Contract Advanced Technical Animator

Certain Affinity, Inc.; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 83,000 - 131,000; Part time

Job summary

Certain Affinity, Inc. is seeking an Advanced Technical Animator (Contract) to drive scalable, high-performance character systems in Unreal Engine productions.

You will architect runtime animation systems, build data-driven pipelines, and develop tools across disciplines to deliver AAA-quality characters. You will design, implement, and optimize animation frameworks, facial pipelines, and cross-DCC workflows while mentoring teammates and partnering with vendors.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in games or real-time production focusing on technical animation or related disciplines.
• Deep experience with Unreal Engine real-time animation systems and performance profiling with Unreal Insights.
• Strong scripting and programming skills (Python required; MEL, C#, or C++ preferred).
• Proven experience building production-ready tools, pipelines, and workflows.
• Solid understanding of real-time character systems, including rigging and IK/FK blending.
• Experience supporting or building animation graphs, simulation workflows, or deformation pipelines.
• Hands-on experience with Maya or another major DCC package.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and maintain scalable runtime animation systems in Unreal Engine, including Animation Blueprint architectures that are performant and thread-safe
• Develop modular, data-driven animation frameworks supporting layered gameplay systems (motion matching, state machines, additive systems, gameplay-driven logic)
• Build, integrate, and optimize character systems such as IK setups, secondary motion, and simulation workflows (e.g., cloth and hair)
• Profile, debug, and optimize animation and character systems for performance across multiplayer, large-scale, or live-service environments
• Own and support the end-to-end facial animation pipeline, including defining model requirements, guiding joint setup and rigging approaches, and ensuring successful integration and performance in-engine
• Design, build, and maintain robust cross-DCC and engine pipelines to support character and animation workflows
• Develop and maintain custom tools (Python, MEL, C#, or C++) in Maya and Unreal to improve iteration speed and content quality
• Identify production bottlenecks, troubleshoot complex pipeline and content issues, and implement scalable solutions across teams
• Partner with external vendors and internal stakeholders to support and scale outsourcing pipelines
• Establish best practices, documentation, and onboarding materials to ensure consistency and efficiency across teams
• Support version control workflows, asset management systems, and studio-wide pipeline standards
• Mentor team members and contribute to evolving technical and pipeline strategies across projects

Skills

Unreal Engine

Python

C++

MEL

C#

Maya

Animation pipelines

Tools

Maya

Unreal Insights

Git

Job description

Advanced Technical Animator (Contract)

We are seeking a Advanced Technical Animator to drive the development of scalable, high-performance character systems across Unreal Engine productions. This role sits at the intersection of animation, rigging, engineering, and pipeline, and is critical to enabling teams to deliver high-quality, real-time content efficiently. You will architect runtime animation systems, build and optimize production pipelines, develop tools, and collaborate across disciplines to support both internal teams and external partners in delivering modern, AAA-quality character experiences.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and maintain scalable runtime animation systems in Unreal Engine, including Animation Blueprint architectures that are performant and thread-safe
• Develop modular, data-driven animation frameworks supporting layered gameplay systems (motion matching, state machines, additive systems, gameplay-driven logic)
• Build, integrate, and optimize character systems such as IK setups, secondary motion, and simulation workflows (e.g., cloth and hair)
• Profile, debug, and optimize animation and character systems for performance across multiplayer, large-scale, or live-service environments
• Own and support the end-to-end facial animation pipeline, including defining model requirements, guiding joint setup and rigging approaches, and ensuring successful integration and performance in-engine
• Design, build, and maintain robust cross-DCC and engine pipelines to support character and animation workflows
• Develop and maintain custom tools (Python, MEL, C#, or C++) in Maya and Unreal to improve iteration speed and content quality
• Identify production bottlenecks, troubleshoot complex pipeline and content issues, and implement scalable solutions across teams
• Partner with external vendors and internal stakeholders to support and scale outsourcing pipelines
• Establish best practices, documentation, and onboarding materials to ensure consistency and efficiency across teams
• Support version control workflows, asset management systems, and studio-wide pipeline standards
• Mentor team members and contribute to evolving technical and pipeline strategies across projects

Requirements

• 7+ years of experience in games, film, or real-time interactive production, with a focus on technical animation, technical art, or related disciplines
• Deep experience with Unreal Engine, including real-time animation systems and performance considerations. Profile animation systems using Unreal Insights and in-engine tools.
• Strong scripting and programming skills (Python required; experience with MEL, C#, or C++ preferred)
• Proven experience developing and maintaining production-ready tools, pipelines, and workflows
• Strong understanding of real-time character systems, including skeletal hierarchies, retargeting, facial rigging techniques, IK/FK blending, pose-space correctives and runtime constraints
• Experience supporting or building character-related systems such as animation graphs, simulation workflows, or deformation pipelines
• Hands-on experience with at least one major DCC package (Maya preferred)
• Demonstrated ability to diagnose and resolve complex technical and production challenges across disciplines
• Experience working in collaborative, multi-disciplinary teams with clear communication and documentation skills