Senior Technical Animator

Our team is looking for a Senior Technical Animator to work closely with the animation and engineering teams to push the creative vision and technical boundaries of our project. Someone who really understands run-time animation, content authoring, creating tools, and pipeline development that is engaged in designing and improving efficient workflows will succeed spectacularly in this role.

Job Details:

• Work closely with the team to refine workflows and content authoring processes.
• Mentor and teach others on tool usages, technical workflows, and best practices.
• Create written or video documentation to aid information sharing.
• Work within the game engine:
• Implement and set up assets in the game engine.
• Help make sure assets and systems are optimized for run-time performance.
• Help troubleshoot issues relating to animation in the game engine.
• Assist in the integration of our facial animation pipeline in the engine.
• Scripting:
• Create, maintain, and continuously improve tools and pipelines in Maya.
• Collaborate with other teams to create pertinent tools and teach others to use them.
• Work with Maya to:
• Assist in the Maya-side development of our facial animation pipeline.
• Create and maintain rigs of varying complexity in Maya.
• Debug and troubleshoot issues related to animation in Maya.

Skills, Experience and Qualifications:

You are that special someone with a keen artistic eye and who loves to work their technical wizardry! You work towards understanding the whys of how something works and are able to clearly communicate the findings to others. You are motivated to learn, seek new wisdom, and take pride in mentoring others.

• Deep understanding of animation principles and how they can be applied to video games.
• Experience working with a game engine. (e.g. Unreal, Unity, or AAA proprietary game engines).
• Experience with optimizing (e.g. lod, fps performance, memory footprint) assets for a game engine.
• Tools development experience in Python, and PySide2 or PyQt5.
• Strong understanding of object-oriented programming principles and practical usage.
• Experience with driving positive and effective collaborative processes in a team environment.
• Keen knowledge of human anatomy and kinesiology, and understanding of how it relates to deformation rigs.
• Experience creating animator friendly rigs in Maya
• Experience with FaceFx.
• Experience working with FACS based facial rig is a plus.
• Maya plug-in authoring experience in C++ is a plus.

We are Cloud Chamber: a collaborative team of inspired minds who create games together. We strive to make unique, entertaining, and thoughtful game experiences that engage the world. 

We believe in the beauty and strength of diversity, in both the makeup of the studio and the nature of our thinking.  Our focus on open communication and overall well-being allows each of us to strive for excellence in our work, and happiness in our lives.

We’re currently making the next BioShock. Our passion and love for this iconic franchise is what brought us together. The thrill and responsibility of creating the next iteration of such a beloved game is what keeps us going.

If all of this sounds as exciting to you as it is to us we’d love to meet you! Join us in creating worlds that move people.

Please note that 2K Games and its studios never use instant messaging apps or personal email accounts to contact prospective employees or conduct interviews. When emailing prospective employees we only use 2K.com accounts.

The pay range for this position in California at the start of employment is expected to be between $90,000 and $135,000 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.

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