Technical Animator (contract)

We are seeking a Technical Animator to join our team on a 9 month contract, bringing characters and creatures to life through innovative animation solutions.

Nerd Ninjas is a fully remote, fast-moving, multidisciplinary team of creative professionals who work hard and play hard. We’re dedicated to creating engaging projects across VR, AR, mobile, and desktop platforms.

Job Summary:

In this role, you will bridge the gap between art and engineering, ensuring smooth animation workflows, implementing character rigs, and optimizing animation systems for real-time applications. This is an exciting opportunity to work on a stylized, vibrant world and collaborate with a passionate team to create an engaging player experience.

This is an opportunity to contribute meaningfully to immersive gaming experiences while shaping the future of our innovative projects.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Create new animations and refine existing animations for key characters in the game.
2. Design, implement, and maintain character and creature rigs for animation, ensuring flexibility and efficiency.
3. Develop and maintain animation pipelines and tools to optimize the animation workflow.
4. Work closely with animators and engineers to ensure animations integrate seamlessly into the game engine.
5. Implement and refine state machines, procedural animation, and runtime animation systems.
6. Optimize animations for performance, ensuring smooth playback across platforms.
7. Troubleshoot and debug animation-related technical issues.
8. Stay up to date with industry trends, tools, and best practices in technical animation and real-time game development.

Required Skills & Qualifications:

1. 3+ years of experience in game development as a Technical Animator or in a similar role.
2. Animate characters using Maya, creating fluid and realistic movements for various gameplay needs (walk, run, idle, combat, etc.).
3. Collaborate with gameplay designers and artists to understand animation requirements.
4. Strong proficiency in rigging and skinning characters/creatures for games.
5. Proficiency in Maya, Blender, or equivalent 3D animation software.
6. Solid understanding of IK/FK systems, animation principles, and procedural techniques.
7. Experience with scripting languages such as Python or MEL for automation and tool creation.
8. Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to collaborate effectively with 3D artists, designers, and engineers.
9. A portfolio demonstrating technical animation work in a real-time environment.
10. Ability to work successfully remotely and be available during core team hours, M-F: 9:00am - 5pm Pacific Time.
11. Must be a US or Canadian resident (unfortunately, visa sponsorships are not available; applicants outside North America will not be considered).

Preferred Qualifications:

1. Familiarity with technical constraints of mobile and console platforms.
2. Experience with AR/VR.
3. Passion for stylized animation and creature motion.
4. Experience working with outsourced animators.

Key Attributes:

1. Able to develop innovative solutions for animation challenges.
2. Technical Expertise:
   • Deep understanding of animation pipelines and real-time game engines.
3. Works effectively with animators, engineers, and designers.
4. Stays updated with industry trends and new technologies.
5. Attention to Detail:
   • Ensures high-quality animation integration and performance optimization.
6. Strong Animation Skills:
   • Ability to create and refine high-quality character and creature animations.

Salary Range for this position: $4.5k - $6.5k per month depending on experience and ability.

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