Senior Cinematic Animator

PlayStation; Burbank (CA); On-site; USD 106,000 - 119,000; Full time

Job summary

Sony Interactive Entertainment is seeking a cinematic animator to create high-quality in-game cinematics, driving the process from script interpretation to implementation in the game engine.

You will collaborate with Animation Directors and Lead Animators to shape cinematics that reflect the game's vision, refine body and facial animation, and ensure seamless integration across departments, while using Jira and Flow to track progress.

Qualifications

• Experience creating cinematic animation for games.
• Proficiency in motion capture and hand-key techniques.
• Ability to collaborate with Animation Directors and Lead Animators.

Responsibilities

• Develop high-quality cinematic animation using motion capture and hand-key techniques.
• Collaborate with Animation Directors and Lead Animators to align cinematics with the game's vision.
• Ensure seamless integration of cinematics into the game engine across departments.
• Refine body and facial animation to create lifelike scenes.
• Participate in team feedback sessions, presenting work and incorporating critiques.
• Apply animation and camera principles to create a realistic cinematic experience.
• Use Jira and Flow to track progress and manage workload.
• Communicate with Animation Director and Project Management to report progress.
• Perform additional related responsibilities to support the team.

Skills

Cinematic animation

Motion capture

Hand-key animation

Tools

Jira

Flow

Job description

Why Sony Interactive Entertainment?

Sony Interactive Entertainment isn’t just the Best Place to Play — it’s also the Best Place to Work. Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) is the company behind the PlayStation brand. As a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation, we’re part of a proud legacy of innovation and excellence. SIE is a dynamic technology company, delivering cutting‑edge hardware and network services to more than 100 million people and an entertainment leader, home to some of the most beloved and recognizable intellectual properties (IP) in the world. Our role at SIE is to create and nurture the experiences under the PlayStation brand, a name synonymous with entertainment excellence and creativity.

This position is for temporary engagement through our staffing partner, Yoh Enterprise Solutions.

Summary:

Responsible for creating high-quality in-game cinematics that meet the visual and performance standards established by the Animation Director. This role involves driving the cinematic process from script interpretation and scene layout through final implementation in the game engine.

Essential Duties and Responsibilitiesinclude the following:

• Develop high-quality cinematic animation content using both motion capture and hand-key techniques, ensuring alignment with schedule and performance benchmarks.
• Collaborate closely with Animation Directors and Lead Animators to design cinematics that reflect the game's vision and adhere to its unique cinematography style.
• Contribute to setting and maintaining performance standards and work in tandem with other departments to ensure seamless integration of cinematics into the game engine.
• Refine and enhance character performances, focusing on both body and facial animation, to create lifelike and engaging scenes.
• Participate actively in cinematic team feedback sessions, presenting work and incorporating constructive critique.
• Demonstrate a strong grasp of animation and camera principles essential for crafting a realistic and immersive cinematic experience.
• Utilize project management tools such as Jira and Flow to effectively track progress and manage workload.
• Communicate efficiently with the Animation Director and Project Management to report on progress, addressing potential roadblocks to ensure timely delivery of tasks.
• Perform additional related responsibilities as assigned to support the animation team's goals and objectives.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

This job has no supervisory responsibilities, however this role mentors more junior artists.

Qualifications:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Please note that the individual base pay range may vary based on job‑related factors which may include knowledge, skills, experience, and location.

In addition, this role is eligible for benefit offerings that include medical, dental, and vision.

The estimated base pay range for this role is listed below, this is an hourly rate.$76.92—$86.06 USD

Please note, Sony Interactive Entertainment conducts background checks at the offer stage for all new employees (which may include criminal background checks for some roles) and will need to process personal information to support these checks.

Please refer to our Candidate Privacy Notice for more information about what personal information we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, and your data protection rights.

Equal Opportunity Statement:

Sony is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All persons will receive consideration for employment without regard to gender (including gender identity, gender expression and gender reassignment), race (including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin), religion or belief, marital or civil partnership status, disability, age, sexual orientation, pregnancy, maternity or parental status, trade union membership or membership in any other legally protected category.

We strive to create an inclusive environment, empower employees and embrace diversity. We encourage everyone to respond.

Sony Interactive Entertainment is a Fair Chance employer and qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records will be considered for employment.