Advanced Technical Animator (Unreal Engine)

Location: Austin, TX, United States

Company

Game development work focused on real-time, AAA-quality character experiences built with Unreal Engine.

What you will do

• Design and maintain scalable, performant runtime animation systems and Animation Blueprints in Unreal Engine.
• Develop data-driven animation frameworks for motion matching, state machines, additive systems, and gameplay-driven logic.
• Build and optimize character systems including IK, secondary motion, cloth, hair, facial animation, and deformation workflows.
• Profile and debug animation systems for multiplayer, large-scale, and live-service environments.
• Develop cross-DCC and engine pipelines plus custom Maya and Unreal tools using Python, MEL, C#, or C++.
• Support internal teams and external vendors, establish pipeline standards, document workflows, and mentor team members.

Requirements

• 7+ years of experience in games, film, or real-time interactive production, focused on technical animation, technical art, or related disciplines.
• Deep Unreal Engine experience, including real-time animation systems, performance profiling, Unreal Insights, and in-engine tools.
• Strong scripting and programming skills with Python required; MEL, C#, or C++ experience is preferred.
• Experience creating production-ready tools, pipelines, workflows, animation graphs, simulation systems, and deformation pipelines.
• Strong knowledge of skeletal hierarchies, retargeting, facial rigging, IK/FK blending, pose-space correctives, and runtime constraints.
• Hands-on experience with a major DCC package, preferably Maya, plus the ability to diagnose complex technical and production issues across disciplines.

Culture & Benefits

• Collaborative work across animation, rigging, engineering, pipeline, internal teams, and external partners.
• Emphasis on clear communication, documentation, onboarding, and consistent studio-wide practices.
• Opportunity to influence technical and pipeline strategies across multiple projects.