Senior Technical Animator

As a Senior Technical Animator at Cloud Chamber you will join our talented development team to help shape our advanced animation systems and runtime character performance. In this role you’ll collaborate with a passionate group of game developers to build scalable technical solutions and animation workflows that support immersive gameplay—bringing the richly imagined world of BioShock to life.

We are seeking a technical wizard with a keen artistic eye who thrives on understanding the "why" behind the "how." If you are motivated by constant learning seeking new wisdom and taking pride in mentoring others to push creative boundaries we want to hear from you.

What You’ll Do:

•  Implement and set up assets in the game engine.
•  Help troubleshoot issues relating to animation in both Maya and the game engine.
•  Help make sure assets and systems are optimized for run-time performance.
• Author and maintain Animation Blueprints.
• Author and maintain procedural animation such as cloth and IK.
• Tune and troubleshoot Motion Matching locomotion.
• 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.
• Take an active role in the structure organization and performance of animation systems in the editor.

What We’ll Do Together:

At Cloud Chamber we are champions of high standards pushing for progress and embracing change. We will work closely and constructively across design art engineering animation and audio teams to realize our creative ambitions. Together we will stay current on technological advancements and identify solutions to overcome developmental obstacles.

Skills & Experiences:

• Previous experience in games development preferably with at least one AAA title shipped.
• Thorough knowledge of Animation Graphs Blend Trees Sequencer State Machines implementation and maintenance. 
• Understanding and knowledge of procedural runtime animation solutions such as IK Retargeting Ragdoll Cloth Motion Matching and more. 
• Proficient in scripting to streamline the animation pipeline (Python MEL or other scripting languages) to aid workflows and repetitive tasks. 
• Understanding how to reduce workload and improve believability of characters in-game.
• Understanding the importance of documenting workflows and sharing knowledge. 
• Knowledge of how important it is to apply animation principles to combine motions seamlessly.

Who You Are:

• A reliable positive force multiplier actively seeking opportunities to integrate work across disciplines and contribute to a healthy supportive team environment.
• A solid communicator with excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to articulate complex ideas clearly package information for diverse audiences and deliver difficult feedback with empathy and professionalism.
• A persistent and self-motivated person with a proactive mindset.
• Able to maintain effectiveness and quality under pressure ambiguity and fast-changing priorities.
• An active listener able to build and maintain trust-based relationships across all levels of the organization understand differing perspectives and navigate organizational complexity with tact and emotional intelligence.
• Highly open to feedback and direction possessing a desire to learn new skills and capable of producing quick quality revisions based on new insights or constraints.
• A strong owner of your tasks who strives to drive their work forward autonomously while maintaining a critical eye for detail and organization ensuring high standards of quality.
• Dedicated to upholding Cloud Chamber’s core values contributing to a positive and respectful company culture while striving for excellence in all endeavors.

Who We Are:

At Cloud Chamber we strive to make BioShock games that move people: evocative immersive and meaningful experiences that stay with you long after you’ve rolled credits. Great games are born from great collaborations supported by a culture that brings out the best in our teams. We work openly learn through play take ownership push ourselves to be better and deliver for our players.

The pay range for this position in California at the start of employment is expected to be between $108900 - $161160 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 and eligibility to participate in our 401(K) plan and Employee Stock Purchase Program. Regular full-time employees are also eligible for a range of benefits at the Company including: medical dental vision and basic life insurance coverage; 14 paid holidays per calendar year; paid vacation time per calendar year (ranging from 15 to 25 days) or eligibility to participate in the Company’s discretionary time off program; up to 10 paid sick days per calendar year; paid parental and compassionate leave; wellbeing programs for mental health and other wellness support; family planning support through Maven; commuter benefits; and reimbursements for fitness-related expenses.

For candidates located in Quebec:

• Proficiency in French is required.
• Proficiency in English is required to effectively collaborate with teams based in the United States.

As an equal opportunity employer we are committed to ensuring that qualified individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process perform their essential job functions and receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us if you need reasonable accommodation.

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.

What We Do

2K is headquartered in Novato California and is a wholly owned label of Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO). Founded in 2005 2K Games is a global video game company publishing titles developed by some of the most influential game development studios in the world. Our studios responsible for developing 2K’s portfolio of world-class games across multiple platforms include Visual Concepts Firaxis Hangar 13 CatDaddy Cloud Chamber 31st Union and HB Studios. Our portfolio of titles is expanding due to our global strategic plan building and acquiring exciting studios whose content continues to inspire all of us! 2K publishes titles in today’s most popular gaming genres including sports shooters action role-playing strategy casual and family entertainment. Our team of engineers marketers artists writers data scientists producers thinkers and doers are the professional publishing stewards of our growing library of critically-acclaimed franchises such as NBA 2K 2K PGA Battleborn BioShock Borderlands The Quarry The Darkness Mafia Sid Meier’s Civilization Marvel’s Midnight Suns WWE 2K and XCOM. At 2K we pride ourselves on creating an inclusive work environment which means encouraging our teams to Come as You Are and do your best work! We encourage ALL applicants to explore our global positions even if they don’t meet every requirement for the role. If you're interested in the job and think you have what it takes to work at 2K we encourage you to apply!

Why Work With Us

We pride ourselves on creating an inclusive work environment which means encouraging our teams to Come as You Are and do your best work! We push ourselves creatively to do the best work of our careers. We’re direct open and you’ll probably meet some new best friends – along with their dogs – sitting nearby. In short it’s kinda awesome.

Gallery