Senior Technical Designer in Animation

Epic Games; North Carolina; On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Full health coverage

Dental & Vision

401(k) with match

Mental health support

Unlimited PTO & sick time

Sabbatical after 7 years

Paid breaks

Job summary

Epic Games is seeking a Senior Technical Designer in Animation to create and evolve gameplay animation systems across our suite of characters. You will bridge the animation team with Design and Engineering, shaping high-quality motion and robust pipelines.

This role demands strong technical and creative skills, collaboration, and the drive to solve complex animation challenges. You’ll work across Animation, Design, and Engineering to ensure smooth integration, troubleshoot issues, and push the

Qualifications

• Strong animation sense with realistic and stylized motion.
• Experience with animation pipelines and tools such as Maya, MotionBuilder, and Unreal Engine.
• Excellent problem-solving ability with strong written communication and teamwork skills.
• Familiar with gameplay animation concepts like blend trees and state machines; Unreal Engine Animation Blueprints a plus.
• AAA game development experience, preferably on a large team; Unreal Engine experience is a plus.
• Self-motivated with a strong work ethic and ability to work independently.
• C++ knowledge is not required.

Responsibilities

• Create animation behavior tools/techniques/philosophies for building complex movement systems.
• Design and implement animation state machines/behaviors and runtime solutions.
• Collaborate with Animation, Design, and Engineering to analyze, troubleshoot, and solve in-game animation issues.
• Closely work with animation leadership to maintain the style and quality bar for animations in the game.
• Identify opportunities to improve the animation pipeline/workflow and provide solutions, including creating documentation and training materials.

Skills

Animation sense

Problem solving

Collaboration

Independent work

Tools

Maya

MotionBuilder

Unreal Engine

Control Rig

Job description

WHAT MAKES US EPIC?

At the core of Epic’s success are talented, passionate people. Epic prides itself on creating a collaborative, welcoming, and creative environment. Whether it’s building award-winning games or crafting engine technology that enables others to make visually stunning interactive experiences, we’re always innovating.

Being Epic means being a part of a team that continually strives to do right by our community and users. We’re constantly innovating to raise the bar of engine and game development.

ART

What We Do

Push your artistic talent to the limit on a team of world-class environment, character and concept artists who strive to innovate and inspire.

What You’ll Do

Epic Games is looking for a Senior Technical Designer in Animation (TDiA) to join our team working across various animation systems. As a TDiA, you will use your animation sense and technical understanding of character animation to design and create gameplay animation systems that facilitate appealing, high-quality character motion. You will be the primary point of contact for animation implementation issues and any animation-related technical challenges, and you will work closely with Animation, Design, and Engineering colleagues to ensure the animation pipeline operates smoothly and efficiently. You will also help identify potential issues and deploy correct solutions, using your technical knowledge to help bridge and facilitate communication between the animation team and other departments.

In this role, you will

• Create animation behavior tools/techniques/philosophies that allow the building of complex movement systems

• Design and implement animation state machines/behaviors and runtime solutions

• Work closely with the Animation, Design, and Engineering departments to analyze, troubleshoot, and solve in-game animation implementation issues and animation-related technical challenges

• Closely collaborate with the animation leadership to maintain the style and quality bar for animations in the game

• Look for opportunities to improve the animation pipeline/workflow and help provide solutions for technical animation problems, including performing training and creating documentation for the animation team

What we're looking for

• A strong animation sense with a clear understanding of realistic and stylized character motion and how to achieve them with modern animation methods

• Expertise with animation pipelines, including source content creation tools such as Maya, MotionBuilder, and the Unreal Engine, using our Control Rig toolset

• Exceptional problem-solving ability with strong written communication and teamwork skills

• Familiarity with gameplay animation tools and concepts, such as blend trees and state machines; experience with Unreal Engine Animation Blueprints is a plus

• Experience with AAA game development, preferably on a large team using an established game engine (internal or commercial); experience with Unreal Engine is a plus

• Self-motivation, a strong work ethic, and the ability to work independently

• Coding knowledge or experience with C++ is not required

EPIC JOB + EPIC BENEFITS = EPIC LIFE

• We pay 100% of the premiums for both you and your dependents.
• Our coverage includes Medical, Dental, a Vision HRA, Long Term Disability, Life Insurance & a 401k with competitive match.
• We also offer a robust mental well-being program through Modern Health, which provides free therapy and coaching for employees & dependents.
• Throughout the year we celebrate our employees with events and company-wide paid breaks.
• We offer unlimited PTO and sick time and recognize individuals for 7 years of employment with a paid sabbatical.

ABOUT US

Epic Games is a leading interactive entertainment company. For over 30 years we've been making award-winning games and engine technology that empowers others to make visually stunning games and 3D content that bring environments to life like never before. Epic's award-winning Unreal Engine technology not only provides game developers the ability to build high-fidelity, interactive experiences for PC, console, mobile, and VR, it is also a tool being embraced by content creators across a variety of industries such as media and entertainment, automotive, and architectural design. As we continue to build our Engine technology and develop remarkable games, we strive to build teams of world-class talent.

Like what you hear? Come be a part of something Epic!

Epic Games deeply values diverse teams and an inclusive work culture, and we are proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer. Learn more about our Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy here.

Note to Recruitment Agencies: Epic does not accept any unsolicited resumes or approaches from any unauthorized third party (including recruitment or placement agencies) (i.e., a third party with whom we do not have a negotiated and validly executed agreement). We will not pay any fees to any unauthorized third party. Further details on these matters can be found here.