Senior Character Rigger — Lead Expressive 3D Rigging

Placements24; Stellenbosch; Hybrid; ZAR 650,000 - 850,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Benefits package

Creative studio environment

Professional growth

Relocation assistance

Job summary

Placements24 is seeking an experienced Senior Character Rigger in Stellenbosch to craft advanced skeletal rigs for a range of 3D characters across film, games, and media. You will collaborate with modelers and animators to deliver expressive, animator-friendly rigs and contribute to the rigging toolset and pipelines.

Ideal candidates bring 5+ years of rigging experience, proficiency in Maya or Blender, strong anatomy knowledge, and scripting ability (Python/MEL).

Qualifications

• Minimum of 5 years’ professional experience in character rigging for animation or games.
• Proficient in industry-standard 3D software (Maya, Blender or similar).
• Strong understanding of anatomy, biomechanics and physics.
• Experience with scripting for tool development (Python or MEL).
• Proven ability to create complex facial rigs with nuanced expressions.
• Experience with motion capture data and its rigging applications.
• Excellent problem-solving and collaboration skills.
• Portfolio showcasing diverse high-quality character rigs.
• Based in or willing to relocate to Stellenbosch, Western Cape.

Responsibilities

• Develop high-quality character rigs for 3D models with functionality and animator-friendly workflows.
• Implement advanced rigging techniques including facial rigs, muscles, IK/FK setups.
• Collaborate with modelers and animators to meet design and movement needs.
• Optimize rigs for performance and efficient animation pipelines.
• Create clear documentation and provide trainer support for rig usage.
• Troubleshoot and resolve rigging-related issues.
• Stay current with rigging tech and software advancements.
• Manage rigging tasks and ensure timely delivery per schedule.
• Contribute to rigging tools and pipelines to improve efficiency.
• Maintain consistency in rigging standards across projects.

Skills

5+ years experience

Rigging expertise

Python / MEL scripting

Animated workflows

Character anatomy knowledge

Tools

Maya

Blender

Unreal/Unity (game engines)

Rigging tools pipelines

Job description

Placements24 is seeking an experienced Senior Character Rigger in Stellenbosch to craft advanced skeletal rigs for a range of 3D characters across film, games, and media. You will collaborate with modelers and animators to deliver expressive, animator-friendly rigs and contribute to the rigging toolset and pipelines.

Ideal candidates bring 5+ years of rigging experience, proficiency in Maya or Blender, strong anatomy knowledge, and scripting ability (Python/MEL).