Technical Animator

Sumo Digital; Leeds; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 75,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible hours

35 hours/week

Annual bonus

Generous holiday

Learning & Development Days

Employee Assistance Programme

Relocation support

Job summary

Red Kite is a Leeds-based studio known for AAA PC and console games. We offer a flexible benefits package and a dynamic, social workplace with top-tier publishing partners and award-winning culture.

The team works across diverse projects, using cutting-edge technologies while delivering high-quality character and asset pipelines. This role focuses on rigging, Metahuman setups, and integration with Unreal assets.

Qualifications

• Experience with character, prop and vehicle rigging with mGear.
• Experience with Metahuman biped templates and Radial Basis Functions. (Familiarity with custom build steps would be a bonus.)
• Maya skinning experience.
• Experience in nCloth and Houdini cloth simulation rigs.
• Python scripting and tools writing would be a welcome addition to your skillset.

Responsibilities

• Character Rig Creation: Using mGear and a Metahuman biped templates.
• Maya Outfits Skinning: Focusing on character costuming and topology, with secondary motion and physics where necessary, in Unreal.
• Prop Rigging: mGear rigging with simple controls for mechanical parts and pre-designed movement.
• Vehicle Rigging: Building initial basic skeletons, and occasional mGear Animation rigs. Working with the modelling team and pipelines for the skeletal positions and Nanite attached-meshes.
• Metahuman Head Rig Setups: Tweaking Metahuman Radial Basis Functions and any other special requirements on scanning and character art.
• Pre-simulated Clothing Deformation: Setting up nCloth simulation rig to connect with animation and assets exported from cinematic sequences via content pipeline.

Skills

mGear rigging

Metahuman templates

Radial Basis Functions

Maya skinning

nCloth

Houdini cloth

Python scripting

Job description

Specialising in AAA PC and console games development, Red Kite has a proven track record in the creation of cutting-edge games across varying genres.

Having set up home in the beautiful Grade-II listed Park Row House in Leeds city centre, Red Kite continues to develop top-quality games for multiple world-class publishing partners such as Sony, Microsoft, Activision, 2K, SEGA, Warner Bros., Epic, 505, Rare, Rocksteady, Codemasters, Sharkmob, Mediatonic and Remedy.

Several titles include South of Midnight, ASTRONEER, Exoborne, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, Hogwarts Legacy, Fall Guys, Mafia: Definitive Edition, Mafia III: Definitive Edition, Control Ultimate Edition, Two Point Hospital, Knockout City, Battletoads, Crackdown 3, Payday 2, Team Sonic Racing, DiRT 4, God of War III: Remastered and many more.

One of the most interesting aspects to working at Red Kite is the diversity of projects present within the studio and we constantly find ourselves pushing the boundaries when it comes to the gameplay that we are creating and the technologies that we are engineering.

• Experience with character, prop and vehicle rigging with mGear.
• Experience with Metahuman biped templates and Radial Basis Functions. (Familiarity with custom build steps would be a bonus.)
• Maya skinning experience.
• Experience in nCloth and Houdini cloth simulation rigs.
• Python scripting and tools writing would be a welcome addition to your skillset.

• Character Rig Creation:Using mGear and a Metahuman biped templates.
• Maya Outfits Skinning:Focusing on character costuming and topology, with secondary motion and physics where necessary, in Unreal.
• Prop Rigging:mGear rigging with simple controls for mechanical parts and pre-designed movement.
• Vehicle Rigging: Building initial basic skeletons, and occasional mGear Animation rigs. Working with the modelling team and pipelines for the skeletal positions and Nanite attached-meshes.
• Metahuman Head Rig Setups: Tweaking Metahuman Radial Basis Functions and any other special requirements on scanning and character art.
• Pre-simulated Clothing Deformation:Setting up nCloth simulation rig to connect with animation and assets exported from cinematic sequences via content pipeline.

Red Kite is located in central Leeds, a major UK city connected to London by rapid rail links and the M1 motorway – plus the rest of the world via Leeds Bradford airport. It's home to some of the best restaurants, bars and museums in the North of England, and is within easy reach of spectacular countryside (the Yorkshire Moors and Bronte Country), historical York and the Yorkshire East coast (you should definitely check out Whitby and Runswick Bay).

We offer a superb flexible benefits package – which includes but is not limited to:

• Flexitime – Including work from home on Fridays and early finish Fridays
• Industry leading 35 hours per week
• Defined Annual Bonus scheme
• Generous holiday allowance – Including your birthday, Duvet Days and Christmas Eve
• 5 x Learning & Development Days per year
• Employee Assistance Programme – Including health, mental health and wellbeing support
• Enhanced Maternity/Paternity and Adoption pay
• Life Assurance, Income Protection, Critical Illness Cover and Dental Insurance
• Relocation Support

Nurturing Red Kite's studio culture is at the heart of everything we do, which has been recognised by the following awards:

• GI.biz – Best Places to Work
• Best Companies – A World Class, 3 Star place to work
• TIGA STAR Award for excellence

Red Kite is a social studio – the team regularly gather for socials, game nights, film nights, to play sports and much more – making this a great place to build a career whilst making friends...and let us not forget Red Kite's legendary Summer BBQ and our epic Christmas party!

Red Kite's studio is relaxed and friendly. Every team member has the opportunity to shine and we pride ourselves on providing a positive social atmosphere, facilitated by shared interest groups, wide-ranging clubs and charity fundraising events. Red Kite are proud supporters of the gaming charity SpecialEffect.

Red Kite works closely with our employee diversity group, PRISM, which exists to promote diversity, inclusion, equity, equality and wellbeing across the studio. We continue to work to improve diversity in our recruitment and promotion processes, and actively encourage people from marginalised groups to consider a career in the games industry.

Come join the team, build a rewarding career, and help to make great games with a lovely bunch of talented people!