Animator (Gamedev)

TL;DR

Animator (Maya/Cobra): Crafting high-quality character and creature animations for immersive game worlds with an accent on body mechanics, posing, and technical implementation. Focus on implementing animations into the proprietary Cobra engine, collaborating with cross-discipline teams, and solving production challenges to realize the creative vision.

Location: Hybrid or Onsite in Cambridge, UK. Relocation support is available.

Company

Independent video game developer and publisher known for crafting immersive gaming experiences and iconic creative management simulation games.

What you will do

• Create high-quality, expressive character and creature animations using Maya.
• Implement animations into the proprietary Cobra engine.
• Collaborate across disciplines including Character Art, Code, Design, and VFX.
• Execute the creative vision based on direction from the Lead Animator and Game Director.
• Maintain accurate task tracking and validate assets to minimize bugs.
• Support junior team members and contribute to team knowledge sharing.

Requirements

• Proven experience producing high-quality animation assets.
• Strong proficiency in Maya’s character animation tools.
• Excellent understanding of body mechanics, posing, timing, and acting choices.
• Experience with creature animation and believable movement.
• Familiarity with animation state machines and versioning software (SVN, Perforce).
• Basic knowledge of rigging pipelines.

Nice to have

• Experience with external animation behaviour tree software such as Havok, Unity, or Unreal.
• Scripting knowledge in Python or MEL.
• Experience mentoring or training junior animators.

Culture & Benefits

• Competitive salary, success-based annual bonus, and share option schemes.
• Private family healthcare and life assurance.
• Comprehensive wellbeing initiatives supporting both mental and physical health.
• Flexitime working hours and enhanced maternity/paternity leave.
• In-house subsidised catering and Cycle to Work scheme.
• Relocation support package.