3D Animator

Atome; Santa Clara (CA); On-site; USD 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, and vision insurance

401(k) plan with employer match

Life and disability insurance

Generous paid holidays and time off

Free daily lunch and snacks

Job summary

Atome in Santa Clara, California, is seeking a highly skilled 3D Animator to enhance their game development team. The ideal candidate will possess extensive experience in 3D animation for video games, alongside expertise in industry-standard tools such as Maya and Unity.

Your responsibilities will include designing high-quality animations and collaborating effectively with various disciplines. The position offers health benefits, a 401(k) plan, and a creative work environment.

Qualifications

• 4+ years of professional animation experience in the video game industry.
• Exceptional skills in character animation with knowledge of body mechanics.
• Strong understanding of character rigging and animation workflows.

Responsibilities

• Create high-quality 3D character and environment animations.
• Evaluate animation workflow requirements across different game systems.
• Collaborate with different disciplines to achieve user experience goals.

Skills

3D Animation

Character Animation

Rigging

AI Tools

Collaboration

Tools

Maya

Blender

3ds Max

Unity

Unreal Engine

Job description

Full-time | Game Development | Game Dev | Santa Clara, California, USA

Role Overview

We are looking for a versatile and highly skilled 3D Animator to join our creative Santa Clara team. Specifically, the ideal candidate should be a forward‑thinking animator with a high skill ceiling and a rock‑solid foundation. As our projects evolve and inevitably demand more complex, specific animation expertise, we are looking for a versatile expert who can step up the 3D animations for games immediately. If you are a versatile professional who has experience of video game projects and possesses a mastery of video game 3D animation, that’s where you come in.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and create high‑quality, expressive 3D character, environment & prop, and non‑character animations. Establish weight, timing, and personality to bring characters and other assets to life. Balance character personality, visual appeal and gameplay intent for different platforms including mobile devices.
• Evaluate the animation workflow requirements of different game systems such as combat, character intro presentation, progression, and cutscenes across various platforms including mobile. Work within the technical and performance constraints for game development.
• Collaborate effectively with different disciplines such as Game Design/3D Modeling/Concept Art/Engineering/Tech Art/Sound/Narrative to achieve the user experience goal.
• Document and leverage knowledge of core animation principles during development, work with the Art Director on animation art style consistency and iterate on animation style guide documents.
• Implement, configure, and test 3D animation assets within the game engine and in builds. Maintain the 3D animation assets in desired quality for build and library for long‑term production.
• Serve as the team’s animation anchor. Be fully prepared to tackle different technical animation requirements (e.g., complex root motion, logic‑driven animations, etc.) as our development goals expand.
• Use and explore AI tools to enhance animation production efficiency.

Requirements

• Proven Experience: 4+ years of professional animation experience in the video game industry, or 2+ years experience with a proven track record of shipping and contributing at least one impactful title as animator.
• Mastery of 3D Animation Art: Exceptional skills in character animation are a strict requirement. Deep understanding of body mechanics, physics, and timing.
• Technical Animation Knowledge: Strong working knowledge of character rigging, skinning, IK/FK systems, constraints, animation controls, and common rig troubleshooting. Able to work closely with technical artists or riggers to identify rigging issues, improve animation usability, and support clean production‑ready animation workflows.
• Versatility: A diverse portfolio demonstrating experience across various types of game projects, art styles, and development pipelines.
• Tool Proficiency: Expert‑level knowledge of industry‑standard 3D DCC software (e.g., Maya, Blender, 3ds Max) and strong hands‑on experience with mainstream game engines (Unity or Unreal Engine).
• Experience with video game animation workflow: Understand the entire process from scratch to shipping in game development, e.g., how 3D animation works in Unity or Unreal Engine (animation state blending, events, and notification systems).
• Adaptability: A self‑driven professional who thrives in a dynamic environment and is always prepared for the next technical challenge.
• Gen‑AI Proficiency: Deep understanding of current Generative AI tools and technologies relevant to 3D art and animation. Proven ability to strategically leverage AI‑driven solutions to accelerate production pipelines, optimize workflows, and enhance overall efficiency.
• Cross‑discipline collaboration experience: Understanding of what other disciplines such as Game Design/3D Model/Concept Art/Engineering/Tech Art/Sound contribute to the user experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Cross‑discipline knowledge in areas such as Storyboarding/2D art/3D art.
• Knowledge of advanced rigging and AI animating tools.
• Experience with scripting (e.g., Python/Blueprint) to optimize animation pipelines and workflows.
• Experience animating playable characters for mobile RPG, action RPG, hero collector, MOBA, or strategy games.
• Experience creating animation sets for live‑service games.
• A passion for the mobile and cross‑platform gaming market, with an understanding of what makes a game visually satisfying and globally appealing. Being a gamer and understanding the latest game trends with player resonance.

Employee Benefits

• Health, dental, and vision insurance
• 401(k) plan with employer match
• Life and disability insurance
• Generous paid holidays and time off
• Free daily lunch and snacks

Please note that there will be a take‑home animation test as part of the interview process.