Remote Senior Character Rigging Specialist

Placements24; Sandton; Hybrid; ZAR 900,000 - 1,200,000; Full time

Job summary

Placements24 recruits a Senior Remote Technical Animator specializing in character rigging for AAA game projects. You will design, build, and optimize complex rigs, integrate with Unreal Engine or Unity, and develop rigging tools to streamline workflows.

We seek an expert in anatomy, animation principles, Python/MEL scripting, and pipeline tools, capable of collaborating with artists, animators and designers in a fully remote team to deliver lifelike performances.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of professional experience in technical animation and character rigging for games.
• Advanced character rigging for bipedal and quadrupedal characters.
• Proficiency in Maya.
• Experience with scripting languages (Python, MEL) for rigging automation.
• Strong understanding of anatomy, kinematics, and animation principles.
• Familiarity with game engines (Unreal Engine, Unity) and their animation systems.
• Experience with asset creation and pipeline tools.
• Excellent problem-solving, debugging, and analytical skills.
• Strong communication and collaboration abilities, especially in a remote setting.
• A keen eye for detail and a passion for creating lifelike character performances.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain complex and efficient character rigs for game development.
• Implement rigs within the chosen game engine (Unreal/Unity) and troubleshoot integration issues.
• Develop and refine rigging tools and scripts to streamline workflows and improve efficiency.
• Collaborate with animators to ensure rigs meet performance and expressiveness needs.
• Work closely with character artists to establish efficient topology and pipeline requirements for models.
• Ensure character rigs are optimized for performance and memory constraints.
• Provide technical support and guidance to the animation team on rigging-related matters.
• Stay current with industry trends and advancements in character rigging and technical animation.
• Contribute to the development of character pipelines and best practices.
• Test and iterate on rigs based on animation feedback and project requirements.

Skills

Character rigging

Maya

Python scripting

MEL scripting

Unreal/Unity integration

Rigging automation

Anatomy knowledge

Animation principles

Remote collaboration

Tools

Maya

Job description

Placements24 recruits a Senior Remote Technical Animator specializing in character rigging for AAA game projects. You will design, build, and optimize complex rigs, integrate with Unreal Engine or Unity, and develop rigging tools to streamline workflows.

We seek an expert in anatomy, animation principles, Python/MEL scripting, and pipeline tools, capable of collaborating with artists, animators and designers in a fully remote team to deliver lifelike performances.