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Lead Animator -Sledgehammer Games Toronto

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SHG Lead Animator – Toronto

Your Platform

Sledgehammer Games, award winning developer of several titles in the Call of Duty franchise, is looking for talented developers to join us as founding members of our new Toronto team. This group will partner with our global teams in Foster City, California and Melbourne, Victoria in the creation of epic content for some of the biggest games in the world. This is an opportunity to help grow and shape a AAA team from the ground up, adding new skills to your armory while gaining the unique satisfaction that only comes from building something brand new. Join us on our quest to maintain and improve a healthy and inspiring studio culture!

The studio is navigating their 2nd decade of game development, focused on constant evolution, innovation and qualified risk-taking – which are some of the most rewarding aspects of game development. With world-class content production and engineering teams, we’ve been able to achieve some of the highest-quality game execution of any studio in the industry. We love what we do and work hard to make sure that each new game we make is even better than the last. Creativity is key, and we’re looking for talented game developers for our exciting new projects.

Sledgehammer Games is wholly owned by Activision. To learn more about our studio, please visit us at www.sledgehammergames.com or search for Sledgehammer Games on your favorite social media platform. Want to hear what it’s like at the studio directly from current employees? Check out our #LifeatSHG developer profiles: https://youtu.be/12DUBszg-w4

Your Mission

We are in search of a Lead Animator to guide a team in creating animation of

absolute highest quality. We're only interested in the best of the best character

animators with vision - if you're creating and inspiring the most complex, believable,

human animations in a timely manner, then we want you.

Applicants must have at least 8 years’ experience in character animation for games

and a strong understanding of traditional animation fundamentals, with a range

from stylized to realistic human animation. Applicant must have a strong understanding of camera

animation, cinematic framing, shot continuity. and facial animation.

Experience with Maya and animation editing through the "Graph Editor" is a requirement. Applicant must have led teams in the past. Applicant should be able to give concise feedback and be willing to do whatever it takes to achieve the polish level we require to deliver only AAA titles.

Priorities can often change in a fast-paced environment like ours, so this role includes, but is not limited to, the following responsibilities:

• Ability to adapt to new tools and technology.

• Create expert animation in Maya, using the “Graph Editor,” key frame, and motion capture editing / clean up.

• Ability to think philosophically about character movement.

• Help establish a creative and technical bar for the animation team and inspire / mentor Junior animators.

• Strong problem-solving skills creative, technical, and across departments

• Ability to track progress of team assignments and form strong partnerships with production management is a must.

• Balance scope of production.

Player Profile

Minimum Requirements

• 8 years professional animation experience

• 2+ years’ experience as a game animator (required)

• Strong animation fundamentals with a focus on human movement and believable physics

• Knowledge of cinematic and motion capture editing

• Leadership / coaching experience

• Initiative to collaborate for problem solving with excellent follow through

• Ability to explore a wide variety of ideas that push the COD style

Extra Points

• Understanding of character creation (modeling, texturing and rigging)
• Experience playing Call of Duty or Similar First-Person-Shooters.
• Portfolio that demonstrates well rounded artists in addition to outstanding animation appreciated. Strong character drawing, demonstrated skill sets in character modeling and texture valued.

Our World

Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI), is one of the world's largest and most successful interactive entertainment companies and is at the intersection of media, technology and entertainment. We are home to some of the most beloved entertainment franchises including Call of Duty ®, World of Warcraft® , Overwatch ®, Diablo ®, Candy Crush ™ and Bubble Witch ™. Our combined entertainment network delights hundreds of millions of monthly active users in 196 countries, making us the largest gaming network on the planet!