Stylised 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. Join our team on a fast-paced, stylized game that celebrates exaggerated animation, bold character design, and expressive motion. We're building a stylized universe filled with dynamic bipedal heroes, multi-legged creatures, oversized weapons, and punchy gameplay moments. We’re looking for a Technical Animator who thrives in a creative environment and can bridge the gap between art and engineering with flexibility, problem-solving, and strong pipeline awareness.

About the Position: As a Technical Animator, you’ll work closely with animators, riggers, designers, and engineers to ensure stylized character and gameplay animations look and perform beautifully in Unreal Engine. You will develop animation systems, support control rig and runtime setup, and help build scalable workflows for real-time implementation.

• Build and maintain animation systems using Unreal Engine 5, including Animation Blueprints, Control Rig, State Machines, and procedural layers.
• Collaborate with riggers to ensure rigs support expressive squash-and-stretch and dynamic posing.
• Implement character motion logic (e.g. movement blends, additive layers, aim offsets, hit reactions).
• Support runtime performance of animation systems, optimizing where needed for stylized fidelity.
• Prototype and polish gameplay animation features (e.g., attacks, traversal, reactions).
• Help design flexible, scalable animation logic for player characters, enemies, props, and vehicles.
• Contribute to the creation of tools and scripts (Python, Blueprint, or MEL) to streamline pipeline tasks.
• Debug and resolve animation-related issues across DCC and engine.
• Work with animators and designers to test, refine, and improve gameplay feel.
   

Need to Have:

• 3+ years of experience in a Technical Animator or related role in game development
• Strong working knowledge of Autodesk Maya and animation pipelines
• Solid understanding of animation systems in Unreal Engine 4/5
• Experience implementing and supporting character rigs, animation logic, or gameplay integration
• Familiarity with Python, Blueprint, or MEL scripting for pipeline support
• Ability to support stylized deformation, squash and stretch, and expressive motion
• Strong communication skills and ability to work cross-discipline in a remote team
   

Nice to Have:

• Experience with AI/ML-assisted tools for animation authoring or retargeting.
• Familiarity with Control Rig authoring in Unreal.
• Understanding of stylized animation principles in rigging and simulation.
• Knowledge of facial animation workflows or performance capture pipelines.
• Exposure to runtime physics-driven animation (ragdoll, secondary motion)
• Experience integrating tools like ngSkinTools, AdvancedSkeleton, or mGear
• Understanding of modular rig systems and character skin-sharing techniques
• Previous work on stylized or animation-driven games a strong advantage