Outsource Senior Animator in Cambridge

Frontier is an independent video game developer and publisher, crafting immersive gaming experiences with fun gameplay and unparalleled artistic quality. Renowned for its iconic creative management simulation games, Frontier captivates players worldwide with immersive and authentic game worlds. The modern studio is located in the vibrant technology hub of Cambridge (UK). The talented team at Frontier are dedicated to nurturing our existing portfolio and delivering our exciting future roadmap. This role is offered on a full in‑studio basis or a hybrid basis (minimum 3 days per week in the studio). We can provide a comprehensive relocation support package as part of any offer, should you need to relocate.

WHAT’S THE ROLE?

We’re looking for an Outsource Senior Animator who will support the delivery of high‑quality animation by working closely with external outsourcing partners and internal teams. This role focuses on coordinating outsourced animation production, ensuring that all delivered work meets the studio’s creative and technical standards. They will collaborate with production, leads, and other departments to track progress, maintain quality standards, and support the overall animation pipeline.

WHAT YOU’LL BE DOING

• Collaborate closely with outsource vendors to deliver high‑quality assets, ensuring all work consistently meets the studio’s animation and technical standards.
• Prepare clear, structured animation briefs and reference materials to effectively communicate creative and technical requirements to external vendors.
• Work closely with the Lead Animator and Game Director to interpret creative direction and ensure outsourced animation aligns with the project’s vision and gameplay needs.
• Integrate and validate animation assets within the game engine, ensuring correct implementation and functionality within the animation pipeline.
• Collaborate with the rigging team to review and test animation rigs, providing informed feedback and identifying improvements that support both internal and outsourced animation production.
• Review vendor submissions, providing clear, constructive feedback to maintain quality standards and support continuous improvement of outsourced work.
• Track outsourced tasks and priorities effectively, supporting production in maintaining realistic schedules and ensuring timely delivery of assets.
• Troubleshoot and resolve animation bugs contributing to the overall stability and quality of the project.
• Act as a key point of contact for outsourced animation work, fostering clear communication and strong collaboration between internal teams and external partners.
• Contribute to improving workflows, documentation, and processes to streamline the outsourcing pipeline and increase production efficiency.
• Provide mentorship and guidance to junior team members, supporting their development through feedback, coaching, and knowledge sharing, while promoting best practices across both internal and outsourced animation workflows.

WHAT YOU’LL BRING

• Extensive experience creating high‑quality animation assets across multiple shipped games.
• Advanced proficiency with Maya.
• Solid understanding of animation pipelines, including retargeting workflows and game engine implementation.
• Strong problem‑solving skills with the ability to identify and resolve technical and production challenges.
• Experience in giving and receiving feedback constructively, including mentoring and reviews.
• Highly collaborative mindset with the ability to work effectively across animation, rigging, engineering, and design teams.
• Strong organisational and time‑management skills, with the ability to manage multiple tasks and priorities in a production environment.
• Comfortable debugging pipeline and software issues, suggesting workarounds and improvements.
• Ability to work independently and proactively contribute to team‑wide goals.
• Knowledge of rigging pipelines and processes, and the ability to improve rigs by delivering precise and detailed feedback to rigging teams.

BONUS IF YOU HAVE

• Experience working on AAA titles or complex industry‑standard animation systems.
• Familiarity with cinematic set‑up and camera theory.
• Familiarity with motion capture clean‑up.
• Experience creating scripts or tools (Python, MEL) to help with asset creation of pipeline management.
• Experience stepping into leadership or decision‑making roles when required.

What We Can Offer You

You will work with talented and passionate people to support, develop or publish our sophisticated and enduring games, in a creative, collaborative and inclusive environment. We love what we do, and we work hard to provide outstanding experiences for our players. Wellbeing is a big focus at Frontier, and we are continually evolving how we can support our people. We encourage a healthy work/life balance and provide a range of wellbeing activities, initiatives and sessions to support both mental and physical health. We offer a competitive salary and benefits package, which includes a success‑based annual bonus, share option schemes, life assurance, private family healthcare, flexitime working hours, enhanced maternity/paternity leave, in‑house subsidised catering, support with relocation, a Cycle to Work scheme, free bike servicing, and social activities and events. We strive to create an environment where everyone can fully demonstrate their capability and potential. If you therefore need any reasonable adjustments to support you during the recruitment process, please speak to your Talent Acquisition representative.