Principal Technical Animator - Gameplay Systems Architect

SussexDigital; England; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Hangar 13 / 2K is seeking a Principal Technical Animator to define the technical vision for character animation integration in Brighton & Hove. You will shape architecture, lead R&D, and drive pipeline improvements across design, animation and engineering.

The role focuses on technical authority, tooling, and collaboration to deliver cutting-edge gameplay animation for AAA titles, with opportunities to mentor teams and influence long-term strategy.

Qualifications

• Experience architecting and integrating gameplay animation systems for AAA titles using Unreal Engine.
• Master-level expertise in Unreal Engine’s animation suite.
• Strong understanding of runtime optimisation, memory management and threading for animation.

Responsibilities

• Architect and oversee high-level design of gameplay animation systems.
• Drive R&D to evaluate and implement cutting-edge animation technologies.
• Collaborate with Engineering and Tech Animation leadership on roadmaps and toolsets.
• Solve runtime bugs and improve animation performance and memory use.
• Define technical standards, best practices and pipeline workflows for the team.
• Collaborate with Design and Animation leads on 3C mechanics.
• Mentor and upskill senior and mid-level technical animators.

Skills

Unreal Engine

Animation systems

Cross-disciplinary communication

C++

Python

Tools

Maya API

MotionBuilder

Houdini

Job description

Hangar 13 / 2K is seeking a Principal Technical Animator to define the technical vision for character animation integration in Brighton & Hove. You will shape architecture, lead R&D, and drive pipeline improvements across design, animation and engineering.

The role focuses on technical authority, tooling, and collaboration to deliver cutting-edge gameplay animation for AAA titles, with opportunities to mentor teams and influence long-term strategy.