Animator (External Development)

2 Months ago • 3 Years + • Animation • $87,667 PA - $131,497 PA

Job Summary

Job Description

Santa Monica Studio seeks an Animator to collaborate with their external development (ExDev) team. This hybrid role involves working with external animation studios to produce high-quality assets for AAA games, ensuring they meet Santa Monica Studio's standards. Responsibilities include managing communication with external partners, creating pipeline documentation, troubleshooting technical issues, integrating assets into the game engine, and tracking content deliveries. The ideal candidate has 3+ years of gameplay animation experience, proficiency in Maya and a real-time game engine (Unreal Engine or similar), and strong communication skills. They will partner with the Animation Director and Leads to successfully ship a AAA title.
Must have:
  • 3+ years Gameplay Animator experience
  • Proficiency in Maya & real-time game engine
  • Strong communication & collaboration skills
  • Understanding of animation principles
  • Experience with character creation pipelines
Good to have:
  • Experience with outsourcing teams
  • Familiarity with combat animation systems
  • Experience using Shotgrid
Perks:
  • Medical, dental, and vision benefits

Job Details

Why PlayStation?

PlayStation isn’t just the Best Place to Play — it’s also the Best Place to Work. Today, we’re recognized as a global leader in entertainment producing The PlayStation family of products and services including PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, PlayStation®VR, PlayStation®Plus, acclaimed PlayStation software titles from PlayStation Studios, and more.

PlayStation also strives to create an inclusive environment that empowers employees and embraces diversity. We welcome and encourage everyone who has a passion and curiosity for innovation, technology, and play to explore our open positions and join our growing global team.

The PlayStation brand falls under Sony Interactive Entertainment, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation.

 

Join the award-winning team that created God of War

Santa Monica Studio is looking for an Animator to partner with the external development group and help drive a variety of animation-related tasks.

This hybrid role leverages your animation skills and your ability to communicate with outside partners. Team members will collaborate with external animation studios to produce high-quality assets. Additionally, you will facilitate the integration of their work into the game engine, address technical issues, and troubleshoot problems encountered by our external animation teams. 

The ideal candidate possesses the experience and knowledge necessary to create high-quality animations in a game development environment, has a strong understanding of game animation pipelines, and demonstrates the ability to collaborate with our external teams as well as our Animation Director and Leads to successfully ship a AAA game.

Responsibilities

  • Regularly represent the studio in external animation-related communication and discussion with an external group of animators
  • Work with the External Development group to maintain strong relationships with external animation studios and ensure their success in working with our team to meet Santa Monica Studio standards
  • Create documentation for outsourcing animation pipeline guidelines, tutorials, examples, and delivery expectations for our external partners
  • Assist the ExDev animation team to ensure content deliveries meet the studio's artistic and technical standards, including ensuring that delivered assets are of final shipping quality
  • Help troubleshoot animation, rigging, or workflow problems with external partners
  • Integrate delivered content directly into the game
  • Partner with the production team to help track incoming assets and deliveries

Requirements

  • 3+ years of experience as a Gameplay Animator in the game industry
  • Strong understanding of gameplay animation principles, including weight, timing, and responsiveness
  • Proficiency in Maya and experience working with animation in a real-time game engine (Unreal Engine, proprietary engines, etc.)
  • Working knowledge of character creation and animation pipelines
  • Exhibits strong communication, organizational, time management, and interpersonal skills
  • Shows an interest in tackling the challenges of collaborating with multiple external animation groups

Preferred Experience

  • Experience working with outsourcing teams and animation pipelines
  • Familiarity with combat, traversal, or systemic animation systems in third-person action games
  • Experience using Shotgrid is a plus

 

#LI-SMS

 Please refer to our Candidate Privacy Notice for more information about how we process your personal information, and your data protection rights.

 

At SIE, working with our partners, we consider several factors when setting each role’s base pay range, including the competitive benchmarking data for the market and geographic location. 

Please note that the individual base pay range may vary based on job-related factors which may include knowledge, skills, experience, and location.

In addition, this role is eligible for benefit offerings that include medical, dental, and vision. Click here to learn more.

The estimated base pay range for this role is listed below, this is an hourly rate.

$44.38 - $66.59 USD

Equal Opportunity Statement:

Sony is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All persons will receive consideration for employment without regard to gender (including gender identity, gender expression and gender reassignment), race (including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin), religion or belief, marital or civil partnership status, disability, age, sexual orientation, pregnancy, maternity or parental status, trade union membership or membership in any other legally protected category.

We strive to create an inclusive environment, empower employees and embrace diversity. We encourage everyone to respond. 

PlayStation is a Fair Chance employer and qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records will be considered for employment.

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Want to take your career to the next level? Search open job vacancies at any of the Sony Interactive sites by visiting playstation.com/careers/


Sony Interactive Entertainment pushes the boundaries of entertainment and innovation, starting from the launch of the original PlayStation in Japan in 1994. Today, we continue to deliver innovative and thrilling experiences to a global audience through our PlayStation line of products and services that include generation-defining hardware, pioneering network services, and award-winning games. Headquartered in San Mateo, California, with global functions in California, London, and Tokyo, and game development studios around the world as part of PlayStation Studios, we believe that the power of play is borderless. Sony Interactive Entertainment is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation.  


For more information about our company, please visit SonyInteractive.com. For more information about PlayStation products, please visit PlayStation.com.

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