Brighton Jobs: Gameplay Animator & Animation Engineer

As a Senior Gameplay & Animation Engineer at Hangar 13, you will establish a premier standard for architecture and code quality while driving the development of our core character systems. Operating deep within Unreal Engine 5, you will own, extend, and optimize the crucial C++ frameworks, tools, and pipelines that govern character locomotion, combat mechanics, and physical expression. This senior-level technical role places you at the intersection of game logic and cinematic art, requiring close collaboration with animators, designers, and fellow programmers to translate complex animation data into tactile, responsive, and visually spectacular AAA gameplay features.

Hangar 13 is the global development powerhouse behind the critically acclaimed, award-winning Mafia franchise. Our international teams are united by a shared obsession with rich narrative storytelling, cinematic presentation, and pristine AAA craft. We believe that deep immersion is achieved when story, style, and mechanics flow together seamlessly. As a studio collective spanning the UK and Czech Republic, we work as a single, fluid team to build the next generation of action-adventure titles. By joining our engineering department, you will collaborate with highly driven professionals who are redefining how characters move, react, and express themselves in interactive worlds.

We are seeking a highly articulate, technically rigorous Senior Gameplay & Animation Engineer to establish a high bar for architecture and code quality. In this role, you will assume structural ownership over our core gameplay subsystems and character animation pipelines. This position sits at the intersection of game logic and physical expression. You will extend, optimize, and maintain the underlying C++ code, toolsets, and data pipelines that bridge technical art and gameplay logic. Operating as a senior technical authority, you will collaborate closely with animators, character artists, combat designers, and core programmers to turn complex animation data into responsive, spectacular, and tactile gameplay features.

• UE5 System Engineering: Work deep within the Unreal Engine 5 codebase, adapting native frameworks and engineering proprietary systems to satisfy unique creative designs and high-fidelity technical performance.
• Feature Implementation: Prototype, architect, and code robust gameplay and animation features, ensuring clean memory management, low CPU overhead, and highly modular logic.
• Math-Driven Animation: Utilize linear algebra and 3D mathematics to implement advanced procedural, kinematic, or dynamic character behaviors.
• Estimation & Scoping: Support production planning cycles by providing highly accurate time estimates, mapping out architectural dependencies, and reviewing tech designs.
• Risk Management: Proactively identify technical bottlenecks, developmental risks, and scaling limitations within the animation pipeline; engineer stable, creative solutions to eliminate these roadblocks early.
• R&D and Innovation: Research cutting‑edge real‑time coding techniques, algorithms, and emerging industry paradigms to keep the studio’s technology at the forefront of the industry.
• Team Alignment: Work constructively alongside designers, technical animators, and lighting artists to realize artistic visions without sacrificing system performance.
• Code Standards: Maintain a strong dedication to high code quality, code reviews, and pristine technical documentation, ensuring our codebases remain accessible and scalable.

Professional Requirements & Qualifications

• Creative Technical Tenure: Demonstrable, professional software engineering experience within a complex, real-time creative production environment (e.g., games, interactive simulation).
• Shipped AAA Portfolio: A proven track record with at least one (1) or more shipped AAA game titles, ideally utilizing the Unreal Engine ecosystem.
• Advanced C++ & Mathematics: High-level proficiency in modern C++, object-oriented (OO) design principles, and a strong foundational mastery of 3D math, linear algebra, and coordinate spaces.
• GAS Expertise: Practical, production-tested experience utilizing and extending Unreal Engine’s Gameplay Ability System (GAS).
• Engine Foundations: Absolute comfort navigating Unreal Engine, Blueprints architecture, and native Unreal animation principles (e.g., AnimBPs, Control Rig, Linked Anim Graphs).
• Soft Skills: Autonomous problem-solving agility under fixed delivery milestones, paired with exceptional interpersonal and cross-discipline communication skills.

Highly Desirable Attributes

• Console Architecture: Hands‑on experience optimization and developing gameplay systems explicitly for Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 hardware.
• Character Control Systems: In-depth knowledge of player-controlled character mechanics, including Unreal’s Enhanced Input system, customized cameras, and perspective tracking.
• Advanced Animation Techniques: Implementation experience in one or more of the following specialized fields:
• Inverse Kinematics (IK/Full‑Body IK) techniques
• Ragdoll matrices and physics-based character blending
• Procedural animation systems and runtime bone manipulation
• Traditional forward kinematics and keyframe interpolation matrices
• Modern machine learning-driven animation systems (e.g., Motion Matching)

Equal Opportunity & Workplace Inclusion

Hangar 13 and 2K Games proudly celebrate the diversity of our global team members, development partners, and player communities. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities across all facets of our organization. Furthermore, we ensure that qualified individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations to fully participate in the job application and interview process, and access corporate benefits. If you require accommodations, please inform your talent acquisition partner.