Technical Designer in Animation

Epic Games; Cary (NC); On-site; USD 75,000 - 95,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

100% medical, dental, and vision coverage

Mental well-being program

Retirement savings plan with employer match

Job summary

Epic Games is seeking a Technical Designer in Animation to design and create gameplay animation systems that deliver high-quality characters. This role requires collaboration with animation, design, and programming teams to troubleshoot in-game issues and ensure smooth animation pipeline operation.

We offer comprehensive benefits, including 100% coverage for employees and dependents, along with a mental well-being program. Join us in a diverse and inclusive work culture!

Qualifications

• Strong animation sense with understanding of realistic and stylized character motion.
• Understanding of generative AI tools for character animation.
• Expertise in animation pipelines and source content creation tools.

Responsibilities

• Build animation behavior tools and frameworks.
• Design and implement animation state machines and solutions.
• Collaborate with animation leadership and troubleshoot animation issues.

Skills

Strong animation sense

Understanding of generative AI tools

Expertise with animation pipelines

Problem-solving ability

Familiarity with gameplay animation tools

Experience with AAA game development

Self-motivation

Tools

Maya

MotionBuilder

Unreal Engine

Job description

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 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 entertaining, high-quality characters. You will be a primary point of contact for animation implementation, any animation‑related technical challenges, and will work closely with Animation, Design, and Programming 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

• Build animation behavior tools, techniques, and frameworks that enable complex systems and entertaining characters
• Design and implement animation state machines, behaviors, and runtime solutions
• Partner with animation leadership to translate creative vision into technical reality, protecting style consistency and pushing the quality bar
• Collaborate with Design and Programming to troubleshoot and resolve in‑game animation issues and technical challenges
• Identify opportunities to improve the animation pipeline and workflow, and provide technical solutions for the animation team
• Create documentation and deliver training to level up the animation team's technical fluency
• Collaborate with Technical Designers in Animation (TDiA) across Epic Games to share solutions, align workflows where appropriate and identify opportunities to leverage existing tools and systems rather than duplicating effort

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 state‑of‑the‑art animation methods
• An understanding of generative AI tools and capabilities as it relates to character animation
• 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
• Strong familiarity with gameplay animation tools and concepts, such as blend trees, state machines, and Unreal Engine Animation Blueprints
• 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
• Experience with C++ is not required

EPIC JOB + EPIC BENEFITS = EPIC LIFE

We pay 100% for benefits for both employees and dependents and offer coverage for supplemental medical, dental, vision, critical illness, telemedicine, Life and AD&D, long term disability insurance as well as weekly indemnity (short term disability) and a retirement savings plan with a competitive employer match. In addition to the EAP (employee assistance program), we also offer a robust mental well‑being program through Modern Health, which provides free therapy and coaching for employees & dependents.

Equal Opportunity

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.