Senior Character Animator - VFX Expert

Mercor; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 83,000 - 152,000; Part time

Job summary

Cincinnatus LLC is partnering with a leading AI lab to hire senior character animators to define and evaluate a GenAI performance transfer model.

The part-time W-2 position is based on-site in Playa Vista, CA or New York, NY, demanding 10+ years in feature films, VFX, or AAA games with hands-on acting.

You will set quality standards, critique generated performances shot by shot, build benchmarks, and help calibrate a reviewer pool for scalable evaluations.

Qualifications

• 10+ years as hands-on character animator focused on human and character acting.
• Animator credits on feature films, VFX features or AAA game cinematics at recognized studios.
• Sharp eye for micro expressions, lip sync, weight and timing; small acting choices.

Responsibilities

• Set the quality bar for performance transfer across body mechanics, facial nuance, timing and emotion.
• Critique model outputs shot by shot and write precise, actionable notes.
• Build benchmarks by selecting reference performances from easy to hard to test the model.
• Shape the reviewer pool by defining profile, rubric and calibration for human reviewers.
• Collaborate with other experts to keep evaluations consistent and accurate.

Skills

Character animation

Lip sync

Micro expressions

Real-time engines

Acting performance

Written communication

Tools

Sora

Veo

Midjourney

Runway

Kling

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, keeping the timing, the emotion and the small physical choices that make it feel real. We're looking for senior character animators who have spent their careers bringing acting to life on feature films, VFX and games, to help define what a well transferred performance looks like and judge where the model gets it right or wrong.

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

• Set the quality bar: Define clear standards for when a performance has been carried over well, in body mechanics, facial nuance, timing and emotional intent, and point out where current evaluations fall short.

• Critique model outputs: Review generated performances shot by shot, the way you would in dailies, and write precise, actionable notes.

• Build benchmarks: Choose reference performances that range from easy to genuinely hard to capture, so the model is tested on what matters.

• Shape the reviewer pool: Help define the profile, rubric and calibration for the human reviewers who score outputs at scale.

• Collaborate with other experts to keep evaluations consistent and accurate.

3. Core Qualifications

• 10+ years as a hands-on character animator focused on human and character acting, at Senior, Lead or Principal level.

• Animator credits on several feature films, VFX features or AAA game cinematics at recognized studios (e.g., Sony Pictures Imageworks, ILM, Animal Logic, Laika, Pixar, Disney, DreamWorks, Framestore, MPC, DNEG, Weta FX).

• A sharp eye for micro expressions, lip sync, weight and timing, and the small acting choices that make a performance feel authentic.

• Strongly preferred: facial animation experience, and recent work in real-time engines (Unreal or Unity), VR/XR, or performance capture pipelines.

• Hands-on use of generative image and video tools (e.g., Sora, Veo, Midjourney, Runway, Kling) to create your own samples for testing and comparison.

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

• Strong written communication and the ability to turn visual detail into clear, precise language for evaluation templates.

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.

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.