Senior Animator

Founded in 1994, Sports Interactive became a wholly owned subsidiary of SEGA Europe in 2006. Based at the Here East technology hub in Stratford, East London, the SI team continues to expand as we bring our titles to an ever-growing audience across an increasing variety of platforms. To support our growth, we welcome the opportunity to connect with passionate people with the drive to match our ambitions and initiative to realise your individual potential.

Position Overview

We have an exciting opportunity for a Senior Animator to join the Art & Animation team at Sports Interactive. Following our transition to Unity, we are entering a new phase of development focused on raising the quality bar across our animation systems and overall visual output. As we continue to evolve our technology and workflows, we’re looking to expand our talented team with individuals who can help drive this next level of quality. This is a great opportunity to work with modern engine technology and tools, contributing to the development of high-quality animation content while helping shape the future of animation at Sports Interactive.

In this role, you will play a key part in driving the quality and performance of animation across the project, creating compelling and immersive character experiences that support gameplay, narrative, and presentation. You’ll collaborate closely across disciplines to deliver high-quality animation while also identifying opportunities to improve workflows and pipelines.

Key Responsibilities

• Create high-quality, polished animations for characters, gameplay systems, and cinematics.
• Own complex animation tasks, including full-body, facial, and interactive animations.
• Direct and support motion capture shoots and refine captured data for in-game use.
• Collaborate with Designers and Programmers to ensure animations meet gameplay needs and technical constraints.
• Support our Principal animator to define and maintain animation standards, benchmarks, and style guides.
• Identify and drive improvements to animation workflows, pipelines, and tools.
• Ensure animation work is optimized for real-time performance without compromising quality.
• Support the development and integration of animation systems within the game engine.
• Provide clear, constructive feedback to peers and mentor junior and mid-level animators.
• Contribute to team discussions, planning, and cross-discipline problem solving.
• Communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Knowledge, Skills, and Experience

• Must have a strong experience in game animation, with a focus on character, gameplay, and/or cinematic animation.
• Shipped at least one game to a comparable scale to Sports Interactive titles in a similar role.
• Has Unity Experience.
• Advanced skills in creating realistic, expressive, and responsive animation.
• Experience working with motion capture pipelines, including directing shoots and cleanup.
• Has a solid understanding of how animation supports gameplay, systems, and player experience.
• The ability to balance visual quality with technical constraints and performance requirements.
• Experience owning large, complex animation features or tasks.
• A proactive approach to identifying problems and improving workflows.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to collaborate across multiple disciplines.
• Experience mentoring or supporting other animators.
• Organized and self-motivated, with the ability to manage your work independently.
• A passion for animation and a drive to continually improve quality and process.

Benefits of Working at Sports Interactive:

• Private Healthcare and Dental Plans.
• A range of Gym Membership options through our Benefits partners.
• Travel Insurance for yourself and your family.
• Subsidised mental health, therapy, and coaching sessions are available.
• Access to our on-site physical and massage therapist services.
• Free access to games released under the SEGA Europe umbrella.
• Contributory Pension Scheme (up to 7% of annual salary).
• Regular events in collaboration with our partnered football clubs.
• Free onsite evening bar in our London HQ.
• A well-stocked breakfast bar with cereals, fruits, teas, and coffees.
• Multiple clubs and societies to join e.g., book club and art workshops.
• Your club’s shirt personalised upon passing probation.
• Trophies & gift cards for length of service milestones.
• Cupcakes delivered on your birthday.

What is it like to work here?

We approach everything with passion, whether that is making our mark on the football industries or doing our bit for the world around us. We want to share that outlook with everyone who shows up to work here each day. For us, talent wins games, but teamwork wins titles. All our roles require a level of Studio attendance to help us collaborate effectively and stay connected as a team. Collaboration is the key to constantly topping our best. Everyone's contribution counts, no matter which part of the business you are in. We encourage and support our people in driving your own growth and realising your full potential. But, more than anything else, we are a team. A team with a down-to-earth dynamic, that has a lot of fun doing what we do.

And whether that’s technical tweaks or fine-tuning our creative process, everything is geared at producing the best game possible for our players. To do that, we need to be tenacious and ambitious and not be afraid of switching things up. It is these principles that have enabled us to produce a game that has defined year after year, and that will continue to push us for many more to come.

We’re also a London Living Wage employer and boast one of the lowest staff turnover rates in the industry. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from any relevant candidate irrespective of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, religion, or belief. SI is proudly a Disability Confident Committed employer, and we are dedicated to ensuring our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible. Our studio has disabled access and facilities but please ensure you advise us if you require any other reasonable adjustments to be made to support you during the recruitment process.

Our Values:

• Keep collaborating: Teamwork wins titles - Here, ideas belong to everyone, whatever department you’re part of. Collaboration lets us score more as a team than we could individually.
• Be flexible: We think fast and adapt faster. The football and entertainment worlds never stand still, so we keep progressing and switching things up to stay ahead.
• Stay Tenacious: We don’t overlook the details. Everything we do is about producing the best game possible, in other words, never settle.
• Show Ambition: Let your drive lead the way - Your individual outlook can give everyone the edge. Make the studio’s purpose personal and let your drive lead the way.
• Bring the Passion: Have fun doing your thing - Don’t be fooled, what we do is not a game. Making our players’ passion come to life is our passion.
• Consider the Bigger Picture: Keep things in perspective - We want our impact to be a positive one. From built-in work/life balance to initiatives covering the most important topics of today, we have what matters in focus.