Senior/Lead AI Technical Animator (12-Month FTC)

PLAY, GROW and WIN

To be a part of Virtuos means to be a creator.  

At Virtuos, we harness the latest technologies to make games better and more immersive than ever before. That is why we pride ourselves in constantly pushing the boundaries of possibility since our founding in 2004. 

Virtuosi is a team of experts – people who have come together to share their mutual passion for making and playing games. People with the same enthusiasm for exploring new ideas and the constant drive to excel in their field. People who believe in earning success through dedication.

At Virtuos, we are at the forefront of gaming, creating exciting new experiences daily. Join us to Play, Grow and Win – together.

About Us: Black Shamrock is a leading game development studio that thrives on creating captivating worlds and immersive gameplay. We are pioneering the future of game development with a AAA project that integrates cutting-edge AI systems and realism into gameplay. As part of our talented team, you’ll have the opportunity to shape an animation pipeline at the bleeding edge of to shape an animation pipeline at the bleeding edge of real-time performance, procedural behavior, and AI-generated motion working on an ambitious project that pushes boundaries in both creativity and technology. 

About the Position: We’re seeking a Senior or Lead Technical Animator to bridge the gap between traditional animation and advanced AI-driven systems. This role is pivotal in architecting runtime animation behaviors, collaborating with AI teams, and leading the animation integration process across gameplay and systems.
A deep understanding of rigging is essential—not only to collaborate with dedicated riggers, but also to contribute to the design and review of control systems, deformation setups, and the overall character pipeline. While not solely a rigging role, you’ll be actively involved in ensuring rigs support systemic and intelligent behaviors and may contribute directly where needed.

• Design and maintain scalable, real-time animation systems that integrate with AI behaviors and procedural motion.
• Collaborate closely with AI engineers and gameplay developers to create adaptive, systemic character performances.
• Guide and support rigging workflows, including the design and review of skeletal structures, facial systems, and deformation strategies.
• Build tools (in Python or MEL) that support animation retargeting, pose libraries, motion blending, or state-driven animation logic.
• Prototype and implement motion matching, IK solvers, and procedural animation techniques that support gameplay responsiveness and realism.
• Ensure clean integration and optimization of animation assets in engine (preferably Unreal).
• Help define and enforce animation quality and performance standards across the pipeline.
   

Need to Have:

• Senior or Lead-level experience in technical animation on at least one shipped AAA title (or equivalent complex real-time project).
• Expert-level skills in Maya (required) for animation, rig review, and technical workflows.
• Solid scripting experience in Python for automation and tool creation.
• Deep understanding of rigging systems, character setup, and skinning best practices.
• Strong knowledge of animation systems and runtime behaviors (blend trees, IK, state machines, Control Rig, etc.).
• Comfortable leading discussions with rigging and animation teams and aligning rigging outputs with gameplay and AI needs.

Nice to Have:

• Experience with MotionBuilder for mocap processing (not required).
• Familiarity with Unreal Engine Control Rig and Sequencer.
• Exposure to motion matching, neural animation systems (e.g., DeepMimic, Phase-Functioned Neural Networks), or procedural animation.
• Background or interest in machine learning, behavior systems, or character AI.