Senior Animator (CONTRACT)

CONTRACT ROLE

 

Summary: Responsible for animating gameplay characters (real time and cinematics and/or gameplay assets) at the highest quality level set by Lead Animators and Animation Directors. They mentor, tutor, and assist other animators to improve workflows and content pipeline. 

 

 Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following:  

• Creates animation content at a consistently expert quality level delivered on schedule and meeting performance targets. 

• Works with Animation Directors and Lead Animators to establish animation style and with the gameplay animation team to maintain a cohesive animation style for the game, providing constructive feedback as needed. 

• Mentors, tutors, and aids others based on documented workflows.

• Ensures Designers and Programmers understand the creative direction and identifies required animation assets for characters and scenes through clear cross-department communication.

• Provides support for both independent and embedded Co-Dev resources and organizes work for Ex-Dev resources including creating briefs and reviewing and integrating deliveries. 

• Experiments with and evaluates techniques to improve efficiency, workflow, and visual fidelity in our animation pipeline.

• Assists in establishing and maintaining performance targets and collaborates with other departments to ensure animation is implemented appropriately in the game engine. 

• Assists with creating documentation in Confluence, or equivalent. 

• Assists with tasking in JIRA, or equivalent.

• Effectively communicates with the Animation Director and Project Management to report progress and ensure timely completion of deliverables.   

• Other duties may be assigned

 

Supervisory Responsibilities: This job has no supervisory responsibilities, however this role mentors more junior artists.  

  

Qualifications: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 

 

Education/Experience: Five to seven years related experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience. Extensive animation training and experience covering all animation principles and techniques. 

 

 

Language Skills: Ability to read, analyze, and interpret general business periodicals, professional journals, technical procedures, or governmental regulations.  Ability to write reports, business correspondence, and procedure manuals.  Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of managers, clients, customers, and the general public. 

 

Mathematical Skills: Ability to calculate figures and amounts such as discounts, interest, commissions, proportions, percentages, area, circumference, and volume.  Ability to apply concepts of basic algebra and geometry. 

 

Reasoning Skills: Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions. Ability to interpret an extensive variety of technical instructions in mathematical or diagram form and deal with several abstract and concrete variables. 

 

Computer Skills: Advanced knowledge of Maya, Insomniac proprietary tools (preferred), and a knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite. MotionBuilder and Adobe Premiere a plus. Knowledge of common state machine flow in any game engine a plus. 

 

Physical Demands: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 

 

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to use hands to finger, handle, or feel. The employee is frequently required to sit and talk or hear. The employee is occasionally required to stand and walk. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus 

 

Work Environment: The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functi