Lead Animator

Socket.dev; Novato (CA); On-site; USD 123,000 - 182,000; Full time

Job summary

Cloud Chamber is seeking a Lead Gameplay Animator to shape character performance and movement for our BioShock project. You will lead a team of animators, collaborate with design, art, engineering, and audio to deliver immersive, high-quality gameplay animations for first-person and third-person characters, including AI and human rigs.

You will refine pipelines, mentor staff, and ensure a culture of excellence and openness while aligning with studio values and project milestones.

Qualifications

• Shipped AAA titles in a Lead, Team Lead, or Senior Animator role.
• Deep knowledge of animation pipelines, motion capture, and data integration.
• Strong facial animation skills (FaceFX) and animation of humans, creatures, and mechanical objects.
• Excellent cross-disciplinary collaboration and communication across design, art, engineering.

Responsibilities

• Manage, support, and mentor a team of animators with 1:1s and evaluations.
• Partner with Animation Director to set vision and culture.
• Develop and refine animation pipelines, onboarding, and training.
• Deliver high-end hand-key animations and refine mocap data for multiple perspectives.
• Collaborate on milestones, sprint planning, and hiring efforts.
• Participate in animation leadership to guide team culture and address issues.

Skills

Unreal Engine

Gameplay animation

Character rigging

Team leadership

Job description

As a Lead Gameplay Animator at Cloud Chamber, you will join our talented development team to help shape the character performance and movement systems of our project. In this role, you’ll collaborate with a passionate group of game developers to craft high-end player characters and AI animations that support responsive, immersive gameplay- bringing the richly imagined world of BioShock to life.

What You’ll Do:

• Manage, support, and mentor a team of animators in developing high-end gameplay and AI animations, conducting regular 1:1s, annual evaluations, and setting clear, actionable goals.
• Partner with the Animation Director and leadership to establish the animation vision, evangelize studio values, and shape a positive and inclusive team culture.
• Develop and refine animation pipelines, workflows, and tools, setting up onboarding, Unreal Engine 5 training, and motion capture planning.
• Deliver exceptional hand-key animations and edit motion capture data for first-person and third-person characters, taking on animation tasks as time permits.
• Collaborate with Production on milestone roadmaps, sprint planning, and task delegation while addressing blocking issues and participating in hiring efforts.
• Take an active role in the animation leadership circle by sharing your voice and best practices to help guide the team's culture, as well as updating the group on new or outstanding issues

What We’ll Do Together:

At Cloud Chamber, we are champions of high standards, pushing for progress and embracing change. We will work closely and constructively across design, art, engineering, animation, and audio teams to realize our creative ambitions. Together, we will stay current on technological advancements and identify solutions to overcome developmental obstacles to deliver a world-class AAA experience.

Skills & Experiences:

• Shipped multiple AAA titles as a Lead, Team Lead, or Senior Animator ideally utilizing Unreal Engine.
• Deep knowledge of gameplay and AI animation systems, animation graph/data integration, motion capture pipelines, and rigging/prototyping processes.
• Strong practical skill in hand-key facial animation (such as FaceFX) alongside high proficiency in animating human bipeds, organic forms, quadrupeds, and mechanical objects.
• Exceptional understanding of traditional animation principles, human anatomy, caricature, form, gesture, and silhouette as applied to real-time interactive gameplay.

Who You Are:

• A reliable, positive force multiplier, actively seeking opportunities to integrate work across disciplines and contribute to a healthy, supportive team environment.
• A solid communicator with excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex ideas clearly, package information for diverse audiences, and deliver difficult feedback with empathy and professionalism.
• Experienced in working in cross-disciplinary teams with strong communication skills.
• Persistent and self-motivated with a proactive mindset.
• Able to maintain effectiveness and quality under pressure, ambiguity, and fast-changing priorities.
• An active listener able to build and maintain trust-based relationships across all levels of the organization, understand differing perspectives, and navigate organizational complexity with tact and emotional intelligence.
• Highly open to feedback and direction, possessing a desire to learn new skills, and capable of producing quick, quality revisions based on new insights or constraints.
• A strong ownership of tasks, striving to drive work forward autonomously while maintaining a critical eye for detail and organization, ensuring high standards of quality.
• Dedicated to upholding Cloud Chamber's core values, contributing to a positive and respectful company culture while striving for excellence in all endeavors.

Who We Are:

At Cloud Chamber we strive to make BioShock games that move people: evocative, immersive, and meaningful experiences that stay with you long after you’ve rolled credits. Great games are born from great collaborations, supported by a culture that brings out the best in our teams. We work openly, learn through play, take ownership, push ourselves to be better, and deliver for our players.

For candidates located in Quebec:

This position requires professional proficiency in both French and English. Proficiency in English is required to collaborate with our U.S. teams and international partners, as well as to handle specialized technical documentation (reading, writing, and communication).

The pay range for this position in California at the start of employment is expected to be between $123,200 - $182,360 USD per Year. However, base pay offered is based on market location, and may vary further depending on individualized factors for job candidates, such as job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and other objective business considerations. Subject to those same considerations, the total compensation package for this position may also include other elements, including a bonus and/or equity awards and eligibility to participate in our 401(K) plan and Employee Stock Purchase Program. Regular, full-time employees are also eligible for a range of benefits at the Company, including: medical, dental, vision, and basic life insurance coverage; 14 paid holidays per calendar year; paid vacation time per calendar year (ranging from 15 to 25 days) or eligibility to participate in the Company's discretionary time off program; up to 10 paid sick days per calendar year; paid parental and compassionate leave; wellbeing programs for mental health and other wellness support; family planning support through Maven; commuter benefits; and reimbursements for fitness-related expenses.

As an equal opportunity employer, we are committed to ensuring that qualified individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, perform their essential job functions, and receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us if you need reasonable accommodation.