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Art Lead, Animation Art - Unpublished Fighting Game

As a member of the Animation team, you will bring iconic and beloved characters to life through classic animation principles and body mechanics. You will create high quality animations for a diverse and rapidly growing fighting game based on the League of Legends IP. Our range of playable characters could include bipeds, quadrupeds, and creatures. A great reel will showcase a variety of combat scenarios, a diverse selection of game-related animation, strong characterization, and a foundation in the principles of animation, including weight, anticipation, and impact. Also, working to expand our current content pipeline, you will collaborate with designers, engineers, and artists to develop new features and technologies.

As a Lead Animator on Project L, Riot’s upcoming fighting game, you will serve as a mentor and lead to a team of other animators. You will define, prioritize, and assign tasks for the team’s animation deliverables. You will also work with the Art Director and other lead artists to develop strategies and eliminate creative obstacles across the development team. You will report directly to the Art Director.

Responsibilities:

• Manage, prioritize, and establish the animation team’s set of deliverables
• Work with the Animation team and AD to reinforce animation style across all aspects of development
• Ensure that the work of the team follows quality standards, artistic direction, and set project deadlines
• Anticipate and recognize potential conflicts or production issues and provide recommended solutions
• Motivate and develop the team members and act as a mentor in terms of technical/artistic aspects
• Serve as a technical and artistic mentor to other animators
• Track the career growth of each animator on the team with regular coaching sessions
• Serve as the main point of contact for the project’s animation team

Required Qualifications:

• 5+ years of professional experience working in animation for games
• 2+ years of professional experience in a management role for senior developers
• 2+ years of professional experience working in combat animation
• Professional experience shipping at least one AAA game title
• Strong knowledge of Maya and Unreal 4
• Strong understanding of animation principles – timing, weight, and staging
• Ability to plan, organize, and prioritize team work in the context of given timescales and quality requirements

Desired Qualifications:

• Experience working in and developing fighting games
• Professional experience dealing with outsourcing studios to generate animation assets
• Familiarity with motion capture process and pipelines

As a part of the application process, you will be expected to provide a portfolio or demo reel of your animation work and may be asked to complete an art test.

Our Perks:

Riot has a focus on work/life balance, shown by our open paid time off policy, in addition to other perks such as flexible work schedules. We offer medical, dental, and life insurance, parental leave for you, your spouse/domestic partner and children, and a 401k with company match. Check out our benefits pages for more information.

Riot Games fosters a player and workplace experience that values teamwork embodied by the Summoner's Code and Community Code . Our culture embraces differences as a strength, and our values are the guiding principles for how we approach work. We are committed to putting diversity and inclusion (D&I) at the center of everything we do, and promoting a fair and collaborative culture where Rioters treat one another with dignity and respect. We encourage you to read more about our value of thriving together and our ongoing work to build the most inclusive company in Gaming .

It’s our policy to provide equal employment opportunity for all applicants and members of Riot Games, Inc. Riot Games makes reasonable accommodations for handicapped and disabled Rioters and does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, handicap, veteran status, marital status, criminal history, or any other category protected by applicable federal and state law, including the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance relating to an applicant's criminal history.