This job might no longer be available.

Senior Animator

We have an exciting opportunity for an enthusiastic and proactive Senior Animator to join our busy Underdog studio and support driving our games forward. You’ll be joining the team on an ambitious and original open world survival game with a horror thematic. We’re putting a unique twist on the formula, both in mechanics and the environmental challenges we set for the player. Visual quality is paramount, so we’re building in Unreal Engine 5 and have a very experienced team. The following title will be a gritty multiplayer first-person shooter.

A career at CI Games is about being part of a team working on some of the most creatively rewarding and ambitious projects to be found in any entertainment medium. You would be welcomed to a dedicated and inclusive environment where you can learn and collaborate with some of the most talented people in the industry.

Key Responsibilities:

• Creating Awesome Animations:
  • Craft animations that bring creatures, animals, players, and in-game objects to life, ensuring they look and feel believable and realistic
  • Maintain the highest standard of fidelity and style in all in-game animations.
  • Provide valuable creative input into our actions, motions, and combat animations.
• Technical Wizardry:
  • Use your understanding of State Machines, Unreal Animation Blueprints, and game engines and help elevate our animations and the team.
  • Spot when models or characters won't animate well with our current setup and team up with artists to fix it.
  • Juggle the artistic side of animation with the technical stuff to keep quality and performance on point.
• Team Player and Problem Solver:
  • Take charge of the animations you create, making sure they flow smoothly throughout the pipeline.
  • Collaborate with other teams to make sure our animations match the game design vision.
  • Pitch and contribute to making our animation tools and pipelines even better.

• Managing Outsource Animators:
  • Aligning outsourced animation work with the overall vision and requirements of the project.
  • Oversee and manage all aspects of animation outsourcing, including vendor selection, contract negotiation, workflow optimisation, and task tracking using Jira.
  • Review and quality-check all outsourced animations, ensuring they meet our high standards and integrate seamlessly with in-house content.
  • Act as the primary point of contact for outsourced studios, facilitating clear and effective communication between them and the in-house team.

Key Requirements:

• Start immediately
• Min. 5 years of gameplay animation experience, ideally with some exposure to first-person / third-person survival, horror or shooter games
• Must have shipped a minimum of 1 AA+ title (for PC and Consoles) as an Animator
• Excellent knowledge of Unreal Engine Animation system
• Experience animating first/third person characters for traversal systems
• Knowledge of technical constraints, optimisation, and implementation and building basic rigs
• Proficiency with Maya and other 3D software packages
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and organisational skills
• Open and creative mind

What we offer:

• Attractive remuneration, holidays, and social events. Our environments thrive with collaborative teamwork with people from all around the world, different nationalities, and languages.
• A supportive community inclusive of LGBTQ+, and any age, ethnicity, religion, or disability. We care about the well-being of our employees and have a dedicated employee well-being program.
• Flexibility with our core hours, and no-notice holidays.
• Annual discretionary studio bonus
• Free games and merchandise
• Wrap parties for game releases
• Remote/Homeworking with flexible working schedules (core hours 10am - 4pm CET), a fun environment, and a relaxing culture, including the opportunity to work with the leading technology and creative minds in the world.
• Learn as you work and be part of something real that changes the face of gaming - forever

Recruitment Process:

• Once our Talent Acquisition team receives your application, together with the hiring team, we will review your CV, portfolio and the answers you provided in the application form and if all the boxes are ticked, we're moving to the next stage.
• Initial call with Talent Acquisition Specialist - During this call you'll learn about the company and we learn about you. We'll talk about your experience & expectations with working in a fully remote environment and we'll talk about your expertise. We'll finish this call with some admin questions. There will be an opportunity for you to ask any questions as well.
• After the initial call, usually 1 or 2 interviews with the hiring team follows. These interviews will be a bit more technical and will go deeper into your experience, skills & knowledge. As you would have signed an NDA by now, you'll also learn a bit more about the project you would work on. During these interviews we'll also focus on finding out whether you're a good fit for our company culture and that we share the same values.
• We may or may not ask you to do the test - this is decided on an individual basis and you will receive instructions with the test.
• If everything goes well, the last step in the recruitment process is the offer presentation call with the Talent Acquisition Specialist and your future line manager to discuss the offer and next steps to get you successfully on board.

We are an equal opportunities employer with a commitment to building a diverse workforce, representative of the world we live and game in!
Accessibility is at the heart of our games and we reflect that in how we operate as a business. Should you require adjustments or flexible arrangements to interview, or take up a role at with us, please let us know in your application and we will accommodate to the best of our ability.