Senior Technical Animator in London

Join CI Games and be part of shaping the future of gaming. As we embark on an ambitious strategic roadmap with major releases planned, we are seeking a talented and dedicated Senior Technical Animator to help us create ground-breaking experiences that captivate players worldwide. A career at CI Games is about being part of a team working on some of the most creatively rewarding and ambitious projects to be found in any entertainment medium. You would be welcomed to a dedicated and inclusive environment where you can learn and collaborate with some of the most talented people in the industry.

Key Responsibilities

• Technical Implementation & Animation Systems (Unreal)
  • Act as a key contributor to Unreal animation technology, helping to implement and maintain the technical vision for character pipelines and runtime systems.
  • Design and maintain complex animation systems within Unreal Engine, with a heavy focus on Animation Blueprints and Control Rig.
  • Contribute to the integration of new characters by implementing their physics and cloth assets, and fine-tuning their LODs.
  • Research and prototype new techniques to enhance animation quality and workflow efficiency for the wider team.
• Characters & Pipeline Support (Maya)
  • Participate in the creation of high-quality character and weapon rigs that meet the demands of our artistic and gameplay vision, using our internal Maya rigging tools.
  • Help improve the character pipeline by contributing to the development and maintaining of essential Python-based tools for the animation team.
  • Collaborate with engineers to solve complex technical challenges and ensure the performance and stability of all animation systems.
• Collaboration & Mentorship
  • Provide technical guidance and feedback to junior and mid-level technical animators, fostering their skills and growth.
  • Collaborate closely with the Technical Animation Lead and Director to translate artistic needs into robust technical solutions.
  • Document best practices for the technical animation pipeline to ensure consistency and quality across all projects.
  • Track your progress on a daily basis and help evaluate and schedule upcoming tasks.

This is a highly technical role where you’ll be expected to solve complex animation problems independently and alongside your team. You will need to balance the creative ambitions of the animation team with the technical constraints of the engine, which requires excellent problem-solving and communication skills. Your role will be fully remote which may be sometimes challenging.

Key Requirements

• 5+ years of experience in technical animation, with a proven track record in a senior capacity.
• Shipped at least one AA+ title in a technical animation capacity.
• Expert-level expertise with Unreal Engine, specifically with Animation Blueprints, State Machines, and Control Rigs.
• Solid knowledge of dynamic asset types, in particular physics and cloth assets.
• Proven skills in Maya character rigging and skinning for realistic characters.
• Strong proficiency with Python tools programming.
• Outstanding communication skills and the ability to collaborate effectively with artists and engineers.

Desirable

• Proficiency in C++.
• Experience with procedural animation techniques.
• A deep passion for and expertise in the Action-RPG or Soulslike genre.

What we offer

• Attractive remuneration and annual discretionary bonus.
• Generous benefits supporting your wellbeing.
• Opportunities for professional development within a supportive and collaborative team.
• Remote work with flexible schedules (core working hours 10am–4pm CET), allowing you to work alongside talented individuals from around the world.
• An opportunity to work with cutting-edge technologies and stay at the forefront of the gaming industry.
• A diverse and inclusive workplace that celebrates all backgrounds, regardless of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, or social status.
• Company events and wrap-up parties, access to all games released by CI Games and company merchandise.
• A chance to be part of something ground-breaking as we shape the future of gaming.

Recruitment Process

Once our Talent Acquisition team receives your application, together with the hiring team, we will review your CV, portfolio and the answers you provided in the application form and if all the boxes are ticked, we’re moving to the next stage. Initial call with Talent Acquisition Specialist – During this call you’ll learn about the company and we learn about you. We will talk about your experience & expectations with working in a fully remote environment and we will talk about your expertise. We will finish this call with some admin questions. There will be an opportunity for you to ask any questions as well. After the initial call, usually 1 or 2 interviews with the hiring team follows. These interviews will be a bit more technical and will go deeper into your experience, skills & knowledge. As you would have signed an NDA by now, you’ll also learn a bit more about the project you would work on. During these interviews we’ll also focus on finding out whether you’re a good fit for our company culture and that we share the same values. We may or may not ask you to do the test – this is decided on an individual basis and you will receive instructions with the test. If everything goes well, the last step in the recruitment process is the offer presentation call with the Talent Acquisition Specialist and your future line manager to discuss the offer and next steps to get you successfully on board.

We are an equal opportunities employer, hiring and developing our best talent based on merit. Accessibility is at the heart of our games, and we are committed to not discriminating against people based on race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, or social status. Should you require adjustments or flexible arrangements to interview or take up a role with us, please let us know in your application and we will accommodate to the best of our ability.