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Animation Programmer
5 years ago
Job Description
Ubisoft Toronto Inc.
224 Wallace Avenue. M6H 1V7
Toronto, Ontario
www.toronto.ubisoft.com
Location of position: Toronto, Ontario
Our Mission
Ubisoft is committed to enriching players’ lives with original & memorable entertainment experiences. We build worlds that are a playground for the imagination, offering moments of surprise, fun and adventure as well as opportunities for learning and self-discovery. At Ubisoft, you’ll grow and collaborate with highly talented teams from around the world. Our massively friendly work environment will inspire you to go above and beyond to create worlds people will fall in love with. Whether as an elite spy, a master assassin, or a fearless explorer, we put the player at the heart of all our games.
Ubisoft Toronto is a growing and diverse team on a collective mission to create what’s next in AAA games. Since opening our studio in 2010, our team has shipped the critically-acclaimed Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Blacklist as lead studio, and Assassin’s Creed Unity, Far Cry 4, Far Cry Primal and Watch Dogs 2 in collaboration with Ubisoft Montreal. In 2012, we opened our state-of-the-art Performance Capture Studio, and Playtest. We are currently working on For Honor in collaboration with Ubisoft Montreal, as well as several top-secret, unannounced projects.
Ubisoft Toronto is proud to be recognized as one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers for 2017.
Animation Programmer
The animation programmer will be responsible for honing the animation engine in order to enhance the quality of the animated scenes.
Type of Position: Permanent, full-time.
Responsibilities:
The main and routine tasks of the Animation Programmer are to:
- Analyze and understand the animation run-time systems and/or pipeline development needs based on design documents and assess for technical feasibility;
- Analyze existing animation pipeline and features in the engine and see if they meet the needs of the project;
- Suggest improvements to the animation engine when necessary by designing (software) and implementing new systems;
- Collaborate with designers and animators to discuss constraints and establish the technical constraints of the various required functions;
- Implement software in a clear and structured way keeping in mind the performance, memory consumption, maintenance, compatibility, and portability requirements;
- Validate and verify if the newly developed systems meet the project’s animation intentions and are consistent with the existing code;
- Optimize whenever necessary;
- Support the functions and the systems/animation tools designed for production;
- Investigate and debug animation software defects identified by developers on the team or quality-control team;
- Document the work so as to transfer knowledge and enable users (other programmers and people from other crafts) to understand how to use the new animation systems and features;
- Carry out all other related tasks.
Training:
- Bachelors in computer science or computer engineering or equivalent training or experience.
Experience:
- Minimum 3+ years’ experience in designing, implementing, and supporting animation tools or equivalent;
- Experience with interfaces between animation systems and gameplay systems;
- Experience working on game asset pipelines and tools;
- Experience working with and designing multi-threaded software architecture;
- Experience with performance optimization techniques;
- Experience working with riggers, animators and designers, and an understanding of their workflow.
Essential skills:
- Solid proficiency in C/C++ language;
- Strong mathematical background;
- Understand hierarchical skeletons, bone transforms & weighting, blending, blend trees, additive animation, skinning, IK, quaternions, etc.
Other Skills:
- Experience with animation tools (MotionBuilder/Maya/3DS Max) SDKs;
- AAA game development experience;
- Console development experience;
- Experience with animation systems of existing commercial game engines;
- Experience with motion capture systems;
- Experience with procedural animation technologies;
- Analytical and synthesis skills;
- Independence and resourcefulness;
- Flexibility in work organization;
- Good interpersonal and communication skills;
- Ability to work as part of a team;
- Ability to adapt to change;
- Be results-oriented.
Additional Information
We Offer:
Competitive Salary
Comprehensive Benefits Package:
- Disability Insurance
- Dental Insurance
- Extended medical insurance
- (Optional) RRSP contribution
- Bonus (If Applicable)
Why Ubisoft Toronto?
Scored by The Economist as the Best City to Live, our studio is located in the trendy Junction Triangle located in West Toronto, close to TTC, the hottest bars and restaurants, and excellent coffee shops. We celebrate successes as a team at our monthly UbiBash events, and invite our families to events throughout the year including our annual Kids Holiday Party and Summer BBQ. We give back to help make our community better through our team volunteer days and fundraising activities. We hold regular game jams to fuel our team’s creativity. Ubisoft Toronto conducts annual performance reviews to help our team develop their careers and grow with our studio, and provides the opportunity for salary increases annually as part of the performance review process. Ubisoft Toronto also offers a comprehensive health benefits package, generous RRSP matching, industry education support, training and career development, flexible days, on-site Yoga and Bootcamp classes, fresh fruit, Life Drawing classes, as well as spontaneous team surprises such as Pi Day, Star Wars Day, and Halloween.
Join Us!
We hunt for talent from across the industry – seasoned experts that know what it takes to ship world-class games and the next generation of game developer all-stars. We value team chemistry and a desire to grow our studio together. If this sounds like your kind of studio, what are you waiting for? Apply to join us now!
Ubisoft Toronto is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from all interested parties. The studio welcomes and encourages applications from people with disabilities. We are committed to providing reasonable accommodation upon request for candidates taking part in the recruitment process. We thank you for your interest, however, only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted. No agencies please.
All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.
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