Animation Technical Artist (6-Month FTC) in Cardiff

This position is a Fixed Term Contract (FTC) for an initial period of 6 months, with an anticipated end date in December 2026. Please note that this is a hybrid position based in Cardiff, requiring 3 days onsite each week, with the option for remote work on the remaining days.

ABOUT THE ROLE

We are looking for an experienced Animation Technical Artist to join our team in either UK location. The right person will be open and flexible, able to work in wide-ranging rigging and animation problem spaces with various styles and team sizes.

The ideal candidate will work closely with other artists and our client partners to support and implement animation tasks. As an Animation Tech Artist, you are the bridge between animators and the technical constraints of the game. You are building the systems, rigs, and pipelines that make high-quality movement possible. Additionally, you thrive on solving skinning issues, automating tedious workflows, and ensuring it all blends together seamlessly; this includes ensuring timely and efficient communication, thinking creatively, and successfully delivering milestones.

What You'll Do:

• Rigging & Animation Ownership: Translate gameplay and aesthetic requirements into functional character and prop animation workflows, ensuring output is visually consistent, performant, and player-friendly.
• Art Integration: Ensure that animation outputs work in alignment with creative vision and are delivered up to client expectations, including in-engine implementation.
• Technical Problem-Solving: Develop strategies and solutions for complex animation issues and carve a path through undefined scenarios, leveraging knowledge of implementation workflows and optimization principles.
• Cross-Discipline Collaboration: Work closely with artists to ensure asset implementation is animation-friendly and with engineering to align creative vision with technical execution and production realities.
• Iteration & Feedback: Participate in creative reviews, incorporate feedback quickly, and proactively identify opportunities for polish and improvement.

What We Value:

• Art Mastery: A deep understanding of anatomy, weight, balance, and the principles of animation as well as common implementation workflows.
• Drive for Excellence: A commitment to meticulous attention to detail, ensuring every visual element is crafted with care to achieve a flawless, appealing aesthetic.
• Player-Centric Mindset: Empathy for players’ needs and behaviours, with a passion for delivering seamless, intuitive, and visually engaging experiences.
• Collaboration: Strong communication and facilitation skills, with a track record of building trust and working effectively across multidisciplinary teams.
• Operational Resilience: The ability to navigate complex or less-than-ideal project environments, streamlining communication and optimising impact to set projects up for success.

What You’ll Bring:

• 3+ years of experience as an Animation Tech Artist, Technical Animator, Technical Art Lead, or similar role in game development; bonus for experience in an outsource management capacity.
• Proven track record of shipping at least one game through to release.
• Expert knowledge of industry-standard 3D animation creation technologies (e.g. Maya, Blender).
• Proficiency with tooling scripting languages (e.g. Python, MEL, C#).
• Working knowledge of animation implementation in game engines (e.g. Unreal Engine AnimBPs and Montages, Unity Mecanim).
• Passion for continuous improvement and upskilling in both technical and creative domains.

WHAT WE CAN OFFER:

• Competitive Salary and Benefits Package: Your health and wellbeing is important to us, so we offer a variety of benefits including: Private Pension via Salary Sacrifice, Optional Private Medical, Dental, and Vision Coverage, Annual Leave, plus Bank Holidays and Winter Break Office Closure, Annual Research Credit.
• Professional Development: We offer biannual reviews, as well as opportunities to collaborate across disciplines, internal tech talks, and the chance to learn from specialists with backgrounds from across the games and software development industries.
• Work-Life Balance: We really believe that home life comes first and we promote a flexible working environment. And as an added bonus: We don’t crunch!
• Family Friendly: We understand the importance of family, which is why we offer 6 weeks full of Maternity, Paternity, and Adoption Leave to support you during this exciting time!
• Office Perks: Weekly Team Lunches, Snacks, Including the Good (Yorkshire) Tea, Fully Equipped Team Lounge, Including our Favourite Consoles and Games.

A FRIENDLY NOTE FROM THE RECRUITMENT TEAM: Let us do the work for you: Even if your profile isn’t an exact match for all of the qualifications listed above, we still want you to apply. Our team members come from a variety of different industries, not all of which are immediately relevant to game or software development, and we welcome all candidates of similarly varied backgrounds, communities, and identities.

Rocket Science is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing a worry-free workplace void of discrimination or harassment. Rocket Scientists are expected to foster and champion an environment in which everyone has the opportunity to feel included and is afforded the respect and dignity they deserve.