Senior Gameplay and Animation Engineer

GDA; Brighton; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Hangar 13 in Brighton is seeking a Senior Gameplay & Animation Engineer to set a high bar for code quality and drive key gameplay and animation systems.

You will own and extend our technology, tools, and pipelines, collaborating with animators, designers and programmers to deliver spectacular gameplay features for our games. This permanent role requires strong C++, Unreal Engine experience and a passion for storytelling.

Qualifications

• Demonstrable programming experience in a creative environment.
• Shipped one or more AAA game titles, ideally using Unreal Engine.
• Advanced proficiency in C++, linear algebra, 3D maths and OO design principles.
• Experience with GAS - the Unreal Gameplay Ability System.
• Unreal Engine, Blueprints and Unreal Animation Principles.
• Dedication to code quality and documentation, and ability to learn and master new technologies and code.
• Ability to work independently and efficiently under deadlines.
• Effective communicator and collaborator with multi-disciplinary team members.

Responsibilities

• Work within Unreal Engine 5 adapting existing systems and building new technology to fulfil the project’s technical needs and creativity.
• Prototyping and coding gameplay and animation features
• Work closely and constructively with design, animation, and engineering teams to realise creative ambitions
• Support planning efforts by estimating and dependency checking gameplay feature development
• Identify technical and developmental risks/obstacles and generate solutions to overcome identified risks
• Research coding techniques and algorithms in order to keep current on technological developments and advancements in the game industry.

Skills

C++ programming

AAA game development

OO design principles

3D maths

Communication

Independent work under deadlines

Tools

Unreal Engine

Blueprints

GAS - Gameplay Ability System

Job description

• Job Title: Senior Gameplay & Animation Engineer
• Location(s): Brighton (preferred), Brno, Prague
• Reports To: Lead engineer
• Job Type (Permanent, fixed term, internship): Permanent

Who We Are

Home to the award winning Mafia franchise, our team are united by passion for rich narrative storytelling, cinematic presentation and AAA craft. We're looking for creative minds and driven professionals who share our love of story, style, and adventure. If you're ready to help shape the next generation of narrative driven games, we'd love to hear from you.

Job Summary

As a Senior Gameplay & Animation Engineer you will set a high bar for code quality and a passion for gameplay and animation. In this role, you will own and continue the development of our key gameplay and animation systems, you will extend and maintain the code of our technology, tools, and pipelines, working closely with the animators, character artists, designers, and programmers to help develop spectacular gameplay features for our games.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Work within Unreal Engine 5 adapting existing systems and building new technology to fulfil the project’s technical needs and creativity.
• Prototyping and coding gameplay and animation features
• Work closely and constructively with design, animation, and engineering teams to realise creative ambitions
• Support planning efforts by estimating and dependency checking gameplay feature development
• Identify technical and developmental risks/obstacles and generate solutions to overcome identified risks
• Research coding techniques and algorithms in order to keep current on technological developments and advancements in the 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, 3D Maths and strong familiarity with Object-Oriented (OO) design principles
• Experience with GAS - the Unreal Gameplay Ability System
• Unreal Engine, Blueprints and Unreal Animation Principles
• Dedication to code quality and documentation, and ability to learn and master new technologies and code
• Ability to work independently and efficiently under deadlines
• Effective communicator and collaborator with multi-disciplinary team members

Highly Desirable

• Hands-on experience developing for Unreal Engine and Xbox Series X/S and PS5
• Experience with player controlled characters, Unreal enhanced inputs, cameras and camera systems
• Implementation experience in one or more of the following areas, Inverse Kinematics techniques, Ragdoll and physics-based character animation, Procedural animation techniques, Keyframe animation and forward kinematics, Machine learning driven animation techniques

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. Please contact us if you need to request reasonable accommodation.