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Senior Gameplay Animator

Crystal Dynamics, a part of the Square-Enix family, is constantly on the hunt for top-tier gaming talent worldwide. We pride ourselves on attracting and developing the best talent available to concept, create, and contribute to the most exciting projects in gaming today. 20+ years of history creating fun and exciting titles for the world to enjoy as well as our studio’s 1000+ years of combined game industry experience provides a rich tapestry of tested and new ideas to draw from and has established us as one of the best studios in the world to work for.

Position Summary

The Senior Gameplay Animator will be responsible for filling a major role in building our next AAA title by ensuring that our gameplay animations are both realistic and seamless in their execution. In this position you will work collaboratively with our Lead Animator and other members of the animation team to bring playable characters to life, all while demonstrating a thorough understanding of our animation systems and ensuring a characters suite of animations works together. Crystal Dynamics seeks team players who are passionate about playing and creating World Class games.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

• Work directly with the department Lead and Animators as well as Designers to identify and execute on the animation needs of the game
• Create 3D in-game animations that seamlessly mix with the animations of other team members
• Visually scripting animation graphs/ trees
• Work under the guidelines of the Art Director to maintain the games visual identity
• Working in a collaborative environment where feedback is welcome
• Producing high quality animations on time

Position Requirements

• 3+ years of experience in character animation for games specifically with gameplay cycles; 3rd person combat a big plus.
• Able to work in a range of styles, from humorous/cartoony to realistic, and can maintain the appropriate style over the course of a project, with emphasis on realistic performances.
• Experience creating animation trees and animation blending; previous experience with node-based animation editors like AnimGraph.
• Basic understanding of all areas of character creation (mesh, texturing, skinning, IK).
• Experience and proven ability in successfully creating and implementing both key-frame and motion capture animation.
• Experience editing raw Motion Capture Data.
• Excellent communication skills, proven ability to work within a team and passionate about games.
• Strong proficiency in Maya.

Bonus Skills:

• Previous experience with facial animation and/or facial solving software.
• Experience with modern real-time game engines and editors like Unreal Editor.

A portfolio of work or reel is required to be considered for this role. Any applications without a portfolio or reel will not be considered.

Crystal Dynamics is an EOE and M/F/D/V employer.