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Lead Animator

JOB TITLE: Lead Animator

LOCATION: Novato, USA

FUNCTION: Art/Animation

CONTRACT: Permanent

What We Need:

As the Animation Lead for an incredibly exciting new game from Hangar 13, you'll set the bar for the quality level of the animations across the entirety of the project, from keyframe animation on amazing new enemies, to directing mocap shoots of stunt actors to empower our characters, to scrutinizing every twitch of a facial animation in a cinematic, you will ensure that quality bar starts, and stays, incredibly high. You'll build and grow a team of highly skilled and incredibly creative animators and ensure they are given the proper guidance and feedback to meet the quality bar you've set. Finally, you'll be a creative force as part of our game's "Leads" group, adding and integrating your vision to the group's as the game continues to develop.

What You Will Do:

• Hold the vision, together with the Game Director, for how animation truly shapes gameplay both in terms of the player characters, and our enemies
• Work with the cinematics team to ensure consistency across cinematic animation and gameplay animation
• Collaborate with the Principal Animator to set the standard for quality across the animation team
• Drive designers and character modelers to understand your vision for the character animation and how you want to bring it to life
• Define the standard for character animation at every stage, from concept, to animatics, to actual animations that ship

Who We Think Will Be A Good Fit:

• A creative leader with the ability to both create and drive your own vision, while simultaneously working with the overall creative vision for the game to ensure they entwine well
• A deep desire to mentor other animators, and a gift for being able to deliver critical feedback while maintaining positive morale
• An animator passionate about working on industry defining titles that push your abilities and define true to life characters and creatures
• At least two shipped AAA titles where animations you created helped to define character and/or creature movement and abilities
• Expert knowledge of Maya or Motion Builder
• Comfort working within studio developed engines and tools
• Superior knowledge of current games and strong opinions about how they're animated
• Strong creative and technical problem solving skills
• Exceptional communication skills
• Ability to set the vision and help to explain it both within the studio and across other studio locations

Who We Are:

Hangar 13 is the internal 2K development studio behind the award-winning Mafia III. The studio is comprised of industry veterans drawn from a diverse range of studios, who have collectively shipped hundreds of titles across a wide variety of genres. Though we hail from all over the world, and our backgrounds are wildly different, one thing binds us all together – the belief that “Every Player’s Story is Unique.”

Hangar 13 is based in four locations: Novato (California), Brighton (UK), and Brno & Prague (Czech Republic).

We work collaboratively across our 4 locations to develop games as one global team. Each of our locations provides the opportunity to work on big-budget, AAA console in a diverse and inclusive environment!

Located just 30 minutes north of San Francisco and 30 minutes south of Napa Valley wine country, Hangar 13’s Novato location has found its home within 2K’s headquarters in Northern California. Situated in Hamilton Landing inside a renovated United States Air Force base hangar, you will find our talented and passionate team within invigorating Marin County. You can walk out the door and explore famous hiking and mountain biking trails as well as the gorgeous coastline. In addition to working in an exceptional setting conducive to Hangar 13’s inclusive and creatively diverse work environment, the Bay Area also provides employees with access to vibrant nightlife, world-class cuisine, local farmers markets, great public schools, and cultural metropolitan experiences. Onsite amenities include fully equipped break areas, company sponsored food trucks and raffle prizes, new state of the art gym, subsidized fitness classes and massage therapy, electric car charging stations and much more! We are only 5 minutes off of highway 101 and a 15-minute walk from the nearest SMART station.

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