Cinematics Animation Director

Epic Games•Cary, NC

18h

About The Position

Epic Games is searching for a Cinematic Animation Director to join our cinematic team working on projects, including Fortnite and other IP. You'll create original animation with a strong emphasis on style and appeal, grounded in realistic world physics — and you'll help shape how we make that animation, not just what it looks like. This role requires a deep understanding of animation fundamentals and how they translate to game animation, combined with genuine curiosity about emerging tools and workflows. You'll take animation from initial concept through implementation using our animation system in Unreal Engine 5, while actively exploring new approaches — from AI-assisted motion generation and video-to-animation pipelines (Meshcapade, video2fbx, etc.) to whatever comes next.

Requirements

A strong animation reel demonstrating expertise in keyframed character and creature animation.
Experience in a lead or senior role, managing animators and owning animation quality for both internal and outsourced teams.
Relevant experience in cinematic animation.
Strong instincts for both realistic and stylized motion.
Strong story and problem solving skills when adjustments are needed.
Ability and affinity for brainstorming and collaborating with a small team to design short stories that align with the creative brief.
Familiarity with Unreal Engine and the Control Rig workflow.
Experience directing and working with motion capture.
A technical mindset — someone who enjoys digging into pipelines, scripting tools, and figuring out how to make workflows faster and better, not just animating within them.
Demonstrated interest in emerging animation technology: AI-driven motion synthesis, video-to-animation capture, procedural animation, or similar tools and techniques.
Strong communication skills and the ability to thrive in a collaborative team environment.
Ability to work independently and own a project from start to completion.

Nice To Haves

Experience animating hard-surface or vehicle animation.
Understanding of modeling, skinning, and rigging.
Hands-on experience with tools like Meshcapade, DeepMotion, Rokoko, or similar emerging motion capture and generation platforms.
Background in scripting or technical art (Python, MEL, Blueprints).

Responsibilities

Lead and mentor a small team of experienced internal cinematic animators.
Own the animation direction and quality control for all cinematic animation outsourcing efforts.
Create character-specific animations based on narrative collaborations with cinematic directors, using Unreal Engine's Sequencer and Control Rig toolset.
Drive collaboration across disciplines — including Production, Technical Animation, and Design — to help define the style and feel of Epic's cinematic animation.
Collaborate with other discipline leads (environment, lighting, fx, game dev, etc) in a dailies-style critique environment, find optimal solutions, and address issues as they arise.
Direct and work with motion capture data as a core part of the layout process.
Refine animations as needed to achieve the highest quality within project timelines.
Research, evaluate, and prototype emerging animation workflows and tools, helping the team stay ahead of the curve on production innovation.

Benefits

Medical
Dental
Vision HRA
Long Term Disability
Life Insurance
401k with competitive match
Robust mental well-being program through Modern Health (free therapy and coaching for employees & dependents)
Events and company-wide paid breaks
Unlimited PTO and sick time
Paid sabbatical for 7 years of employment