Technical Animator

 

What we’re looking for

Facepunch Studios are looking for a talented Technical animator to join our growing animation team. You’ll be handling rig creation & skinning of characters and props, as well as improving pipelines for animators within Maya. As well as animators, you will also work with artists and programmers to implement any future tools in both software & engine.

With the option to work remotely, we require a self-motivated team member, who is able to manage their own time effectively and push the quality of their work with a proactive approach. You'll be able to communicate with others on the team ( both office-based and remote) across all disciplines with a proactive work ethic. In this role you will report to the animation lead. 

Knowledge of game pipelines is integral. At times you may also be required to work between multiple projects helping in our next-generation game creation.
Although this role will be focused on Sbox initially, the desire is for you to handle rigs and technical animation tasks studio wide and continue to build synergy between projects including Sbox.

Applicants will be required to provide a showreel displaying examples of their work.

Responsibilities

  • Build, skin, test and maintain rigs for characters, weapons and assets across projects at the studio

  • Creating and maintaining animation tools, scripts, and pipelines to improve efficiency and workflow. Both in Maya & in engine.

  • Identify shortfalls in technical animation areas and aid their improvement at the studio

  • Research new technologies and innovations to advance animation efficiency.

  • Document tools and processes for the animation team

  • Support the needs of the animation team and ensure they have the tools to do their jobs.

  • Organise task management to keep your line-manager informed of progress and take instruction and guidance from them.

Requirements

  • Eligible to work and located in the UK

  • Experience working as a Technical animator in games

  • At least 2x shipped titles

  • A reel showcasing rigging & tool creation experience

  • Knowledge of animation systems in-engine

  • Collaboration with other disciplines including art & code

  • An ability to work with / take direction & feedback from others on the team

  • Great time-management skills

  • Excellent communication and teamwork skills

  • Self-motivated and driven to produce and achieve work of the highest quality

  • Always proactively finding work to dive into when no tasks are assigned

  • Experience of implementation for core gameplay systems and mechanics

  • Proficiency in Maya

  • Expertise in character rigging, animation tools, and animation pipelines. 

  • Strong programming/scripting skills in languages like Python, MEL or C++.

  • Experience with games engines (Unity/Unreal/Source, etc)

  • Ability to accept feedback and constructive criticism

Desirables

  • Local to UK Birmingham or the surrounding area or have strong transport links to Birmingham to work hybrid at our HQ.
  • Animation skills
  • Experience with Mgear rigging tools
  • Experience with facial rigging
  • Experience with cloth, physics and ragdoll setups 
  • Knowledgeable of anatomy and body mechanics
  • Maya node editor experience
  • Experience with mocap systems
  • An understanding of 3D math (linear algebra, vector, and matrix math)
  • Basic modelling (low poly / LODS)
  • Mechanim /blendtrees / animgraph / animator system experience
  • Source engine experience
  • Fan of Rust / survival games

Benefits

Interested?