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Principal Technical Animator, Amazon

Amazon Games warmly invites candidates to apply for our Senior Technical Animator position. If you're passionate about bringing characters to life and creating tools that animators will love, through the development of innovative animation pipeline tools that are scalable and automatable, we'd be thrilled to connect with you. Our workspace thrives on diverse perspectives and ideas, fostering both collaborative and individual problem-solving cultures. Join our expanding family of friendly and seasoned game developers.

Key job responsibilities
Your responsibilities will encompass a significant portion of the technical animation pipeline, from DCC into Unreal and final shipping assets. You'll design tools and comprehensive documentation to construct a scalable animation pipeline, covering all facets of character animation including body, face, props, and physics. In this role, you'll work closely with a dedicated team of engineers and artists who have rich experiences in game development.

Design, implement, and maintain the animation and rigging pipeline, while also developing scripts to enhance the art pipeline.

Collaborate with engineers to evaluate current animation and rigging tools. Design specialized tools when necessary to optimize workflows.

Provide technical support to animators, game designers, and riggers. Clearly and constructively communicate the root causes of technical issues, risks, or blockers.

Uphold high standards by creating top-quality rigs and systems for characters, which include humans, animals, creatures, weapons, vehicles, and props.

Set up technical animations or simulations, such as hair and cloth dynamics, for real-time in-game use or for animation in Maya.

Mentor team members on best practices for rigging, animation blending, and animation state machine creation, sharing your expert-level knowledge.

Actively participate in the recruitment process to expand the animation team and promote their professional growth

We are open to hiring candidates to work out of one of the following locations:

Irvine, CA, USA

Basic Qualifications

5+ years of Games Industry (supporting title Development, Release, or Live Ops) experience

Preferred Qualifications

- Approximately 3 years of experience in animation, rigging, and scripting.
- Proficient in Python and Maya scripting.
- Expertise in animation blending and animation state machines.
- Familiarity with creating or modifying auto-rigging and skinning tools.
- Deep understanding of character rigging techniques and foundational principles.
- Skilled in producing aesthetically pleasing skin deformations.

Amazon is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, disability, age, or other legally protected status. For individuals with disabilities who would like to request an accommodation, please visit https://www.amazon.jobs/en/disability/us.

Our compensation reflects the cost of labor across several US geographic markets. The base pay for this position ranges from $121,000/year in our lowest geographic market up to $291,200/year in our highest geographic market. Pay is based on a number of factors including market location and may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Amazon is a total compensation company. Dependent on the position offered, equity, sign-on payments, and other forms of compensation may be provided as part of a total compensation package, in addition to a full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits. For more information, please visit https://www.aboutamazon.com/workplace/employee-benefits. This position will remain posted until filled. Applicants should apply via our internal or external career site.