Technical Animator - Star Wars

Job Description

We are BossAlien, part of the NaturalMotion family. Our mission is to bring AAA console visuals and deep compelling gameplay to mobile platforms. For the past four years NaturalMotion Studios have been named one of the Best Places to Work in the UK games industry by gamesindustry.biz.

Hiring Update: The safety of our candidates and team members is our top priority. During the COVID-19 pandemic, our workforce transitioned to working from home, with all interviewing and onboarding being conducted virtually until further notice.

Job Purpose

We are looking for Technical Animator to join us at BossAlien, a division of NaturalMotion, in creating Star WarsTM: Hunters, a competitive arena combat game for the Nintendo Switch system and mobile devices. Star Wars: Hunters will bring players together to engage in thrilling, team-based, multiplayer battles featuring a diverse array of distinctive new Star Wars characters.

• Work with Animators, Riggers, and Engineers to implement character animations in Unreal
• To be responsible for the overall look and feel of a character's in-game animations and how they gel together
• R&D character animation features, with a keen eye on performance and maintainability
• Diagnosing animation issues / bugs and providing solutions and or recommendations to engineers
• Curate character animation assets within Unreal project
• Experience in other scripting and programming languages
• Participate in reviews; respond to critical feedback in a professional manner and give feedback to your peers

Required Skills & Experience

• Knowledge of the Unreal engine
• Experience building and maintaining complex animation blueprints in Unreal
• An understanding of procedural animation systems such as IK, rigid bodies
• Good understanding of character skinning and physics simulation setup i.e. Ragdolls
• Self-organised and willing to participate in team meetings
• Genuine passion for games and animation
• Strong self-management skills

Desirable Skills & Experience

• Maya rigging
• Working knowledge of gameplay ability system in Unreal
• Ability to animate
• Previous shipped AAA title
• Knowledge of C++
• A passion for creating games
• An affinity for the Star Wars brand

What do we offer?

• Competitive salary, discretionary annual bonus scheme, Zynga stock allocation and Employee Stock Purchase Plan
• Contributory pension scheme
• 25 days holiday, plus public holidays and Christmas shutdown
• Private medical care, dental and healthcare cash plan
• Life insurance, critical illness insurance and income protection
• 6 months fully paid maternity leave or 3 months fully paid paternity leave
• Discounted gym membership and free weekly (virtual) fitness classes
• Annual season ticket loan and cycle to work scheme
• Flexible working hours
• Summer and Christmas parties

We are an equal opportunity employer and we are committed to building a diverse and talented workforce. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, religion, colour, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, medical condition, disability, or any other class or characteristic protected by applicable law. We welcome job-seekers, players, employees, and partners from all backgrounds to join us!

We will consider all qualified job-seekers with criminal histories in a manner consistent with applicable law.

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with physical or mental disabilities in order to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us at [email protected] to request an accommodation associated with your application for an open position.