Senior Technical Animator

The Job - Senior Technical Animator

Your new role as Senior Technical Animator will be focused on automating and scripting complete animation pipelines from DCC into Unreal Engine, bringing movement and life to the worlds we help create.

Upon joining our team of Unreal Engine experts, your focus will be on rigging, building robust animation systems, and integrating kinematics into real-time environments. You’ll be seen as a subject matter expert, adding key experience to our projects.

You’ll have the opportunity to converse with our client studios as well as collaborate and share knowledge with our teams while taking satisfaction from solving challenges and finding solutions that pop up along the way. You’ll not only be a trusted voice but will have the opportunity to learn and grow your career and expertise too.

If you are passionate about creating immersive and visually stunning gaming experiences, this is a great opportunity for you!

What you’ll need to succeed:

• Proven background as a Technical Animator or Animation Engineer on Unreal Engine projects.

• Deep knowledge of rigging, kinematics, and runtime animation systems in game environments.

• Strong skills in Python, particularly in DCC scripting (Maya, Blender, etc.).

• Previous work with Unreal Engine tooling, including Animation Blueprints, Control Rig, and animation-related C++ or Blueprint scripting.

• Implementation and debugging procedural animation including physics, ragdoll and runtime IK's.

Intro to Tanglewood Games

Co-founded in 2017 by veteran programmers Chris and Terence, Tanglewood Games is an accredited Gold Service Unreal Engine Partner, providing top-tier engineering and technical art services; with specialisms in optimisation, porting, technology integration, and full consultation. The team's experience spans a catalogue of global titles including Steel Hunters, Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions, Grounded: Fully Yoked, Funko Fusion, Hogwarts Legacy, the F1 Manager series and Train Sim 5. We work with a wide range of client studios, including Warner Bros. Games, SEGA, and others we can’t talk about yet.

We’re an established games development studio that prides itself on a professional approach to serving clients and developing our staff. Based in Hartlepool in the North East of England we can also offer fully remote positions within the UK.

At Tanglewood Games we’re an equal-opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all our employees.

Why We Share Salaries Up Front

At Tanglewood, we believe salary transparency is essential to fairness. We know that people often undervalue themselves when negotiating their salary, and those numbers can shape the trajectory of their entire career. That’s why we’re transparent about what we pay. By removing ambiguity around compensation, we help people focus on doing great work, not guessing their worth.

Senior £66,000
Principal £77,650

Company Benefits:

Tanglewood Games also provide a number of great benefits to our team members. Including but not limited to:

• Discretionary annual bonus scheme

• Private Healthcare with Vitality.

• Cashplan for out of pocket expenses (Dental and Optical)

• 25 days Annual Leave + discretional festive close down.

• Additional days for learning and volunteering.

• Life assurance

• Enhanced Maternity + Paternity leave.

What to expect:

The interview process can be done remotely or in person and is generally made up of two stages:

• Screening call (15-30mins) with the talent team to figure out the basics on if we’re a fit for each other!

• Technical interview (45-60 minutes) – A more formal interview with our technical hiring managers. This will be a chance for us to get to know each other and for us to talk about your development experience and ambitions in detail. We prefer this to be in the form of a discussion rather than a formal coding exam, but you may be asked to complete some exam questions if the role and level demand it.

• Final interview (45-60 minutes) – A final interview with our company directors or members of our management team. This will be a chance for you to get to know the senior management team and all the things that make us unique. You will have a lot of opportunities to ask any questions about the studio and culture.

Ready to apply

Please hit the apply button and submit your details and CV.

To find out more please contact Craig, our Talent Acquisition Partner.

• Website - https://www.tanglewoodgames.com

• Talent Acquisition - https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcharsley

• Linked In - https://www.linkedin.com/company/tanglewood-games