Senior Gameplay Animator (Video Games)

Location: Hybrid/onsite at the studio in Santa Monica, California, United States. Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States.

Hourly base pay: $69.52–$86.93 USD

Company

Naughty Dog is a video game studio known for narrative-driven AAA titles including The Last of Us series and is developing Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet.

What you will do

• Create high-quality animation content in Maya and implement it in the game engine.
• Collaborate with animation, design, and engineering teams on systemic gameplay animations.
• Plan, direct, and participate in motion-capture shoots.
• Use engine debugging tools to identify and resolve gameplay issues with designers and programmers.
• Define and maintain the animation style and quality bar while improving technologies and workflows.
• Take ownership of complex projects, mentor team members, and create documentation.

Requirements

• At least one shipped AAA game as a Senior Gameplay Animator or equivalent.
• At least five years of experience in the video game industry.
• Expertise in systemic gameplay animation, motion capture, and keyframe character animation.
• Technical knowledge of state machines, blend trees, motion matching, game systems, and script editors.
• Proficiency with Maya and MotionBuilder, including animation layers, the Time Editor, Trax Editor, and mocap tools.
• Strong communication, problem-solving, prioritization, collaboration, and feedback skills.

Nice to have

• Experience developing animation tools.
• Character rigging experience.
• Experience setting up in-game physics assets.

Culture & Benefits

• Temporary engagement through staffing partner Yoh Enterprise Solutions.
• Medical, dental, and vision benefit offerings.
• Collaborative work across animation, design, engineering, and gameplay teams.

Hiring process

• Submit a portfolio or animation demo reel.
• Complete an animation test if requested.
• Background checks are conducted at the offer stage.