Unity Developer (Animation, Combat Gameplay)

Finitude; United States; Remote; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Finitude is seeking a Unity Developer to own the animation and ability systems behind its characters. You will work on the animation systems that enhance hand-authored animation and refine the abilities that let players and NPCs fight and interact, all while keeping performance solid across battles with many characters on screen.

You will collaborate with designers, animators, and a physics programmer to bridge design, animation data, and runtime systems, delivering smooth, responsive gameplay

Qualifications

• 4+ years in professional game development, with a focus on 3D animation programming or character/ combat programming.
• Strong understanding of C# and hands-on experience with Unity Animator, Clips/Curves, Playables or equivalent.
• Proficiency in 3D math and procedural animation techniques (IK, procedural foot placement).
• Ability to coordinate with designers and (technical) animators to bridge design, animation data and runtime systems.

Responsibilities

• Own and extend Unity-based animation systems: Animator/Playables-driven behaviours and tooling.
• Optimize character abilities system end to end: input handling, attack logic, locomotion, dialogue behaviours.
• Collaborate with Technical Animator to architect responsive and performant animation-driven behaviour.
• Bridge kinematic character logic with physics-based animation simulation with the physics programmer.
• Iterate with animators and designers on combat and traversal feel as an engineering problem as well as animation.

Skills

C# programming

Unity Engine

Animation systems

Remote collaboration

Tools

Animation Jobs

Burst

Playables

Job description

What We’re Looking For

We’re looking for a Unity Developer to own the animation and ability systems behind Kinstrife’s characters. You’ll work on the animation systems that enhance our hand-authored animation, and refine the abilities that let players and NPCs fight and interact with the world, all while keeping performance solid across battles with many dozens of characters on screen. This is a hands-on role for someone who loves bringing characters to life using code, and loves digging into complex systems to improve and optimize them.

What You’ll Do

• Own and extend our Unity-based animation systems: Animator/Playables-driven behaviours, and our custom tooling built on top of Unity’s Animation Jobs (Burst)
• Optimize our character abilities system end to end: input handling, attack logic, locomotion, dialogue behaviours etc.
• Work with our Technical Animator to architect responsive and performant animation-driven character behaviour
• Collaborate closely with our physics programmer to bridge kinematic character logic with our physics-based animation simulation
• Iterate directly with animators and designers on combat and traversal feel, treating "game feel" as an engineering problem as much as an animation one

What’s Needed

• 4+ years in professional game development, with a focus on 3D animation programming or character / combat programming
• Strong understanding of C# and hands-on experience with Unity Animator, Clips/Curves, Playables or equivalent
• Proficiency in 3D math and understanding of procedural animation techniques (IK, procedural foot placement etc.)
• Ability to coordinate with designers and (technical) animators to bridge the gap between design, animation data and runtime systems and gameplay logic
• Fluent in English with the ability to clearly document systems and collaborate effectively in a fully remote, asynchronous environment
• Highly self-driven with a systems-oriented mentality. You work best when given context and goals, rather than daily task lists
• Profile and optimize gameplay code to maintain smooth framerates during intensive combat scenarios with many dozens of combatants

Bonus Points

• Hands-on experience with Animation Jobs, Data-Oriented Design, Burst, Job System or equivalent
• Experience implementing procedural animation techniques, such as IK, or procedural foot placement
• Loves performance optimization, making the most of every frame
• Knowledge and experience with medieval, historical fighting styles, martial arts or physical sports