Remote Lead Technical Animator - Elevate Animation

Placements24; Bloemfontein; Hybrid; ZAR 900,000 - 1,300,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Home office setup stipend

Flexible working hours

Professional development opportunities

Job summary

Placements24 is seeking a Lead Technical Animator for a fully remote role with our celebrated game studio client. You will lead a global team of technical animators, guide animation systems, and collaborate with programmers and artists to push character fidelity in Unreal Engine and Unity.

The role requires 7+ years in technical animation, 3+ in leadership, expert Maya rigging, Python scripting, and strong pipeline knowledge.

Qualifications

• Minimum 7 years of experience in technical animation for video games, with at least 3 years in a lead or senior role.
• Proven experience leading and managing a team of technical animators.
• Expertise in Maya and advanced rigging techniques.
• Strong proficiency in scripting languages, particularly Python, for tool development.
• Demonstrable experience with game engines (Unreal Engine, Unity) and their animation systems (e.g., Control Rig, Blueprints, Mecanim).
• Solid understanding of animation principles, character performance, and motion capture data cleanup.
• Experience with version control systems (e.g., Perforce, Git).
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Animation, Game Design, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor a team of technical animators, providing guidance and oversight on animation systems and implementation.
• Develop, maintain, and optimize character rigs, animation tools, and pipelines using Maya, Python, and other relevant software.
• Collaborate with game designers and character artists to define animation requirements and workflows.
• Work closely with programmers to implement and refine animation systems within the game engine (e.g., Unreal Engine, Unity).
• Ensure the technical quality, performance, and visual fidelity of all character and object animations.
• Develop and troubleshoot animation-related bugs and issues.
• Create complex animation tools and scripts to improve efficiency and quality for the animation team.
• Stay up-to-date with the latest advancements in real-time animation technology and game development.

Skills

Team leadership

Python scripting

Animation pipelines

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Animation / Game Design or equivalent

Tools

Maya

Unreal Engine

Unity

Control Rig

Blueprints

Mecanim

Perforce

Git

Python

Job description

Placements24 is seeking a Lead Technical Animator for a fully remote role with our celebrated game studio client. You will lead a global team of technical animators, guide animation systems, and collaborate with programmers and artists to push character fidelity in Unreal Engine and Unity.

The role requires 7+ years in technical animation, 3+ in leadership, expert Maya rigging, Python scripting, and strong pipeline knowledge.