animators, advocate cutting-edge techniques, and help align art and tech leadership on complex gameplay systems.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in architecting gameplay animation systems for AAA titles using Unreal Engine.
• Expertise in Unreal Engine animation tools: Anim Blueprints, Motion Matching, Control Rig, State Machines, Sequencer.
• Strong understanding of runtime optimisation, memory management, and threading for animation.
• Excellent cross-discipline communication to align Art, Design and Engineering on technical visions.
• Ability to translate creative pillars into production-ready technical plans.
• Deep understanding of gameplay mechanics and game feel.

Responsibilities

• Architect and oversee the high-level design of gameplay animation systems with scalable, real-time integration.
• Drive R&D initiatives to evaluate cutting-edge animation tech (Motion Matching, AI animation, next-gen physics).
• Collaborate with Engineering and Tech Animation leadership to implement roadmaps and toolsets.
• Resolve runtime bugs and optimize animation performance within memory budgets.
• Define and document technical standards, best practices and pipelines for the team.
• Mentor and upskill senior/mid-level technical animators through code/blueprint reviews.

Skills

Unreal Engine expertise

Animation architecture

Performance optimization

Cross-discipline communication

Gameplay mechanics understanding

Production planning

Tools

Maya API

MotionBuilder

Houdini

Python

Job description

Hangar 13 in the UK is seeking a Principal Technical Animator (Gameplay) to define the technical vision for character animation across AAA titles using Unreal Engine. You will shape pipelines, drive R&D, and collaborate with design, animation and engineering to deliver world-class animation quality.

While not a people manager, you will mentor senior and mid-level technical animators, advocate cutting-edge techniques, and help align art and tech leadership on complex gameplay systems.