Senior Cinematic Animator - Freelance

Lever, Inc.; Netherlands; On-site; EUR 67,000 - 100,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

4-month freelance contract

Fully remote work

Flexible CET hours

Global collaboration

Job summary

Lever, Inc. seeks a Senior Cinematic Animator for a four-month freelance engagement. This fully remote role is based in the Netherlands with CET hours. You will bring characters to life in high-energy cinematic sequences using Maya and Unreal Engine, guiding action and storytelling across production pipelines.

You will collaborate with cinematic artists, refine motion capture data, and ensure production-ready animation within a fast-paced, globally distributed team across Europe and beyond.

Qualifications

• At least 5 years of professional experience in character animation for games or film, with a strong focus on cinematic animation.
• Expert-level proficiency with Autodesk Maya and Unreal Engine.
• A strong portfolio demonstrating high-quality cinematic animation and storytelling.

Responsibilities

• Animate characters and props for cinematic sequences with high-energy action and clear visual communication.
• Polish animation in Maya before integrating into Unreal Engine.
• Collaborate with cinematic artists to choreograph compelling action-driven sequences.
• Apply rigging, skinning, and pipeline workflows for cinematic use.
• Refine motion-capture data into production-ready animation.
• Troubleshoot and optimize Maya–Unreal Engine workflows.
• Contribute to a fast-paced production and maintain high animation quality.
• Work independently and communicate effectively with the wider team.

Skills

Maya

Unreal Engine

Cinematic animation

Motion capture

Rigging

Skinning

Storytelling

Collaboration

Tools

Unreal Engine

Job description

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Senior Cinematic Animator - Freelance based in Netherlands.

As a Senior Cinematic Animator, you will bring characters and props to life across high-energy cinematic sequences designed to captivate players.
You will create, refine, and polish animation using Maya before integrating assets into Unreal Engine.
Working closely with cinematic artists, you will help choreograph dramatic action and storytelling moments with clarity and impact.
The role combines creative animation expertise with technical skills across rigging, skinning, motion capture, and animation pipelines.
You will contribute to ambitious game productions within a fast-paced, globally distributed development environment.
This is an opportunity to work with modern game-development technologies while collaborating with talented professionals across Europe and beyond.
The position is fully remote and offers flexible working arrangements, with core collaboration hours aligned to CET.

Accountabilities

• Animate characters and props for cinematic sequences, with a particular focus on high-energy action, dramatic storytelling, and clear visual communication.


• Create, refine, and polish high-quality animation in Autodesk Maya before preparing and integrating it into Unreal Engine.


• Collaborate closely with cinematic artists and other production team members to choreograph compelling action-driven sequences.


• Apply technical animation expertise, including character and prop rigging, skinning, and preparation for cinematic use.


• Clean up and refine motion-capture data to achieve polished, production-ready animation.


• Troubleshoot and optimize animation workflows and pipelines between Maya and Unreal Engine.


• Contribute to a fast-paced production environment while maintaining high standards for animation quality and consistency.


• Work independently to manage assigned animation tasks while communicating effectively with the wider development team.

Requirements

• At least 5 years of professional experience in character animation for games or film, with a strong focus on cinematic animation.


• Expert-level proficiency with Autodesk Maya and Unreal Engine.


• A strong portfolio demonstrating high-quality cinematic animation, character performance, and action-oriented storytelling.


• Hands-on experience with motion-capture cleanup and implementation.


• Solid technical animation knowledge, including rigging, skinning, and animation pipeline workflows.


• Strong understanding of cinematic animation principles, timing, posing, movement, and visual storytelling.


• Ability to work independently, take ownership of tasks, and deliver high-quality work within production deadlines.


• Excellent collaboration and communication skills, with the ability to work effectively with artists and other disciplines in a distributed team.


• Self-motivated, adaptable, and comfortable working in a fast-paced game-development environment.

Benefits

• 4-month freelance contract with an immediate start.


• Fully remote work within a globally distributed team.


• Flexible working schedule, with core collaboration hours from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM CET.


• Opportunity to work on ambitious, high-profile game projects and contribute to cinematic experiences for players worldwide.


• Access to cutting-edge game-development technologies and modern animation workflows.


• Collaboration with talented professionals from different backgrounds and locations.


• Inclusive working environment that values diversity across backgrounds, identities, cultures, and experiences.


• Opportunity to work at the forefront of the gaming and interactive entertainment industry.