Senior Technical Animator, Gameplay

To create revolutionary, story-driven RPGs which go straight to the hearts of gamers — this is our mission. Want to dive deeper into our company’s culture? Explore our social media and check out our YouTube channel where we share behind-the-scenes insights and stories direct from our team members!

We are looking for a Senior Technical Animator to join the Gameplay Animation team. In this role, you will collaborate with the Technical Animation Coordinator to take ownership of the technical side of gameplay animation inside of Unreal Engine 5. You will be driving implementation, optimization, maintenance, and debugging of animation-driven gameplay mechanics and work closely with Animators, Riggers, Programmers, Designers and other Technical Animators to ensure our animations look and feel exceptional in-game, while maintaining performance and scalability.

At CD PROJEKT RED, we animate everything in-house—with our own motion capture studio and a pipeline that empowers animators to push creative boundaries. You’ll have the opportunity to work on humanoids, animals, machines, and creatures that challenge both your artistic and technical expertise. We are especially interested in someone who has worked on large-scale projects featuring a wide variety of gameplay elements—preferably in a AAA open-world setting. If you’re an expert seeking a high-impact role empowering the gameplay animation technology of the Witcher 4, you’ve found it.

Daily responsibilities

• In-game implementation and optimization of gameplay animation features and assets in cooperation with Gameplay Animators and Designers.
• Prototyping the visual part of new gameplay mechanics in cooperation with Gameplay Animators and Designers.
• Create automation tools & validators across the entire Animation Pipeline, from the DCC applications (Maya & MotionBuilder) to the Unreal Engine editor.
• Developing and improving in-game animation systems and tools in cooperation with Animation Programmers, including creative Motion Matching applications, Procedural Animation setups, building hierarchical state machines, and physical animation configurations.
• Design, implement, and refine physics-driven animation systems with dynamic animation blending to simulate realistic and active reactions for characters.
• Ensuring cohesive visual and mechanical gameplay performance of characters across dynamically changing and diverse roles, such as player character, companion NPCs, standard NPCs and background crowd.
• Research and integrate innovative animation technologies & approaches, continuously advancing our pipeline’s and runtime system’s capabilities.
• Mentoring and training other Technical Animators, sharing best practices and fostering a culture of continuous learning and knowledge transfer.
• Participation in Motion Capture sessions in order to keep the acting performance within the gameplay requirements. 
• Establish, document and maintain animation workflow, folders, naming conventions, and engine-related structures.

• Senior-level experience in Technical Animation, with at least 6 years in a similar position on AAA or equivalent projects.
• Proven experience owning complex animation technology pipelines from design through implementation and maintenance.
• Shipped titles and/or robust prototypes on large-scale projects featuring diverse gameplay elements, preferably in an open-world setting.
• Deep knowledge of Unreal Engine’s game animation features, including Motion Matching, Control Rig, StateTrees, Sequencer, Physics Control Component and more.
• Experience building a highly modular animation logic structure that supports flexible iteration and reuse across multiple systems.
• Expertise in solving common and advanced animation problems such as foot sliding, animation jitter, pose snapping, synchronization and performance bottlenecks.
• Experience with keyframe animation and motion capture data, animation principles, and body mechanics, including cleanup and retargeting for procedural pipelines.
• Solid C++ knowledge for reading game code, exposing functions and data to Blueprints and collaborating with programmers on engine changes. Familiarity with programming concepts such as composition, interfaces, and modular architectures.
• A good eye for and the ability to break down complex animation references
• Good communication and problem-solving skills; able to collaborate cross-departmentally with Animators, Riggers, Designers, and Engineers.
• Passion for making games and pushing animation fidelity and responsiveness to new heights.

Working mode

• Working primarily from the Warsaw office in a full in-office or hybrid mode.

Perks & Professional Growth

• Flexible working hours — start your workday anytime between 8:00 and 10:00 AM.
• A welcome pack filled with goodies — to help you feel right at home once you join the team.
• Trainings, lectures and courses — internal workshops, external training for each employee, ‘Meet a star’ events, knowledge-sharing initiatives, online tutorials, and e-learning classes are all available. There’s always something to learn!
• Merch — gifts for newborn rebels and regular chances to nab some cool swag!

Health & Well-being

• Private medical healthcare — a selection of medical plans with dental care to choose from, which are also accessible for your partner and relatives.
• Psychological care — free mental health support and various well-being webinars. 
• Multisport card — gain access to a wide number of sporting and fitness facilities across the city.

Social Activities & Life in the Office

• Dog-friendly office — dog owner? Bring your pooch with you and look after them while working! There’s always a furry friend or two to meet at the studio.
• Social events — we host regular gatherings at the studio where we can all unwind, play games, and just have some fun together.
• Healthy selections — ​​organic fruit, snacks, muesli, organic honey, vegan milk, and speciality coffee are all at your disposal around the studio. Enjoy!
• Truly international working environment — a chance to meet and work with a diverse selection of people from all around the world.

Head office in Warsaw

• Sustainable campus with an eco ethos — solar panels provide green energy, 2000 plants and an air-filtering system to help provide clean air, electric car charging points, flower meadows, and more green features in the works.
• An onsite, well-equipped gym with a climbing wall, daily Gym Assistant support and yoga and healthy spine classes.
• Car and bike parking spaces.
• A designated space for your bicycle, as well as bicycle repair equipment and showers available whenever you need them.
• No dress-code — we like to keep it casual.

Relocation support

• Relocation package – flight ticket, company apartment for your first month, relocating your pet, shipping your belongings: it’s all covered. 
• Relocation assistance — processing your legalization operations for you, assistance with finding residence, tax settlements - all you need to feel right at home is taken care of.
• Polish lessons for foreign employees — and for your spouse or partner, too.
• Paid Leave — from 20 to 26 days of holiday for every team member per year, paid sick leave, and paid maternity & paternity leave.

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