Base pay range
$160,000.00/yr - $240,000.00/yr
Your actual pay will be based on your skills and experience — talk with your recruiter to learn more.
We’re working with a well-funded and top-rated VR game studio to help them hire a Lead Game Animation Engineer to architect and evolve their animation systems across character gameplay, social features, and AI-driven interactions.
This is a hands-on role focused on building, tuning, and scaling animation systems that feel great in fast-paced, physics-based multiplayer experiences. You\'ll collaborate closely with engineers and design leadership to deliver responsive, high-fidelity character motion—and take full ownership of the animation engineering domain as the studio grows.
What You’ll Do
- Architect and implement core animation systems (animation graphs, IK layers, state machines, blending logic)
- Improve and refine inverse kinematics (IK) systems for lifelike character movement
- Integrate animation with gameplay systems, AI bots, and player interactions in real-time
- Own the quality bar for responsiveness, realism, and performance in animation systems
- Collaborate with cross-functional team members to deliver new features and elevate animation fidelity
- Contribute to long-term planning of animation tools and pipelines
- Work within the Unity game engine
What We’re Looking For
- Must have shipped multiple mobile or XR games in Unity
- Demonstrated experience building and integrating animation systems in a shipped game
- Strong understanding of inverse kinematics (IK), animation blending, and procedural motion
- Deep technical proficiency in C#, C++, or equivalent—hands-on and systems-oriented
- Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a fast-moving environment
- Strong attention to animation polish and gameplay feel
Nice-to-Have
- Background in physics-driven or sports gameplay systems
- Familiarity with animation tooling, rigging pipelines, or runtime optimization for real-time games
- VR experience
Seniority level
- Director
Employment type
- Full-time
Job function
- Computer Games
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