Lead Technical Animator

3 Weeks ago • 8 Years + • Animation

Job Summary

Job Description

CD PROJEKT RED is seeking a Lead Technical Animator for their new project, Project Sirius, set in The Witcher universe. The Lead Technical Animator will be responsible for creating and driving animation systems for characters, monsters, and environments, working closely with artists and engineers for optimization. Responsibilities include solving complex technical challenges, defining animation processes, maintaining pipelines, briefing and reviewing outsourced work, collaborating with other animation teams, estimating and planning work, staying current on animation technology, and managing a team of technical animators. The ideal candidate will have a minimum of 8 years of experience as a Technical Animator, including at least 1 year in a leadership role, with experience shipping an AAA title. Strong skills in rigging, facial animation, and optimization are essential, alongside excellent communication and collaboration abilities.
Must have:
  • 8+ years experience as Technical Animator (1+ year leadership)
  • AAA title shipping experience
  • Rigging in Maya & MotionBuilder, UE5/Blueprint
  • Facial animation, Lip-sync expertise
  • Animation asset optimization
  • Excellent communication & collaboration skills
Good to have:
  • Motion matching experience
  • Scripting (Python, LUA)
  • Portfolio demonstrating expertise
Perks:
  • Company-paid healthcare (dental, vision, mental)
  • Paid leave (20 days/year)
  • 401k with employer matching
  • Gym membership reimbursement
  • Flexible working hours
  • Training opportunities
  • Dog-friendly office
  • International work environment

Job Details

Company Description

To create revolutionary, story-driven RPGs which go straight to the hearts of gamers — this is our mission. Want to dive deeper into our company’s culture? Explore our social media and check out our YouTube channel where we share behind-the-scenes insights and stories direct from our team members!

Job Description

CD PROJEKT RED is looking for a Lead Technical Animator to join our studio to work on Project Sirius - an ambitious and exciting new project set in The Witcher universe. As a Lead Technical Animator, you will play a key role in shaping the visual identity of Project Sirius.

Responsibilities

  • Create and drive animation systems for characters, monsters, and environment.
  • Work closely with artists and engineers to create highly optimized animation systems.
  • Solve complex technical challenges.
  • Define and document technical animation processes, tools, and best practices.
  • Maintaining the animation pipeline.
  • Write and prepare briefs for work with outsource vendors, and review work as necessary.
  • Communicate and cooperate with other CDPR animation teams while pursuing common goals.
  • Engage with Directors and Production to estimate and plan work.
  • Stay atop modern and cutting edge animation technology.
  • Build a growing Technical Animation via recruiting, interviewing, and hiring.
  • Act as the direct manager for team members, conducting reviews, mentoring, and helping them achieve personal and professional growth.
  • Cultivate a positive, collaborative team culture aligned with the company’s values and goals.
  • Partner with the Production department to establish plans and ensure timely delivery of work.

Qualifications

  • Ability to work independently to identify and own work, deliver results.
  • Minimum 8 years of experience as a Technical Animator with at least 1 year in a leadership role. 
  • Shipped at least one AAA title.
  • Extensive experience with rigging in Maya and Motion Builder, UE5/Blueprint, facial animation, and lipsync.
  • Familiarity with motion capture technology
  • Experience optimizing animation assets, rigs, and systems for high runtime performance and efficiency
  • Comprehensive portfolio demonstrating expertise.
  • Meticulous attention to detail, especially with character deformation and physics.
  • Excellent communication, presentation, and collaboration skills.
  • Positive attitude towards receiving feedback and exchanging knowledge.
  • Able to deliver and receive feedback in a productive and accountable manner.

Nice to have:

  • Experience with Motion matching.
  • Scripting proficiency in languages such as Python, LUA, etc.

 

Additional Information

This job can be hybrid/in-office from Boston or fully remote. 

Health & Well-being

  • Company paid medical healthcare (dental vision & mental).
  • Paid Leave — 20 days of holiday for every team member per year (26 days after two years).
  • No dress-code — we like to keep it casual.
  • 401K with employer matching.
  • Gym Membership Reimbursement.

Perks & Professional Growth

  • Flexible working hours.
  • Trainings, lectures and courses — internal workshops, knowledge-sharing initiatives, online tutorials, and e-learning classes are all available. There’s always something to learn!
  • Merch — gifts for newborn rebels and regular chances to nab some cool swag!
  • A welcome pack filled with goodies — to help you feel right at home once you join the team.

Life in the Office

  • Dog-friendly office — dog owner? Bring your pooch with you and look after them while working! There’s always a furry friend or two to meet at the studio.
  • Truly international working environment — a chance to meet and work with a diverse selection of people from all around the world.
     

If you have observed any irregularities in our recruitment process please click here to report them.

Similar Jobs

Plarium - Real-Time VFX Artist

Plarium

Warsaw, Masovian Voivodeship, Poland (Remote)
1 Week ago
Nexters - 3D Generalist

Nexters

Cyprus (Remote)
1 Month ago
Magic Media - Senior 3D Environment Artist (Unreal)

Magic Media

State Of São Paulo, Brazil (Remote)
1 Month ago
Amber - 3D Character Artist (Project Based)

Amber

(Remote)
1 Month ago
That's No Moon - Senior Narrative Gameplay Animator

That's No Moon

California, United States (Remote)
1 Month ago
Ubisoft - Technical Animation Director

Ubisoft

Annecy, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France (On-Site)
4 Weeks ago
M2 Animation - Blend Shape Artist

M2 Animation

Bangkok, Bangkok, Thailand (On-Site)
4 Days ago
TiMi Studio Group - Animator Intern

TiMi Studio Group

Quebec, Canada (On-Site)
1 Month ago
Qingci Games - Animator

Qingci Games

(On-Site)
2 Months ago

Get notifed when new similar jobs are uploaded

Similar Skill Jobs

Riot Games - Technical Artist - League of Legends, Seasons (Contract)

Riot Games

Singapore (On-Site)
1 Week ago
Blockville Digital Assets - 3D Fashion Designer

Blockville Digital Assets

İstanbul, Türkiye (On-Site)
9 Months ago
Xentrix Studios - Texturing – Artist

Xentrix Studios

India (On-Site)
5 Months ago
Epic Games - Concept Artist

Epic Games

Montreal, Quebec, Canada (On-Site)
1 Month ago
Riot Games - 3D Character Art Lead - Unannounced R&D Product

Riot Games

Los Angeles, California, United States (On-Site)
1 Week ago
People Can Fly - Principal Technical Artist

People Can Fly

Montreal, Quebec, Canada (Remote)
3 Weeks ago
Beyond Sports  - 3D Art Internship

Beyond Sports

Alkmaar, North Holland, Netherlands (On-Site)
2 Weeks ago
Ubisoft - Technical Graphic Director (Art)

Ubisoft

Montreal, Quebec, Canada (On-Site)
1 Month ago
Activision - Senior AI Animator

Activision

Los Angeles, California, United States (On-Site)
1 Month ago
Haptic - Senior VFX Artist

Haptic

Paris, Île-de-France, France (Remote)
3 Months ago

Get notifed when new similar jobs are uploaded

Jobs in Boston, Massachusetts, United States

ByteDance - Video Pipeline Engineer/Architect- Pico- San Jose

ByteDance

San Jose, California, United States (On-Site)
4 Months ago
The Walt Disney Company - Sr. Marketing Data Scientist

The Walt Disney Company

Burbank, California, United States (On-Site)
1 Month ago
Netflix - Senior Producer, Game Studio

Netflix

Los Angeles, California, United States (On-Site)
3 Months ago
Netflix - Machine Learning Manager - Promotional Media

Netflix

Los Gatos, California, United States (On-Site)
3 Months ago
Crunchyroll - Customer Experience Operations Analyst

Crunchyroll

San Francisco, California, United States (On-Site)
2 Months ago
Google - Staff Interaction Designer, Google Ads

Google

San Francisco, California, United States (On-Site)
6 Days ago
Hedra - Frontend Engineer

Hedra

San Francisco, California, United States (On-Site)
4 Weeks ago
ByteDance - Procurement Manager - Marketing, AMS

ByteDance

New York, New York, United States (On-Site)
1 Week ago
Tencent - Compensation & Benefits Manager

Tencent

California, United States (On-Site)
1 Month ago
Glean - Solutions Engineer

Glean

Central, South Carolina, United States (Remote)
5 Months ago

Get notifed when new similar jobs are uploaded

Animation Jobs

Paradox Interactive - 3D Animation Internship - 2nd half 2025

Paradox Interactive

Delft, South Holland, Netherlands (On-Site)
1 Week ago
Mob Entertainment - Technical Animator - Creature Specialist

Mob Entertainment

(Remote)
1 Month ago
Vigaet - Nuke Compositing Supervisor

Vigaet

Bengaluru, Karnataka, India (On-Site)
6 Months ago
Ubisoft - Senior Cinematics Designer

Ubisoft

Montpellier, Occitanie, France (On-Site)
2 Months ago
Larian Studios - Senior Animator

Larian Studios

Quebec, Canada (On-Site)
2 Months ago
SideFX Software - Quality Assurance Specialist - Houdini

SideFX Software

Ontario, Canada (Hybrid)
2 Months ago
DNEG - FX Lead (DNEG Animation)

DNEG

Bengaluru, Karnataka, India (On-Site)
6 Months ago
Sony Pictures Animation - Associate Production Manager - Feature

Sony Pictures Animation

Los Angeles, California, United States (On-Site)
4 Weeks ago
DNEG - FX Lead (DNEG Animation)

DNEG

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India (On-Site)
6 Months ago
Rebellion - Senior Gameplay Programmer

Rebellion

England, United Kingdom (Hybrid)
1 Month ago

Get notifed when new similar jobs are uploaded

About The Company

CD PROJEKT RED is home to over 1000 game-making professionals from all over the globe. We speak many different languages, but share one love — video games.


We are creators of The Witcher series of games, including the acclaimed The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Most recently, we have created Cyberpunk 2077 and its spy-thriller expansion Phantom Liberty.


We are headquartered in Warsaw, Poland, with studios in Cracow and Wroclaw. In North America, we operate in Vancouver and will be opening a new studio in Boston to drive development on the followup to Cyberpunk 2077. 


We’re proud to have a gamer-first approach, a diverse & supportive culture, and a focus on mature, meaningful storytelling that will inspire gamers for years to come.


Boston, Massachusetts, United States (On-Site)

Boston, Massachusetts, United States (Hybrid)

Warsaw, Masovian Voivodeship, Poland (On-Site)

Boston, Massachusetts, United States (Remote)

Boston, Massachusetts, United States (Remote)

Boston, Massachusetts, United States (Remote)

Boston, Massachusetts, United States (On-Site)

Boston, Massachusetts, United States (On-Site)

Boston, Massachusetts, United States (On-Site)

Boston, Massachusetts, United States (On-Site)

View All Jobs

Get notified when new jobs are added by CD PROJEKT RED

Level Up Your Career in Game Development!

Transform Your Passion into Profession with Our Comprehensive Courses for Aspiring Game Developers.

Job Common Plug