Technical Animator

Jamcity; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Unlimited vacation

Paid sick days

Kin care

Holidays

Medical coverage

Dental coverage

Vision coverage

Life insurance

401k

Flexible Spending Accounts

Wellness programs

Parental leave (12 weeks)

Happy hours

Company events

Job summary

Jam City in San Francisco is seeking a Technical Animator to join our close-knit team of artists, animators and tech artists. You will create rigs, animate characters, and help build intuitive tools to energize our upcoming games.

Requirements include rigging and animating in Maya, Unity proficiency, and experience shipping AAA or mobile titles. This role is onsite in SF, with a focus on quality, collaboration and visual storytelling.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years experience rigging characters and props in Maya.
• Minimum 3 years experience animating characters in Maya.
• Expert in Unity with emphasis on animation and rigging.
• Strong communication and team player attitude.
• Excellent understanding of human and animal anatomy.
• 3D character animation for bipedal humanoids, creatures, and organic forms.
• Apply animation principles to in-game timing and body mechanics.
• Experience with Unity particle systems and shader work.
• Able to ship AAA or mobile game projects as a tech animator.

Responsibilities

• Rig characters, creatures and props to meet animation needs.
• Export, import and assemble animations in Unity.
• Create State Machine and Blend Trees in Unity.
• Augment and maintain the animation pipeline and tools.
• Assist animation team with high-quality animation, loops, locomotion, and cinematics.
• Collaborate with Lead Animator to refine animation style and feel.
• Enhance scenes with FX using particles or shaders in Unity.
• Set up and maintain cloth simulation pipelines.
• Maintain clean and organized work files.

Skills

Rigging characters

Character animation

Unity animation

Animation pipeline

Collaborative teamwork

Communication

English proficiency

Tools

Maya

Unity

Shaders

Particle systems

Cloth simulation

Job description

PERKS & BENEFITS

Unlimited Vacation, Paid Sick Days, Kin Care & Holidays*

100% Covered Medical and Company-Sponsored Dental & Vision (Plans Vary)*

Life Insurance, 401k, Flexible Spending Accounts, & More*

Wellness Activities & Programs

12 Weeks Paid Parental Leave*

Happy Hours

Company Events

*Only applies to full-time positions.

We are currently looking for a talented Technical Animator to join our tightly knit group of artists, animators and tech artists! The ideal candidate will have experience in assisting animation teams with technical solutions and animating . You will work alongside our world-class animation team to create intuitive rigs and visually stunning animations for our upcoming and live games!

**In order to be considered, you MUST provide us with a Demo Reel with examples of your most rigging and animation work. Along with your reel, you should provide a shot breakdown with an explanation of responsibilities.

• Rig characters, creatures and props that adhere to all the animation needs.
• Export, import and assemble animations in Unity.
• Create State Machine and Blend Trees in Unity.
• Augment and maintain the animation pipeline.
• Propose or create tools to automate the animation pipeline.
• Assist the animation team with high quality animation. This includes short loops, locomotion cycles, and full cinematics with camera and character animations.
• Collaborate with the Lead Animator to refine and maintain the game's animation style and feel.
• Embellish story scenes with high quality FX using particles or shaders in Unity.
• Setup and maintain cloth simulation pipelines.
• Able to maintain clean and organized work files.

• A minimum of 5 years of experience rigging characters and props using Maya.
• A minimum of 3 years of experience animating characters using Maya.
• Master of Unity, with emphasis on anything animation and rigging related.
• Self-motivated, an excellent communicator and a team player. Go to great lengths to create outstanding work rather than settling for bare minimum.
• Excellent understanding of human and animal anatomy.
• Skilled in 3D character animation for bipedal humanoids, creatures, and organic forms.
• Expertly apply animation principles to in-game animation: timing, acting, & body mechanics.
• Experience with Unity particle systems.
• Proven problem-solving and prototyping ability, collaborating within the animation team and across adjacent teams.
• Excellent grasp of the English language.
• Able to be onsite 5x a week.

• Have shipped AAA and/or mobile games as a technical animator, animator, rigger or tech artist.
• Experience in creating animated shaders.
• Film animation experience.
• A passion for games!

In compliance with local law, we are disclosing the compensation for this role.The range listed is just one component of Jam City's total compensation package for employees, which may also include annual bonuses, short- and long-term incentives, and program-specific awards. The disclosed range estimate has not been adjusted for the applicable geographic differential associated with the location at which the position may be filled. Starting pay for the successful applicant will depend on a variety of job-related factors, which may include education, training, experience, certifications, location, business needs, or market demands. This range is based on a full-time position. This range may be modified in the future. In addition, Jam City provides a variety of benefits to employees, including but not limited to medical, dental, vision, parental leave, paid time off, a 401(k) plan, life, disability, and accident insurance.Pay Range: $90,000 — $110,000 salary per year.

CHECK OUT LIFE AS A JAM CITIZEN:

• Company news and events on our LinkedIn
• Company Blog
• Employee Feedback on our Comparably page
• Find videos on our teams and games on our Youtube

OUR COMMITMENT TO EQUITY, DIVERSITY, & INCLUSION

We believe in creating games that unite people across the world and that showcase our commitment to providing an environment that is both inclusive and diverse for our players and employees. We strive to create a workforce that is reflective of our global player community as we know that we are stronger and better when we play together. To help promote an inclusive culture, we celebrate the visible and invisible diversity of our Jam Citizens through initiatives including Employee Resource Groups, cultural events, trainings, speaker series, and more.

Jam City is an equal opportunity employer. We enthusiastically accept our responsibility to make employment decisions without regard to race, age, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, ancestry, religion, ethnicity, marital, or domestic partnerships status, disability, genetic information (including the refusal to submit to genetic testing), predisposing genetic characteristics, military status, veteran status, domestic violence victim status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expressions, or any other classification protected by federal, state, and local laws. Our management is committed to following this policy with respect to hiring, placement, promotion, transfer, demotion, layoff, termination, recruiting, pay, and other forms of compensation, training, and general treatment during employment.

ABOUT JAM CITY

Jam City is a leading entertainment studio with a proven track record of creating some of the world’s most beloved casual puzzle and story-driven mobile games. As the creative force behind fan-favorite, award-winning titles such as Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Cookie Jam and Panda Pop, Jam City develops engaging and dynamic games that become an enduring part of our players’ lives. The company is headquartered in Los Angeles with a global network of studios and talent. For more information, please visit www.jamcity.com.