Senior Animation Programmer

Build a Rocket Boy; Remote; GBP 40,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A game development company is seeking a Senior Animation Programmer to design and implement animation systems. Candidates should have at least 4 years of experience and strong C++ programming skills. Responsibilities include mentoring juniors and collaborating across teams to solve technical problems. The position offers remote work and great benefits, including unlimited coaching and a pension scheme.

Benefits

Unlimited coaching & therapy

Stock Options

Pension scheme

Office & remote events

25 Annual Leave + 8 bank holidays

Private Medical Insurance

Healthcare Cash Plan

Cycle2Work Scheme

Electric Car Charging

Qualifications

• 4+ years of experience in a similar role working on animation systems.
• Strong understanding of performance trade-offs for animation systems.
• Videogame programming experience on animation systems is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement large scale animation systems with minimal guidance.
• Support and mentor junior members of the Animation Programming team.
• Collaborate with teams to identify and debug technical problems.

Skills

C++ programming

Animation concepts

Debugging skills

Communication skills

Algorithm skills

Multi-threading concepts

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science/Software Engineering

Job description

Senior Animation Programmer

Department: Engineering

Employment Type: Permanent - Full Time

Location: Remote

Reporting To: Jonathan Lee

Description

As a Senior Animation Programmer here at Build A Rocket Boy you will be responsible for designing and implementing large scale animation systems with minimal guidance, provide technical support and mentor junior members of staff. The Senior Animation Programmer position will report to the Lead Animation Programmer. The person in this position is also expected to be proactive in dealing with other disciplines to resolve problems quickly, elicit clear requirements and translate them into flexible reusable solutions. As well as solving challenging new technical problems, a Senior Animation Programmer will have an excellent understanding of best-practice and standard techniques within game animation (including experience with animation graphs) with a focus on character animation and will keep up-to-date on innovations within the industry.

Key Responsibilities

• Deliver high quality game animation systems using appropriate levels of abstraction.
• Support other teams in the use of animation systems and work closely with technical animators and animators to deliver features.
• Identify and debug technical problems quickly and efficiently.
• Prioritise, plan and manage the time of assigned tasks with minimal oversight.
• Collaborate on technical direction and develop innovative solutions for difficult animation problems.
• Mentor junior members of the Animation Programming team and communicate clearly with other team members with minimal external help.
• Help educate and support other teams to correctly and efficiently use animation systems.
• Work with 3Cs character navigation implementation and debugging and interaction with animation.
• Use appropriate data structures and algorithms to maximize efficiency (for both development time and runtime performance).
• Be vigilant for and report new problems, delays and risks to the appropriate Lead/Director.
• Seek support from higher level management when required.

Skills, Knowledge & Expertise

• 4 years’ experience in a similar role working on Animation systems
• Strong C++ programming and debugging skills.
• Excellent practical understanding of animation concepts.
• Understanding of the performance trade-offs for animation systems.
• Experience with graph-based animation systems.
• Able to tune animation systems based on high level design input with minimal assistance.
• Strong communication skills, comfortable working across teams and mentoring staff.
• Extensive algorithm and data structure skills (including time & space complexity and real-world vs theoretical performance).
• Able to understand and utilize multi-threading primitives & high-level networking concepts.
• Capable of reading and quickly understanding complex code.
• Able to plan an entire sub-system including external dependencies with minimal input.
• Videogame programming experience on animation systems, including having shipped at least one AAA PC/console title.
• Bachelor’s degree with a Computer Science/Software Engineering focus or equivalent
• Experience using C++ in Unreal Engine is a plus

Job Benefits

Our Global Benefits & Perks

• Unlimited coaching & therapy — with Oliva, to support your mental health
• Stock Options — everyone owns a piece of our success
• Pension scheme — up to 5% employer matched contribution to finance those golden years
• Socials —office & remote events, play sessions and company-wide parties
• And even more benefits based on your location!

If you’re based in the UK

• 25 Annual Leave + 8 bank holidays - we’re flexible with most bank holidays so you can use the time to celebrate what’s important to you
• Private Medical Insurance - full cover with AXA
• Healthcare Cash Plan - Level 3 cover with Medicash
• Cycle2Work Scheme - lease a bike through us and save on tax too!
• Electric Car Charging - electric car charging at our Port office in Edinburgh, Scotland.