Senior Cinematic Animator - Contract

PLAYGROUND GAMES LTD; United Kingdom; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading game studio in the United Kingdom is seeking a Senior Cinematic Animator to join their talented team. You will be responsible for producing high-quality animations for cutscenes, ensuring they effectively tell a narrative. The ideal candidate has over five years of experience, with a strong animation portfolio, and is familiar with motion capture techniques and integrating animations within gameplay. This is a contract position that offers relocation assistance for qualified candidates.

Qualifications

• Five or more years in animation with proven track record on at least two published titles.
• Proficient in body, facial and camera animation.
• Experience in cinematography or game engine implementation is highly desirable.

Responsibilities

• Capture and polish facial and full-body mocap data for cutscenes.
• Enhance visual storytelling through cinematic layout.
• Implement cinematics into the proprietary engine.

Skills

Expert animation skills

Facial and body performance

Motion capture

Hand-keyed animation

Industry-standard animation software

Job description

Playground Games is looking for a Senior Cinematic Animator to join our talented Fable team here in Leamington Spa.

ABOUT US

As a first-party Xbox Game Studio, we are passionate about making genre-defining games that are accessible, beautiful, and, most of all, fun. We are excited to be rebooting the much-loved Fable franchise and are expanding our diverse team to create a new classic in the action RPG genre.

ABOUT THE ROLE

As a Senior Cinematics Animator, you'll work closely with our cinematics team to produce top-tier cutscenes and bespoke animation content. You will drive creative vision from previsualization through final polish, enhance narrative through cinematic storytelling, and ensure your animations are seamlessly integrated within our proprietary engine.

We’re looking for an expert animator who is passionate about storytelling, excels at conveying emotion through performance, and has a deep understanding of both facial and body performance. The ideal candidate has extensive experience with motion capture and hand‑keyed animation, as well as familiarity with implementing cinematics in‑engine.

This is a contract position at our state‑of‑the‑art facilities in Royal Leamington Spa, operating under a hybrid work model. Relocation assistance is available for qualified candidates.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Capture, solve, retarget, and polish both facial and full‑body mocap data for cutscenes, ensuring high‑quality, believable performances.
• Iterate rapidly on cinematic layout to enhance visual storytelling, refine pacing, and support narrative impact.
• Work closely with the Lead, Director, and cinematic team to incorporate feedback and align animations with the overall creative vision.
• Implement cinematics into our proprietary engine, ensuring seamless integration with gameplay and overall flow.

WHAT YOU'LL BRING

• Impressive animation portfolio showcasing high‑quality, realistic facial and body animations across multiple projects, ideally from AAA titles. A link to the portfolio website or an attachment with your CV is acceptable.
• Five or more years in animation, with a proven track record on at least two published titles.
• Proficient in body, facial and camera animation, motion capture clean‑up and industry‑standard animation software.
• A genuine enthusiasm for video games, narrative, and the creative process.
• Experience in cinematography, editing, or game engine implementation is highly desirable and will set you apart.

This is a fantastic opportunity to make world‑class games with an established, talented, and collaborative team at one of the industry’s most exciting first‑party game studios.

Playground Games is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, we believe that diversity and inclusion fuels creativity. We are dedicated to creating a safe, comfortable and welcoming working environment.

We strive to build an inclusive culture that encourages, supports and celebrates the diverse voices of our team members. It drives our innovation and connects us closer to our players. We are committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion across age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.

At Playground Games we recognise the importance of self‑development, career progression, well‑being and retention of our colleagues. We celebrate difference and welcome everyone to join us and to be themselves at work.

If you require any reasonable accommodation to apply for this position, please contact us on [e-mail].