Lead Rigger – Role Overview
Lead the character rigging pipeline and lead the rigging team. Work closely with Animation, Art Direction, and Production to define quality standards and technical workflows that enable high‑fidelity character deformation and performance across all platforms.
What we will do together
- Oversee technical quality of character production: rigging, tools, deformations & simulations in our characters, weapons, and creatures.
- Lead and mentor our Riggers and Character Technical Artists, fostering growth and accountability within the team.
- Establish and drive adoption of best practices across the rigging pipeline in collaboration with Art, Animation, and Production teams.
- Design & develop workflows and tooling that improve iteration speed, quality, and efficiency for riggers and animators.
- Enhance characters in Unreal through procedural and secondary motion systems, including Control Rig, Physics, and other animation systems.
- Find creative solutions to achieve secondary motion and optimisation while maintaining high performance across all platforms.
- Support Animation and Art teams with technical rigging expertise, problem‑solving, and technical direction.
- Work with outsourcing partners to establish successful workflows for external character rigging and development.
What you will bring
- Minimum five years of experience in the game industry with 2+ released game projects.
- At least one released Unreal Engine game as a Rigger, Technical Animator, or Technical Artist.
- Proven experience leading and mentoring a rigging or character technical team.
- Expert‑level rigging skills in Maya; mGear experience a plus.
- Strong pipeline and tools development experience—designing, architecting, and maintaining rigging toolsets that improve team efficiency.
- Highly proficient with Python or similar scripting languages for tools development in Maya and Unreal.
- Highly experienced with Unreal’s secondary motion systems, including Rigid Bodies, Cloth, Control Rig, and Anim Dynamics.
- Excitement for dynamic, optimised characters and continuous process improvement.
A few benefits you can expect
- A generous PTO allowance
- Summer and Winter holidays studio closure (separate to PTO allowance)
- Private Medical & Dental Healthcare
- Private Mental Health scheme
- A generous annual Health & Wellbeing allowance
- Discretionary Studio Bonus
- Top‑range tech for your home set up
- Other benefits based on your region
Escape Velocity is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to hiring, promoting, and compensating employees based on their qualifications and demonstrated ability to perform job responsibilities.
Applications will be considered regardless of age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, belief, race, or any other protected category.
Contact Details:
Escape Velocity Entertainment Recruitment Team
