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Lead Animator [Avatar Project] (f/m/d)
2 years ago
Job Description
Avatar
As part of the Avatar Project, you will play an instrumental role in bringing to life the beautiful and dangerous world of Pandora. This is a unique opportunity to keep growing your experience in games while working hand in hand with Disney’s creative minds and James Cameron's production company, Lightstorm Entertainment.
What You'll do
As our new Lead Animator you will be leading and managing the Animation and Technical Animation teams in our project, setting objectives for both short and long term, driving quality standards and collaborating with Directors to deliver AAA game experiences.
- Collaborate with the Art Director, Technical Art Director and Animation Director to create animations that fit to the visual style of the project and set a new benchmark on animation quality for the team.
- Define, prioritize, assign and regularly follow up on tasks and the advancement of the team’s work with regards to deliverables together with production.
- Provide support and feedback for internal animation team and the technical animators.
- Establish animation standards and provide feedback for animation outsourcing.
- Collaborate with Tech Artists to improve existing and prototype future animation pipelines.
- Collaborate with design teams and programming teams to develop gameplay features.
- Quickly prototype animation systems that will serve as a basis for animation and gameplay-related discussions
- Be the main point of contact for other teams and represent the team
- Provide knowledge and solutions for animation problems
- Cooperation with other Ubisoft teams all around the world on a daily basis
- Provide support and advice for artists
- Ensure that the work of the team follows the quality standards, artistic direction and set deadlines.
- Actively participate in project management decisions and supervise the necessary adjustments so that the animation team is able to reach their goals.
- Develop and manage successful teams:
- Coach and share best practices with the animation team
- Recruit and identify talents
- Manage performance: define objectives, give constructive feedback
- Empower and develop his teams with a long-term perspective
Qualifications
What you bring
- 5+ years’ experience as an Animator or Technical Animator in game development with a strong understanding of rigging, skinning, keyframe animation, motion capturing and procedural animation.
- At least 2 years of experience in a leadership role.
- Proven experience on at least one AAA shipped title
- Excellent knowledge of Maya, Motion Builder, 3DSMAX, and/or other commercial 3D authoring packages.
- A keen eye for motion, weight, timing and animation.
- Being able to work with a complex animation system and complex animation state machines
- Able to keep content within the current project’s art style and work within those limitations.
- Understand workflows and tools in animation production with the ability to modify and improve them.
- Be forward thinking and anticipate the needs of your project.
- Fluent in English, both verbally and written
Bonus
- Experience with Motion editing and handling Mocap Data in Motion Builder is a plus
- Experience as modeler and/or texture artist a plus
- Ability to create custom tools and scripts to increase the productivity is a plus.
- Rigging experience is a plus
- Being an avid gamer is a plus
Additional Information
What we Bring
We offer a highly motivating challenge for team players interested in showing personal initiative in an innovative and international company. If you are passionate about video games and would like to join an industry leader
- Relocation and Visa Support
- 26 days paid vacation per year. Additionally, you will get half a day off on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve and 11 bank holidays
- Company Pension Scheme.
- Opportunities for growth on your desired career path: Leadership training, workshops, guest speakers from the industry, online Ubisoft learning platform, coaches, Experts and library.
- Up to 350€ childcare support per child per month.
- Discounted Games & all Ubisoft games released on PC
- Gym Subsidy. We contribute 50% (up to a maximum amount of 25€) towards the monthly cost of a gym membership of your choice.
- Monthly Mobility Budget. 80€
- Our Ubisoft Blue Byte Academy offers multiple opportunities for you to discover your full potential and develop yourself in various areas.
- German classes for free. Main language in the studio is English.
- All Legal residents of Germany are entitled to free public healthcare
PORTFOLIO
For us to review your application it would be great to see a portfolio of your work together with your application.
It would be great if it contain:
- A detailed shot breakdown of your work, including what you are responsible for in your reel, portfolio, screenshots etc.
- Examples of character animation (full body motion, emotions etc.)
- Examples of animation style variety
- Examples of environment animation or visual effects
- Examples of animation rigs and their functionality in a 3D package
Company Description
About Ubisoft Düsseldorf
Ubisoft Düsseldorf is home to several teams dedicated to deliver AAA excellence and innovation across a wide portfolio of games and technologies. The studio is leading the development of beloved Ubisoft games like The Settlers and the innovative VR escape room experience Prince of Persia: The Dagger of Time. As renowned co-developers within the Ubisoft group, Ubisoft Düsseldorf contributes to high profile projects such as Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege, Snowdrop, Avatar and Ubisoft Connect.
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