Principal Animator

SEGA

| Sofia, Bulgaria (Hybrid) | Full Time | 6 months ago
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Job Summary

Creative Assembly is seeking a Principal Animator for their new project, a sequel to Alien: Isolation. This role is based in Sofia, Bulgaria, and offers hybrid or in-studio work, with remote options considered for Bulgarian residents. The Principal Animator will be instrumental in the animation team, setting a high standard for animation quality and artistic skill. They will contribute to character quality and create engaging, immersive experiences for players. The position involves working with UE5 on an iconic IP, providing an opportunity to significantly impact the game's experience. Responsibilities include creating and implementing high-quality animation assets, collaborating with various teams, providing feedback and guidance to teammates, learning new skills, and addressing animation-related issues.

Must Have

  • Expert hand-key animation skills for creatures and humans.
  • Excellent communication and teamwork skills.
  • Strong understanding of animation pipelines.
  • Ability to mentor and guide team members.
  • Proficiency in Maya/Motion Builder.
  • Previous experience on AAA titles in an equivalent role.

Good to Have

  • Experience with Unreal Engine.
  • Experience with Motion Matching or advanced locomotion systems.
  • Experience with facial animation.
  • Experience with character setup (rigging and skinning).
  • Experience with motion capture pipelines and shoots.

Perks & Benefits

  • Additional medical and dental health insurance for you, your partner and kids
  • Life insurance
  • Free health care screening
  • Additional holiday allowance
  • Full studio closure over Christmas and New Year
  • All Bulgarian Bank holidays
  • Annual discretionary studio bonus
  • Defined career development pathways
  • Personalised training support (SEGA Dev Day, internal masterclasses, workshops, specialist training, conference attendance)
  • Wellbeing support with an employee assistance program
  • Free games and merchandise
  • Access to extensive games library
  • Free breakfast every day
  • Office massages
  • Studio parties (Summer, Christmas, Children's Day, wrap parties)

Job Description

Description

Position at Creative Assembly

Creative Assembly is looking for a Principal Animator to join our talented team to work on our new project, a sequel to Alien: Isolation. This role will be based at our studio in Sofia, Bulgaria and can be offered as hybrid or in-studio. Remote working (Bulgaria) would be considered, and further details can be discussed during the recruitment process. 
 
The Role  
As Principal Animator, you will play a crucial role within the animation team, producing best in class animation and showcasing exceptional creative and artistic skills that set a standard for the team to emulate.   
Your work will drive character quality in-game, delivering memorable performances that provide players with an engaging and immersive experience.  
This is a new project, being built in UE5, with a strong focus on character on an iconic IP. This role offers an exciting opportunity to have a significant impact on that experience.
    
What you’ll be doing  
On a day-to-day basis, you will:  
  • Create and implement high quality animation assets  
  • Collaborate with related teams to develop and refine animations and systems from block-out to final implementation, ensuring they integrate seamlessly and meet gameplay requirements.  
  • Work closely with the animation team, artists, technical artists, and engineers, in helping deliver engaging and immersive characters.  
  • Embrace opportunities to learn new skills that will enhance your capabilities, elevate the team's performance, and provide innovative solutions to meet project requirements.  
  • Tackle day-to-day requests for improvements and bug fixes.  
  
What we are looking for  
Essential  
  • Expert hand-key animation skills for both creatures and humans.  
  • Excellent communication skills, self-motivated and proven ability to work well within a team with a passion for games.  
  • Excellent understanding of animation pipelines from conceptual phase to deployment.  
  • Strong ability to communicate clear direction, break down tasks and feedback to help mentor, guide and educate fellow teammates.  
  • Excellent knowledge of Maya/Motion Builder  
  • Previously worked on AAA titles in an equivalent role.  
Desirable  
  • Experience with Unreal Engine  
  • Experience with Motion Matching or equivalent advanced locomotion system  
  • Experience with facial animation  
  • Experience with character setup – rigging and skinning  
  • Experience with motion capture pipelines and shoots  
  
Note: Applications for this role will ideally include a portfolio (or link to a portfolio). 
About Creative Assembly
Creative Assembly crafts deep and detailed games that last, entertaining millions of players across the globe for decades.
 
We are all game makers and we care deeply about the experiences we create. We empower our teams to make significant contributions to our games, supported by skills development and growth opportunities.
 
We are located in Horsham, UK and Sofia, Bulgaria.
We offer many benefits to support you and your family including:
  • We offer many benefits to support you and your family including:
  • Additional medical and dental health insurance for you, your partner and kids, life in-surance, and free health care screening
  • Additional holiday allowance plus full studio closure over the Christmas and New Year period, as all Bulgarian Bank holidays
  • Annual discretionary studio bonus
  • Defined career development pathways and personalised training support including; SEGA Dev Day, internal masterclasses, prestigious creative workshops, on-site training with renowned specialists and global conference attendance
  • Wellbeing support with an employee assistance programme
  • Free games and merchandise plus access to our extensive games library
  • Free breakfast every day - toast, cereals, yoghurts, fresh fruit, soft drinks and more in our fully stocked kitchen
  • Office massages
  • Studio parties for you and your family; such as our Summer and Christmas parties, Children’s day party, wrap parties for game releases
 
We are an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, religion or belief.
 
Note to Recruitment Agencies: SEGA Europe Limited and our studios do not accept unsolicited candidate introductions from unauthorised third parties. For the avoidance of doubt, SEGA Europe is not liable for any fees, compensation or any other costs associated with the introduction of a candidate or recruitment services unless and until an agreement has been duly executed. Further details can be found here.
 

8 Skills Required For This Role

Motion Capture Communication Rigging Talent Acquisition Unreal Game Texts Motion Builder Maya