Principal Animation Artist - Unpublished R&D Product

As a member of the Animation team, you bring characters to life through classic animation principles and body mechanics. You will create high quality animations for a diverse and rapidly growing universe, including bipeds, quadrupeds, and creatures.  A great reel will showcase a variety of walk cycles, combat animations, and a strong foundation in the principles of animation, including weight, anticipation, and impact.  Also working to expand our current content pipeline, you will collaborate with designers and artists to develop new features and technologies. Your craft expertise will breathe life into iconic and beloved characters for players.

As a Principal Animation Artist on the Research & Development (R&D) team, you will be responsible for animations that meet specific gameplay design requirements. The team is small and the role requires a high level of AAA game development experience that is focused on output of a wide variety of animation content. You are required to work independently with designers and make decisions that are inline with the animation style with a good balance between readability and quality. As the game moves into production, the role shifts towards traditional animation content creation. 

Responsibilities:

• Create animation assets at production level quality
• Work closely with design and create animations that meet the specific gameplay requirements 
• Anticipate and recognize potential conflicts or production issues and provide recommended solutions 
• Recognize areas of opportunity for animation to enhance gameplay and create animation artifacts to establish and articulate the projects animation style
• Meet project deadlines in a timely manner without compromising artistic integrity 
• Generate prototype VFX that communicates gameplay mechanics  
• Serve as the main point of contact for the project’s animation team by consistently communicate with the team by giving and receiving feedback, directing next steps, and providing clear goals and outcomes to your team
• Establish best practices and lead initiatives related to animation
• Motivate and develop the team members and act as a mentor in terms of technical/artistic aspects
• Direct and provide detailed feedback to external animation developers to assist in an outsourcing pipeline

Required Qualifications:

• 8+ years of professional experience working in animation within the gaming industry
• 5+ years of professional experience working in Maya
• 3+ years of experience working directly in Unreal Engine with experience implementing characters

Desired Qualifications:

• Strong sense of game design and gameplay
• Character combat animation experience 
• PC and mobile game development experience
• Experience collaborating and providing feedback to external vendors 
• Strong pre-vis and storytelling animation skills 

As a part of the application process, you will be expected to provide a portfolio or demo reel of their work and may be asked to complete an art test.

For this role, you'll find success through craft expertise, a collaborative spirit, and decision-making that prioritizes the delight of players. We will be looking at your past studies, experience, and your personal relationship with games. If you embody player empathy and care about players' experiences, this could be your role!

Our Perks:

Riot has a focus on work/life balance, shown by our open paid time off policy, in addition to other perks such as flexible work schedules. We offer medical, dental, and life insurance, parental leave for you, your spouse/domestic partner and children, and a 401k with company match. Check out our for more information.

Riot Games fosters a player and workplace experience that values teamwork embodied by the and . Our culture embraces differences as a strength, and our values are the guiding principles for how we approach work. We are committed to putting diversity and inclusion (D&I) at the center of everything we do, and promoting a fair and collaborative culture where Rioters treat one another with dignity and respect. We encourage you to read more about our value of and our ongoing work to build the .

It’s our policy to provide equal employment opportunity for all applicants and members of Riot Games, Inc. Riot Games makes reasonable accommodations for handicapped and disabled Rioters and does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, handicap, veteran status, marital status, criminal history, or any other category protected by applicable federal and state law. We consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with applicable federal, state and local law, including the California Fair Chance Act, the City of Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, and the Washington Fair Chance Act.

Per the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, the following core duties may create a basis for disqualifying candidates with relevant criminal histories:

• Safeguarding confidential and sensitive Company data
• Communication with others, including Rioters and third parties such as vendors, and/or players, including minors
• Accessing Company assets, secure digital systems, and networks
• Ensuring a safe interactive environment for players and other Rioters

These duties are directly related to essential operations, safety, trust, and compliance obligations within our organization. Please note that job duties may evolve based on business needs and additional responsibilities may be assigned as necessary to maintain operational efficiency and security.