Contract Senior Real-Time Character Technical Artist

Impleo; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Impleo is seeking an Advanced Technical Animator to lead scalable runtime animation systems in Unreal Engine across AAA-quality productions. You will architect pipelines, develop tools, and collaborate across animation, rigging, engineering, and pipeline teams to deliver high-performance character experiences.

The role requires deep Unreal Engine experience, strong scripting (Python), and hands-on work with DCC tools (Maya).

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in games, film, or real-time production with focus on technical animation
• Deep experience with Unreal Engine including real-time animation systems and performance considerations
• Strong scripting and programming skills (Python required; MEL/C++/C# preferred)
• Proven experience developing production-ready tools, pipelines, and workflows
• Strong understanding of real-time character systems including skeletal hierarchies and retargeting
• Experience with at least one major DCC package (Maya preferred)
• Ability to diagnose and resolve complex technical and production challenges across disciplines

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and maintain scalable runtime animation systems in Unreal Engine
• Develop modular, data-driven animation frameworks supporting layered gameplay systems
• Build and optimize character systems such as IK, secondary motion, and simulation workflows
• Profile, debug, and optimize animation and character systems for performance
• Own and support end-to-end facial animation pipeline in-engine
• Design and maintain cross-DCC and engine pipelines for workflows
• Develop custom tools in Python, MEL, C#, or C++ to speed up iteration
• Identify bottlenecks and implement scalable solutions across teams
• Partner with vendors and internal stakeholders to scale outsourcing pipelines
• Establish best practices, documentation, and onboarding materials
• Support version control workflows and pipeline standards
• Mentor team members and evolve technical strategies across projects

Skills

Unreal Engine

Python scripting

C++

Animation systems

Rigging techniques

Profiling & optimization

Collaboration

Tools

Maya

Unreal Engine

MEL

C#

Job description

Impleo is seeking an Advanced Technical Animator to lead scalable runtime animation systems in Unreal Engine across AAA-quality productions. You will architect pipelines, develop tools, and collaborate across animation, rigging, engineering, and pipeline teams to deliver high-performance character experiences.

The role requires deep Unreal Engine experience, strong scripting (Python), and hands-on work with DCC tools (Maya).