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Lead Animator
2 years ago
Creative Assembly are looking for a Lead Animator to join our team based at our studio in Horsham, West Sussex. This is a unique opportunity to work on our next major, historical feature.
As Lead Animator, you will bring creativity and passion to the team and work collaboratively with other disciplines to craft and implement believable in-game animations.
The ideal candidate for this role would be an established Lead or an experienced senior looking to advance their career into a Lead role.
Key Responsibilities
This is very much a hands-on role; you will be responsible for creating in-game animations whilst also overseeing, inspiring, and motivating a small team to create world-class animations.
You will, where necessary, help define realistic animation schedules, create relevant animation documentation, produce in-game animations, and ensure technical and artistic quality.
On a day-to-day basis, you will:
- Be responsible for managing the gameplay animation team
- Work with animators to create animations that bring the in-game characters and world to life
- Excellent communication, documentation, and scheduling skills
- Assist in planning and directing mocap shoots in our bespoke Mocap studio
- Engage in stand-ups, and collaborate with multi-disciplinary teams
- Ensure that the standard of your work is of the highest quality, judging it by its function and appearance in engine
- Take ownership of your tasks, from Maya to their final implementation in game
- Provide feedback and mentor less experienced team members, Communication, approachability, and proactivity is vital in this role.
Knowledge, Skill and Experience
Essential
- Experience working as a 3D Animator in games
- Knowledge of animation implementation in-engine
- Proficient in Maya
- Able to clean and enhance mocap data
- Strong hand-key animation skills
- Excellent communication skills, able to work both independently and as part of a cross discipline team
- Ability to receive and apply critique and to contribute constructive feedback
- Able to lead and mentor animators of various levels of experience
- Self-Motivated with strong time-management skills
Desirable
- Experience developing a title from start to finish
- Interest in Historical Total War\Strategy Games
- Motion Capture experience
- Knowledge of rigging
- Motion Builder experience
- Experience of game engines such as Unreal, Unity
- Chinese martial arts experience
Note: Applications for this role must include a portfolio/showreel (or link to a portfolio/showreel). Applications that do not have this information will not be considered.Creative Assembly is about the right people making the best games. We are united through our values; Quality, Focus, Teamwork, Respect and Trust.
We house many talented people, from trainees to industry veterans who constantly challenge us and make sure we are striving for the best within our games and our studio life.
Winner of multiple Best Place to Work Awards, we have studio sites in Horsham UK and Sofia Bulgaria, including a number of bespoke state-of-the-art audio suites and a dedicated motion capture site.
Currently we are working fully remotely, and we continue to assess the COVID-19 situation with the safety of our staff our number one priority. We are still actively recruiting and onboarding new staff each week. Our expert IT and HR teams will set you up with everything you need to join remotely whether you will need to relocate to the UK (or within the UK) now, or at a later date.
We offer many benefits to support you and your family including:
- Bespoke relocation package for you and your dependents, with support throughout the process from our dedicated Relocation Specialists
- Enhanced maternity and paternity leave, private medical and dental insurance, life insurance, permanent health insurance, critical illness cover and free health care screening
- Generous holiday allowance plus full studio closure over the Christmas and New Year period, and all UK Bank holidays
- Annual discretionary studio bonus
- Join our award-winning education and social responsibility programme; the Legacy Project, as an industry ambassador to mentor and educate others
- Defined career development pathways and personalised training support including; SEGA Dev Day, internal masterclasses, prestigious creative workshops, on-site training with renowned specialists and global conference attendance
- Opportunity to join our Diversity and Inclusion Network – an employee-led group
- Season ticket travel loans and cycle to work scheme with free bike servicing and discounted car valet service on site
- Free games and merchandise plus access to our extensive games library
- Free breakfast every day - toast, bagels, pancakes, cereals, yoghurts, fresh fruit, smoothies, juices, milkshakes and more in our fully stocked kitchen*
- Wellbeing support with an employee assistance programme and onsite confidential sessions
- In-studio heavily subsidised massage therapy*
- Discounts for home technology, travel insurance, corporate gym membership, cinema tickets, holidays, trips out and Ikea vouchers, and many local businesses including estate agents
- Studio parties for you and your family; such as our Summer Festival, Christmas Party plus a separate Children’s Christmas Party. We also have Cinema days and wrap parties for game releases*
- Studio community activities such as free Japanese lessons, life drawing, creative writing, Pilates, Walking Challenges, Couch to 5k, basketball, game and movie evenings, board game club, 5-a-side football, CA Choir, Sword fighting (yes, sword fighting) and loads more*
*some of the above in-studio benefits are on hold while we work remotely during COVID-19. Our studio sites have disabled access. We are an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, religion or belief.
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