Senior Character Animator in Slough

Hundred Star Games is an independent video game developer based in Hackney Wick, East London, founded by Jamie Walker and Sefton Hill, previous founders of Rocksteady and the creative leadership team of Rocksteady’s Batman Arkham series. Growing to a maximum of 100 people over the next few years, we’re doing things differently at Hundred Star, so we can focus on making great games and building meaningful connections with those we work with. Our company culture and way of working is unique to the industry and encourages leadership at all levels, autonomy, accountability, team support, sharing vulnerability, and building context, connection, and treating people well.

We’re looking for an Advanced Gameplay Animator to join our growing studio and help create immersive and dynamic gameplay animations which enhance the player experience of our projects. In this role, you will work closely with our existing Animation team but also as an individual taking ownership of key features, support more junior members of the team, and contribute to the wider creative vision of the studio. We’re a hybrid studio, with everyone working in studio Tuesday through Thursday, with Mondays and Fridays open to WFH within the UK.

Must haves: UE4/5, Blueprints, Maya, a reel showcasing realistic gameplay character animation, keyframe and mo-cap, locomotion, combat, environmental interaction. AAA background.

In this role you will:

• Work closely with the Animation Director, Animation team and other creative disciplines to establish our animation benchmarks to ensure consistent style and quality throughout the project.
• Own a key feature in the game, collaborating with others to obtain feedback and ensure the feature design is the best it can be.
• Champion and inspire others within the team, providing guidance and insight to more junior members and help improve the wider industry where possible.
• Create and implement world class quality animations using keyframe and/or motion capture.
• Implement gameplay features with Engineering, VFX, Audio and other teams to create great-feeling behaviours for the player.
• Foster strong relationships across all departments to proactively resolve team-wide challenges as and when they come up.
• Offer feedback and suggestions to improve our animation tools and pipeline.
• Collaborate with outsource partners to create high quality animation assets where necessary.

What we’re looking for:

• Highly skilled in gameplay animation, with examples of character agility, combat, environmental interactions etc.
• A solid grasp of Unreal's Animation Blueprints and confident aiming for them to work alongside gameplay code.
• Comprehensive understanding of Animation principles and confident using industry standard software (Maya).
• Confident partnering with Gameplay Engineers, using their input to deliver industry-leading gameplay animations.
• An expert in keyframe Animation but equally comfortable with motion capture integration. Experience of directing and or performing in motion capture systems would be advantageous.
• Strong creative throughput, able to take direction and create several ideas and adapt to changes in design.
• Comfortable working closely with all departments within the studio to support the continued development of our project, weaving gameplay and storytelling into a cohesive thread.
• Experience setting goals for team members or managing outsourcing animation teams would be beneficial.
• Previous experience in AAA game development or working on similar large-scale projects.
• Experience working in UE5.
• Passion for Animation, games, film and creating something fun and engaging.

Visa sponsorship and relocation assistance is available

Salary to £70k plus - Benefit Highlights:

• 28 Days Annual Leave
• Discretionary annual bonus
• Private Medical, Cash Plan and Dental insurance through BUPA (Couple and Family cover) - medical history disregarded
• Life, Critical illness and Income Protection benefit
• Enhanced Maternity/Paternity Leave and Pay
• Focus on Wellbeing which includes, subsidised gym membership, annual fitness grant, inhouse yoga and fitness classes and discounted massages
• Regular social events throughout the year, including a Summer Wellness Retreat and monthly birthday and milestone celebrations