Incubation Senior Technical Animator

Are you on a mission to create games that bond players together into deeply invested communities? Would you like to work on something comedic with lighthearted and whimsical characters? Do you think a lot about how animation systems can create satisfying feedback for players, how streamlined workflows improve animator happiness, or how the right smear frame feels like magic?

As a Senior Technical Animator on an Unannounced Incubation Project, you’ll bring iconic characters to life from prototype through production for a completely new world at Bungie. Your ability to craft and implement stylized animation content will delight players and contribute to the best-in-class action experience that defines all Bungie games.

As a member of our tight-knit art team, you’ll balance craft expertise with a player-first mindset and willingness to contribute beyond your role to improve the prototype experience wherever necessary. Your understanding of design and technical constraints will enable you to deliver functional and responsive systems that support broad animation content without an established pipeline during prototyping. Most importantly, you will collaborate with a fun, diverse, and passionate cross-discipline team devoted to building a new universe from scratch at Bungie.

We look for candidates who value joining a cohesive, supportive team with a diverse set of backgrounds, experiences, interests, and viewpoints.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Craft charming, stylized gameplay animations and own runtime setup during prototyping
• Collaborate with multiple disciplines to define and implement robust real-time animation systems
• Combine technical + artistic abilities to achieve fluid, responsive, and expressive character movement
• Work closely with Tech Art to iterate on flexible character rigs and animation workflows
• Establish and document animation implementation processes + best practices
• Provide deskside support for the animation team to resolve technical issues
• Research and communicate current animation technology trends
• Offer constructive feedback during art team content reviews
• Mentor and support other artists as the team grows

REQUIRED SKILLS

• Proficiency establishing runtime animation systems that prioritize responsive feedback
• Experience combining keyframe content with procedural animation and dynamics systems
• Understanding of real-time animation concepts such as layering, blending, and motion warping
• Ability to keyframe stylized gameplay animation, as shown by examples of professional or personal work
• Proven eye for creating gameplay clarity through animation content, especially for action games
• An appreciation for appealing squash & stretch, smear frames, multiples
• Expert knowledge of Maya character animation workflows
• Outstanding ability to problem-solve and drive creative solutions despite ambiguity
• Embrace “we” culture in addition to being an outstanding collaborator and communicator

NICE-TO-HAVE SKILLS        

• Familiarity with development using Unreal Engine and/or Unity
• Familiarity with the competitive gaming landscape
• Proficiency in scripting Maya tools (Python)