Principal Technical Animator | Minecraft Blast, New games

As a Principal Technical Animator on Minecraft Blast, you will define how characters and mobs move, react, and express emotion across both the Meta world and the Core puzzle gameplay. This role blends rigging, animation systems, and in-engine integration. You’ll help deliver clear, charming motion that fits a mobile-first style while empowering the animation team. Key responsibilities include ownership of the full rigging and animation asset pipeline, creation of high-quality rigs, configuration of Unity animator state machines, and collaboration with technical artists to build tools and pipelines.

Must Have

• Ownership of the full rigging & animation asset pipeline.
• Creation of high quality rigs suiting the stylistic needs of the project's animators.
• Configuration of Unity animator state machines for procedural animation and dynamics.
• Support the use of timelines for keyframe animated narrative moments and cutscenes.
• Collaboration with the studio's technical artists to build tools, pipelines and processes.
• Troubleshooting and proactive problem solving across the animation domain.

Good to Have

• Animation experience - willingness to jump in to help the animators during busy periods.
• Mentorship experience - Ability to guide and inform other animators and artists on rigging standards and animation workflows.
• Experience developing key animation & control systems such as: Auto-riggers, SFX/VFX triggers, State machine logic, 2D Animation blend fields, Squash and stretch setups, IK/FK switches, Root motion, Navmesh and NPC behaviors.

Perks & Benefits

• A creative and inclusive environment where thoughtful ideas are valued.
• A chance to shape animation quality on Minecraft Blast, our new mobile take on the Minecraft universe.
• The opportunity to shape the foundations of our studios animation pipeline and room to grow both technically and artistically.

Craft: Art

Job Description:

As a Principal Technical Animator on Minecraft Blast, you will define how our characters and mobs move, react, and express emotion across both the Meta world and the Core puzzle gameplay. This role blends rigging, animation systems, and in-engine integration. You’ll help deliver clear, charming motion that fits our mobile-first style while empowering the animation team.

Key Responsibilities

• Ownership of the full rigging & animation asset pipeline.
• Creation of high quality rigs suiting the stylistic needs of the project's animators.
• Configuration of Unity animator state machines for procedural animation and dynamics.
• Support the use of timelines for keyframe animated narrative moments and cutscenes.
• Collaboration with the studio's technical artists to build tools, pipelines and processes that facilitate a deep connection between motion, audio and visual effects.
• Troubleshooting and proactive problem solving across the animation domain.

Required Skills & Experience:

• An inquisitive, technical mindset eager to work with a passionate team.
• Comprehensive knowledge of rigging and prior track record of rigging game characters.
• Knowledge of visual scripting systems and node graphs.
• Experience with the Unity game engine and editor.
• Scripting experience with 3d software packages such as Blender, Maya or Houdini.
• Game engine (C#) scripting experience.

Desirable Skills & Experience :

• Animation experience - willingness to jump in to help the animators during busy periods.
• Mentorship experience - Ability to guide and inform other animators and artists on rigging standards and animation workflows.
• Any experience developing key animation & control systems such as: Auto-riggers, SFX/VFX triggers, State machine logic, 2D Animation blend fields, Squash and stretch setups, IK/FK switches, Root motion, Navmesh and NPC behaviors.

What We Offer:

• A creative and inclusive environment where thoughtful ideas are valued.
• A chance to shape animation quality on Minecraft Blast, our new mobile take on the Minecraft universe.
• The opportunity to shape the foundations of our studios animation pipeline and room to grow both technically and artistically.