Senior Animation Engineer

2K Games; Playden; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Hangar 13 in the Brighton area is seeking a Senior Animation Engineer to lead the development of core animation systems within Unreal Engine 5, collaborating with animators, artists and engineers to bring characters to life and deliver believable motion across our titles.

You will own tools and pipelines, prototype features such as state machines, blending and IK, and ensure code quality while meeting deadlines. Experience shipping AAA games and a strong OO design background are essential.

Qualifications

• Shipped AAA title or multi-year engine experience.
• Advanced proficiency in C++, linear algebra, and 3D maths.
• Extensive Unreal Engine, Blueprints, and animation principles.
• Experience with IK, ragdoll, procedural animation.

Responsibilities

• Adapt Unreal Engine 5 animation systems for project needs.
• Prototype features and runtime systems (graphs, state machines, blending).
• Build and maintain animation tools and pipelines.
• Collaborate with multi-disciplinary teams to realize creative goals.
• Estimate tasks and check animation feature dependencies.
• Identify risks and develop solutions.
• Research techniques to stay current in animation tech.

Skills

C++

Unreal Engine

Animation Systems

State Machines

Motion Techniques

Ragdoll/Physics

OOP Design

Animation Blueprints

Machine Learning Animation

Job description

Job Title: Senior Animation Engineer
Department: Engineering
Location(s): Brighton (preferred), Brno, Prague
Reports To: Lead engineer
Job Type: Permanent

Job Summary

As a Senior Animation Engineer you will set a high bar for code quality and bring a deep passion for character animation and the technology behind it. In this role you will own and continue the development of our core animation systems, tools, and pipelines, extending and maintaining the code of our technology while working closely with animators, character artists, technical artists, designers, and fellow engineers to bring our characters to life and deliver spectacular, believable animation for our games.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Work within Unreal Engine 5, adapting existing animation systems and building new technology to meet the project's technical and creative needs.
• Prototype and implement animation features and runtime systems (animation graphs, state machines, blending, layering).
• Build and maintain animation tools and pipelines that empower animators and technical artists to work efficiently.
• Work closely and constructively with animation, art, design, and engineering teams to realise creative ambitions.
• Support planning efforts by estimating and dependency-checking animation feature development.
• Identify technical and developmental risks/obstacles and generate solutions to overcome them.
• Research coding techniques and algorithms to stay current with technological developments and advancements in animation and the wider game industry.

Essential Skills, Attributes and Experience

• Demonstrable programming experience in a creative environment.
• Shipped one or more AAA game titles, ideally using Unreal Engine.
• Advanced proficiency in C++, linear algebra, and 3D maths, with strong familiarity with Object-Oriented design principles (OOP).
• Strong experience with Unreal Engine, Blueprints, and Unreal animation principles (Animation Blueprints, state machines, blend spaces, linked layers).
• Hands‑on implementation experience in one or more of the following: inverse kinematics techniques, ragdoll and physics‑based character animation, procedural animation techniques, keyframe animation and forward to code quality and documentation, and the ability to learn and master new technologies and code.
• Ability to work independently and efficiently under deadlines.
• Effective communicator and collaborator across multi‑disciplinary teams.
• Highly Desirable Experience with machine‑learning‑driven animation techniques (e.g. motion matching, learned pose generation).
• Experience with Control Rig, IK Rig, and Motion Warping.
• Experience with new features like Mass locomotion, Mover and/or UAF/AnimNext.
• Strong familiarity with Data‑Oriented design principles (DOP).
• Hands‑on experience developing for Xbox Series X/S and PS5.

Hangar 13 prides itself on the diversity of its team members, partners, and communities. For this reason, we remain committed to providing equal employment opportunity in all aspects of the employment relationship, from recruitment and hiring through compensation, benefits, discipline and termination. As an equal opportunity employer, we are also committed to ensuring that qualified individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation(s) to participate in the job application and/or interview process, to perform their essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment.