Character Animation Expert - AI Tools

Mercor; New York (NY); On-site; USD 55,000 - 110,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

4K monitor access

Job summary

Mercor is seeking a senior character animator to help build evaluation standards for a cutting-edge GenAI team. The role focuses on maintaining emotional resonance and facial fidelity while shaping the pool of reviewers for scalable output assessment.

The position is part-time W-2, with on-site collaboration sessions in Playa Vista, CA or New York, NY, and potential placement at a leading AI Lab. Ideal candidates have 4+ years as a hands-on character animator, credits on 2+ feature films, and

Qualifications

• 4+ years as a hands-on character animator, core craft in performance.
• Verifiable credits on 2+ feature films, animated features, or AAA game cinematics at recognized studios.
• Direct experience with facial animation and/or performance capture.
• Meticulous eye for micro-expressions and emotional beats.
• AI proficiency: familiarity with AI tools and workflows, ability to generate visual samples.
• Ability to translate complex visual details into data captions/evaluation templates.
• Able to come on-site in Playa Vista (Los Angeles), CA or New York, NY for in-person sessions once or twice a month.
• Optional: access to a 4K-resolution monitor for precise review.

Responsibilities

• Establish evaluation standards: Define criteria for capturing performance in emotion and physical fidelity; identify gaps in current evaluations.
• Curate benchmarks: Identify strong/weak examples to measure model performance.
• Shape the evaluation pool: Define ideal reviewer profiles, expertise mix, and rubrics for scalable assessments.
• Collaborate with subject-matter experts to keep evaluations consistent and accurate.

Skills

Hands-on character animation

Feature/AAA credits

Facial animation & performance capture

Micro-expressions & emotional beats

AI proficiency

Data captions & evaluation templates

On-site collaboration sessions (PlayaV

4K monitor access (optional)

Job description

Join a leading AI lab's cutting-edge GenAI team to be at the core of the AI revolution, where your expertise fuels the development of the most advanced AI models.

1. Overview

A leading AI lab is building a performance transfer model: one that takes an actor's original performance and carries it faithfully into a new output, holding on to the timing, the emotion, and the small physical choices that make it feel real. The team believes AI should honor the craft of performance, not flatten it.

To get the evaluation right, we are bringing in senior character animators to help define what "good" looks like, critique the current evaluation approach, and shape the pool of reviewers who score model outputs.

This is a part-time W-2 employment position with Cincinnatus LLC, with the opportunity to be placed at a leading AI Lab as part of their extended workforce.

2. Key Responsibilities

• Establish evaluation standards: Define clear criteria for when a performance has been captured well, both in emotional resonance and physical fidelity, and point out where current evaluations fall short.

• Curate benchmarks: Identify strong examples of performances that are easy to capture and ones that are genuinely hard, so the model has meaningful tests to measure against.

• Shape the evaluation pool: Help define the right profile, expertise mix, and rubric for the human reviewers who assess outputs at scale.

• Collaborate with other experts: Work alongside fellow subject-matter experts to keep evaluations consistent and accurate.

3. Core Qualifications

• 4+ years as a hands-on character animator, with human or character performance as your core craft.

• Verifiable credits on 2 or more feature films, animated features, or AAA game cinematics at recognized studios.

• Direct experience with facial animation and/or performance capture — facial keyframe work, motion-capture solving, cleanup or motion editing, or character technical design of facial and performance rigs.

• A meticulous eye for micro-expressions, emotional beats, and the subtleties that make a human performance feel authentic.

• AI proficiency: familiarity with AI tools and workflows, including the ability to generate your own visual samples for testing and comparison.

• The ability to translate complex visual details into clear, precise language that can be captured in data captions and evaluation templates.

• Able to come on-site in Playa Vista (Los Angeles), CA or New York, NY for in-person working sessions once or twice a month.

• (Optional) Reliable access to a 4K-resolution monitor for precise, pixel-level review.

4. Who this role is not for

This role is specifically for animators whose primary craft is character performance. It is not a fit for directors of photography, lighting or camera specialists, colorists, compositors, editors, or generalist 3D artists. Layout, previsualization, environment and effects work will not qualify on their own.

About Cincinnatus LLC

Cincinnatus LLC is an enterprise staffing company that partners with leading technology companies to source and employ highly skilled professionals for contingent and contract-based opportunities. Cincinnatus serves as the employer of record for these engagements, providing W-2 employment, payroll benefits, and compliance, while placing employees directly within client teams to work on high-impact initiatives.

Roles hired through Cincinnatus are not project-based or freelance engagements. They are structured, role-based positions that typically involve part-time or full-time commitments, close collaboration with a client's internal teams, and integration into standard enterprise workflows.

Cincinnatus is a legal entity separate from Mercor. While opportunities may be discovered through Mercor's platform, employment, onboarding, payroll, and benefits for these roles are administered by Cincinnatus LLC.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Cincinnatus is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, reproductive health decisions, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, genetic information, political views or activity, or any other legally protected characteristic.

Cincinnatus is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans throughout the job application process.