Unreal Animation Engineer — Open-World AAA Character Systems

Absurd Ventures, LLC; Santa Monica (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Benefits package

Health, dental, vision insurance

401(k) matching

Bonus and equity eligibility

Job summary

Absurd Ventures, LLC in Santa Monica, CA is seeking an Animation Engineer to develop and support runtime animation systems for characters in a new IP AAA open world game. You will collaborate with Animators, Gameplay Engineers, Designers, and Technical Artists to deliver responsive, high‑quality animation‑driven gameplay in Unreal Engine.

This hands-on role focuses on tooling, performance optimization, and integration of rigs and assets.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of professional experience as an Animation Engineer or Gameplay Engineer, or similar role in the video game industry.
• Strong C++ programming skills and experience developing real-time game systems.
• Professional experience working with Unreal Engine.
• Strong understanding of real‑time character animation concepts, including animation blending, state machines, locomotion, inverse kinematics, and animation‑driven gameplay.
• Experience working with Unreal Engine animation systems such as Animation Blueprints, Blend Spaces, Montages, and skeletal animation.
• Strong debugging and problem‑solving skills with the ability to investigate issues spanning code and animation content.
• Experience collaborating directly with Animators, Designers, Technical Artists, and other Engineers.
• Strong communication skills and a collaborative mindset.

Responsibilities

• Develop, maintain, and improve runtime animation systems for player characters, NPCs, creatures and enemy characters.
• Work closely with Animators, Designers, and Gameplay Engineers to implement responsive, high‑quality character behaviors and animation‑driven gameplay.
• Build and support animation systems for locomotion, traversal, interactions, combat, crowds and other gameplay scenarios.
• Develop tools and workflows that improve the efficiency and iteration speed of the Animation team.
• Implement and support animation functionality using C++, Blueprints, Animation Blueprints, state machines, blend spaces, montages, and other Unreal Engine animation technologies.
• Collaborate with Technical Animation and Technical Art to integrate character rigs, animation assets, and procedural systems into the game.
• Diagnose and resolve animation‑related technical issues across code, animation content, and gameplay systems.
• Profile and optimize animation systems for runtime performance, memory, and scalability.
• Work within existing engineering architecture and contribute clean, maintainable, well‑documented code.
• Participate in code reviews and technical discussions and contribute to engineering standards and best practices.
• Proactively identify animation technology risks and communicate technical challenges and potential solutions to the appropriate disciplines.

Skills

C++ programming

Real-time game systems

Unreal Engine

Animation concepts

Debugging

Collaboration

Tools

Animation Blueprints

Blend Spaces

Montages

Skeletal animation

Control Rig

Python scripting

Job description

Absurd Ventures, LLC in Santa Monica, CA is seeking an Animation Engineer to develop and support runtime animation systems for characters in a new IP AAA open world game. You will collaborate with Animators, Gameplay Engineers, Designers, and Technical Artists to deliver responsive, high‑quality animation‑driven gameplay in Unreal Engine.

This hands-on role focuses on tooling, performance optimization, and integration of rigs and assets.