Senior Character Rigging Tech Artist (Bloemfontein On-site)

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

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Retirement plan

Paid time off

Job summary

Placements24 is seeking a Senior Technical Animator in Bloemfontein to lead character rigging across multiple titles. You will create robust rigs for humanoid and creature characters, build efficient rigging tools in Python and MEL, and collaborate with artists and engineers to deliver high-fidelity performances.

The role requires expert Maya experience, a strong portfolio, and the ability to mentor junior staff while shaping the animation pipeline for the studio.

Qualifications

• Minimum 6 years of experience in technical animation and character rigging for games or film.
• Strong portfolio showcasing complex character rigs and rigging techniques.
• Expertise in Maya rigging tools and workflows.
• Proficiency in Python and MEL for tool development.
• Solid understanding of anatomy, kinematics, and deformation principles.
• Experience with Unreal Engine or Unity and their animation systems.
• Familiarity with skinning, weight painting, and facial rigging.
• Excellent problem-solving skills and methodical approach.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills; team-oriented.
• Based in or willing to relocate to Bloemfontein (on-site).

Responsibilities

• Develop, implement, and maintain high-quality character rigs for humanoid and non-humanoid characters.
• Create and optimize rigging tools and scripts (Python, MEL) to boost workflow efficiency.
• Collaborate with character artists to optimize models for rigging and animation.
• Work with animators to support character performance.
• Implement and manage character asset pipelines for game engines.
• Troubleshoot rigging, skinning, and animation issues.
• Research and adopt new rigging techniques to improve fidelity and performance.
• Contribute to technical direction and standards for rigging and animation.
• Mentor junior technical animators and riggers.
• Maintain thorough documentation for rigs and tools.

Skills

Strong portfolio

Communication

Collaboration

Problem-solving

Tools

Maya

Python

MEL

Job description

Placements24 is seeking a Senior Technical Animator in Bloemfontein to lead character rigging across multiple titles. You will create robust rigs for humanoid and creature characters, build efficient rigging tools in Python and MEL, and collaborate with artists and engineers to deliver high-fidelity performances.

The role requires expert Maya experience, a strong portfolio, and the ability to mentor junior staff while shaping the animation pipeline for the studio.