Animation Engineer (Expert-Principal) - Central Tech (AAA Games)

Location: Santa Monica; may be based in a studio in the United States or Europe, with remote work eligibility.

Salary: $171,100–$316,576 annual base pay in the U.S., plus potential incentive compensation.

Company

hirify.global develops and publishes interactive entertainment and AAA game franchises, including Call of Duty, Crash Bandicoot, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, and Guitar Hero.

What you will do

• Research, design, prototype, and implement animation features that improve character fidelity, believability, and style.
• Develop and upgrade workflows for building, improving, and debugging animation behaviors.
• Collaborate with animators and engineers across Activision studios.
• Support multiple technical workstreams involving different teams and game modes.

Requirements

• 15+ years of professional programming experience focused on skeletal animation.
• Proficiency in C and C++ in multithreaded environments.
• Experience working directly on low-level game animation systems.
• Strong 3D mathematics and linear algebra skills.
• Knowledge of inverse kinematics, blend trees, ragdolls, state machines, and secondary motion techniques.
• Ability and willingness to take a leading role on projects.

Nice to have

• Credits on three or more AAA PC or console game titles.
• Familiarity with content creation tools such as Maya.

Culture & Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision, health spending, life, disability, and related insurance programs, subject to eligibility.
• 401(k) with company match, tuition reimbursement, and charitable donation matching.
• Paid holidays, vacation, sick time, parental leave, and other leave programs.
• Mental health, wellbeing, fitness, and employee game discount programs.
• Relocation assistance may be available when the company requires a geographic move for the role.