Senior Technical Animator

ABOUT US:

Saltwater Games is a creative alliance of studios dedicated to delivering unparalleled entertainment experiences that ignite the imagination of our audiences. Our passionate teams of creative professionals consist of industry veterans from renowned studios such as PlayStation, Codemasters, Sumo Digital, Interior Night and Mediatonic who are working on some exciting VR, multiplayer and mobile titles. At SWG we follow some key values:

• We are optimistic & brave
• We are honest & open
• We take ownership & responsibility

ABOUT YOU:

We are looking for a freelancer for a period of 3-6 months. As a Technical Animator, you serve as the bridge between Animators and Gameplay Programmers. Your responsibilities include overseeing the technical elements of gameplay & narrative animation production, ensuring the use of top industry techniques and practices, meeting project deadlines, and collaborating closely with both the Animation team and Gameplay Programmers.

Responsibilities:

• Work closely with the relevant directors taking visual and technical direction.
• Collaborate with the animation team to develop high quality immersive experiences.
• Create rigged and skinned characters and props, and integrate into Unity game engine.
• Create, maintain, test, and debug animation tools & documentation.
• Adapt and maintain character/animation pipelines in accordance with the project's technical constraints.
• Create and collaborate on animation state machines in the game engine.
• Support the integration of animations into Unity game engine.
• Work alongside code and core tech to develop fluid pipelines. 

• Three years or more industry experience and at least one shipped title.
• Good knowledge of rigging & skinning in Maya.
• Good knowledge of animation state machines, gameplay mechanics & in-engine IK solutions.
• Experience using animation software such as Motion Builder, or Maya.
• Excellent working knowledge of Unity 3D.
• Experience Programming/Scripting with Python and/or C#
• Experienced with character rigs, including facial animation in Maya.
• Experience of working with Advanced Skeleton is a distinct advantage.
• Experience of working with motion capture data.
• An interest or experience of working with VR.

• Annual Salary: £45K-£65K (Daily Rate: £180-£250)
• Remote-first Studio
• Regular team social events & studio summits and networking opportunities
• Working alongside a friendly, flexible, and highly talented team
• Opportunity to work on the future of immersive storytelling and big-name IPs

To tell better stories and create inclusive experiences we welcome everyone, especially from under-represented people in our industry whose stories aren’t told often enough. Our research has suggested that sometimes people from underrepresented groups are less likely to apply to roles unless they meet every single listed requirement. At Maze Theory we are dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive working environment, who you are will always deserve our consideration and recognition, and your application is welcome.