Senior Animation Engineer

At Visual Concepts, we believe great games are made by diverse and empowered teams with a shared passion for play. As one of the world’s top game development studios, we have shipped over 100 multi-sku titles to critical acclaim and commercial success. Our teams are independent and entrepreneurial. Our studios in Agoura Hills, Novato, Orange County, Budapest, Shanghai, Austin, San Jose, Vancouver and Seoul are committed to artistry and technical innovation, offering top candidates the opportunity to learn and grow with some of the smartest and most creative minds in the industry.

Visual Concepts is looking for a key contributor to the development of core runtime animation technology for the NBA 2K series. This position reports in the Lead AI Engineer.

• Work on developing and improving our in-house animation engine
• Collaborate closely with gameplay engineers/designers and animators to identify and develop new animation features
• Support requests and features for content creation tools, and animation review/analysis
• Assist engineers in making the best use of existing and new animation features
• Keep up to date with the latest industry/academic work and implement these techniques
• Write and maintain robust and performant code
• Debug animation issues as they arise

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or a related field (or equivalent work experience)
• Excellent 3D math and linear algebra skills
• Solid familiarity and experience with C++
• 3+ years of proven experience working on computer animation
• Implementation experience in one or more of the following areas, Inverse Kinematics techniques, Ragdoll and physics-based character animation, Procedural animation techniques, Keyframe animation and forward kinematics, Motion matching, Machine learning driven animation techniques
• Ability to explain technical topics to people of varying levels of expertise
• Dedicated and self motivated with an ability to identify areas for research/development
• An eye for detail in character animation
• Love for video games (not just ours!)

• 5+ years of experience in real-time animation, especially AAA games on consoles
• Master’s/PhD in a related field with a focus on animation related topics
• Familiarity with Python and/or C#

The pay range for this position in California at the start of employment is expected to be between $130,000 and $190,000 per year. However, base pay offered is based on market location, and may vary further depending on individualized factors for job candidates, such as job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and other objective business considerations. Subject to those same considerations, the total compensation package for this position may also include other elements, including a bonus and/or equity awards, in addition to a full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits. Details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided if an employee receives an offer of employment. If hired, employee will be in an 'at-will position' and the company reserves the right to modify base salary (as well as any other discretionary payment or compensation or benefit program) at any time, including for reasons related to individual performance, company or individual department/team performance, and market factors.

To learn more about Visual Concepts and our studio locations, check out our website at www.vcentertainment.com