That's No Moon Entertainment - Senior Narrative Technical Animator

3D Animator is needed in Los Angeles, United States.

Client: That’s No Moon Entertainment

Location: Los Angeles, CA

Contract: Part-time

Job Description

That’s No Moon is an independent studio of storytellers and game-makers who believe in the power of narrative-driven experiences. With a diverse team of talented developers, our shared vision is to create the future of AAA experiences with a culture of creativity, collaboration, and responsible production practices. Our passionate team of developers helps shape our studio, our projects, and our future.

We are looking for a Senior Narrative Technical Animator with a passion for creating and maintaining the animation systems, workflow, and integration solutions for a AAA title. The Senior Narrative Technical Animator will be a member of the Animation Team and collaborate with other departments such as Engineering, Design, Virtual Production, and Tech Art. This role will support various narrative animation systems, procedural facial animation, and in-game cutscenes and contribute to the unified goal of crafting animations that blur the line between cinematics and gameplay.

Responsibilities

• Support the creation and integration of AAA quality gameplay animations using Unreal Engine 5.
• Create and maintain Unreal Engine Blueprints for animation systems and state machines.
• Use procedural solutions to create, process, polish, and integrate AAA quality facial animations.
• Collaborate with the animation team to ensure a seamless experience between cinematics and gameplay.
• Use and design debug tools to solve animation issues.
• Assist with troubleshooting workflows, rigging, and pipeline issues.
• Connect effectively with animators, engineers, and designers to give and accept feedback.
• Support animation tool and workflow development with documentation.

Requirements & Skills

• Comprehensive understanding of Unreal Engine Blueprints, state machines, blend spaces, Montages, Anim Graphs, and Event Graphs.
• Strong understanding of cinematic and scripted animation implementation in Unreal Engine using sequencer and Blueprints.
• Experience working with motion capture data in the game industry.
• Experience with Metahumans for facial animation in Unreal Engine 5.
• Experience on AAA games emphasizing highly realistic assets and animation.
• Working knowledge of scripting or C++ is a bonus.
• Technical working knowledge of Maya.
• A passion for making games and enthusiasm for polishing work.
• Strong technical problem-solving and interpersonal skills.

Qualities

• Flexibility in switching tasks to accommodate production priorities.
• Ability to appreciate other departments’ perspectives.
• Maintains integrity and confidence in a fast-paced environment.
• Approachable and respected team member.
• Team-oriented with a desire to assist other animators, engineers, and designers.
• Promotes inclusivity, diversity, and fairness.
• Practices patience and is open to giving and receiving feedback.
• Leads by example, collaboration, and mentorship.
• Works at the highest level, technically and aesthetically.

Compensation and Benefits

TNM considers various factors when determining each role’s base pay range, including industry benchmarks, location, experience, and other job-specific skills. In addition to base pay, this role may be eligible for other incentive compensation, including equity and profit share. The estimated base pay range for this role is $120,000-$160,000 (U.S. only).

TNM offers competitive and comprehensive benefits that include medical, dental, vision, 401(k) match, flexible PTO, supplemental life and disability, and more. Eligibility may vary based on country of residence and/or part-time or temporary employment status.

Equal Opportunity Employer

That’s No Moon is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ancestry, color, citizenship, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, legally protected physical or mental disability, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.