Technical Animator

Welcome to Warner Bros. Discovery… the stuff dreams are made of.

Who We Are…

When we say, “the stuff dreams are made of,” we’re not just referring to the world of wizards, dragons and superheroes, or even to the wonders of Planet Earth. Behind WBD’s vast portfolio of iconic content and beloved brands, are the storytellers bringing our characters to life, the creators bringing them to your living rooms and the dreamers creating what’s next…

From brilliant creatives, to technology trailblazers, across the globe, WBD offers career defining opportunities, thoughtfully curated benefits, and the tools to explore and grow into your best selves. Here you are supported, here you are celebrated, here you can thrive.

Rocksteady Studios is an award-winning, critically acclaimed video game developer. Founded in 2004, we are home to the widely celebrated Batman: Arkham series of games. Our philosophy for game development is all about treating people well to create quality entertainment that stands the test of time. We’re a one-project studio that built our success by combining genre-defining gameplay and character-driven cinematic narrative with AAA production values. Born in the heart of London, our multicultural team takes inspiration from the culture and history of our home in one of the most diverse cities in the world.

At Rocksteady Studios, the technical animation team sits at the crossroad of art and animation – the work ranges from creating creature and character rigs for cinematic and gameplay scenarios, to maintaining and improving pipelines, tools and establishing standards and workflows. There is always a variety of opportunities to work on creative solutions to support other teams to run as efficiently as possible. 

We are looking for a Technical Animator who is passionate about supporting great teams in creating awesome games. 

The ideal candidate will be highly motivated in learning and/or developing techniques and pipelines to improve animation, asset, and rigging workflows.

Key Responsibilities

•    Build and maintain rigs for a variety of dynamic assets.
•    Create Maya tools to support and develop workflows across rigging & character art.
•    Work with the technical teams to document and maintain libraries for rigging & tools.
•    Enhance visual quality of our assets and deformations while keeping project performance and time constraints in mind.
•    Debugging animation and rig related issues, both in DCC and in engine.

Skill Requirements

•    Proficient production experience creating rigs for Games, Feature Films, or VFX.
•    Working knowledge of the Python API in Maya.
•    Experience with gameplay technical animation – such as state machines, cloth, procedural physics, and ragdoll setups.
•    A reel or online portfolio that demonstrates proficiency in creating rigs for animation, and realistic deformation and skinning of bodies and faces of characters and creatures.

Bonus Points:

•    Experience rigging within Maya.
•    Experience with Unreal Engine 5.
•    Experience with mGear or other template-based rigging systems.
•    Experience in Motionbuilder.
•    Interest and knowledge in maths.
 

Hybrid Working - This role is advertised as a Hybrid work model, that combines remote and in-office work, following our current company policy and to be agreed with your Line Manager. Subject to any applicable laws, WBD / your Line Manager reserves the right to change this working agreement where this is essential to business needs and upon reasonable notice to you.

How We Get Things Done…

This last bit is probably the most important! Here at WBD, our guiding principles are the core values by which we operate and are central to how we get things done. You can find them at www.wbd.com/guiding-principles/ along with some insights from the team on what they mean and how they show up in their day to day. We hope they resonate with you and look forward to discussing them during your interview.

Championing Inclusion at WBD

Warner Bros. Discovery embraces the opportunity to build a workforce that reflects the diversity of our society and the world around us. Being an equal opportunity employer means that we take seriously our responsibility to consider qualified candidates on the basis of merit, regardless of sex, gender identity, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief, marital status, pregnancy, parenthood, disability or any other category protected by law.

If you’re a qualified candidate with a disability and you require adjustments or accommodations during the job application and/or recruitment process, please visit our accessibility page for instructions to submit your request.