Director Animation

Activision Blizzard, Inc. • Santa Monica, CA

3d • $134,000 - $247,900 • Onsite

About The Position

Elsewhere Entertainment is looking for a Director, Studio Animation to join the development of a new IP. You will lead the Animation team by driving, maintaining, and crafting high fidelity animations that align to our pursuit of ultimate player immersion. As a leader on the project, you’ll help take the studio and our game from great to even better—with a focus on inclusivity, mutual respect (for ourselves and our players), thoughtfulness, empathy, professionalism, and collaboration. You'll help us by... Work with all Animation Directors, Leads and Producers of the project, ensuring Animation is created with the highest quality and delivered with the highest efficiency Use Motion Capture and Hand-Keyed Techniques to create high-fidelity Run-Time Action Cinematics, 1st and 3rd Person Gameplay and AI Animations Implement and maintain Animations using Proprietary Tools within our Game Engine. Connect with internal and external partners to ensure the highest collaborative, qualitative and efficient completion of team tasks You're awesome because you have... +12 years Leading Animation for Game Development An extreme passion for Animation, video games, and the entertainment it inspires and draws from An outstanding ability for Hand-Keyed Animation Excellent Maya Animation experience Understand all the roles within the Animation department Have a good understanding of the technology used in game design and development, its capabilities and limitations Capable of taking animation systems from concept to completion Can build good working relationships with other departments Has excellent communication skills, including tact and diplomacy Bonus points for... Experience with Technical Animation and/or leading a content focused team in AAA games Have shipped 1 or more AAA games Master’s degree or equivalent experience in Computer Science or related field Experience with shader programming languages Experience with animation compression and streaming Not sure you meet all the qualifications? Let us decide! Research shows that women and members of other under-represented groups tend to not apply to jobs when they think they may not meet every qualification, when, in fact, they often do! At Activision, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment and strongly encourage you to apply. Our World At Activision, we strive to create the most iconic brands in gaming and entertainment. We’re driven by our mission to deliver unrivaled gaming experiences for the world to enjoy, together. We are home to some of the most beloved entertainment franchises including Call of Duty®, Crash Bandicoot™, Tony Hawk’s™ Pro Skater™, and Guitar Hero®. As a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and products, our “press start” is simple: delight hundreds of millions of players around the world with innovative, fun, thrilling, and engaging entertainment experiences. We’re not just looking back at our decades-long legacy; we’re forging ahead to keep advancing gameplay with some of the most popular titles and sophisticated technology in the world. We have bold ambitions to create the most inclusive company as we know our success comes from the passionate, creative, and diverse teams within our organization. We’re in the business of delivering fun and unforgettable entertainment for our player community to enjoy. And our future opportunities have never been greater — this could be your opportunity to level up. This role can be based in either our California, US , Warsaw, Poland or Malmö, Sweden offices and follows an onsite work schedule of four days per week. Work arrangements may change at the companies discretion to meet business needs. Ready to Activate Your Future? #elsewhere Rewards We provide a suite of benefits that promote physical, emotional and financial well-being for ‘Every World’ - we’ve got our employees covered! Subject to eligibility requirements, the Company offers comprehensive benefits including: Medical, dental, vision, health savings account or health reimbursement account, healthcare spending accounts, dependent care spending accounts, life and AD&D insurance, disability insurance; 401(k) with Company match, tuition reimbursement, charitable donation matching; Paid holidays and vacation, paid sick time, floating holidays, compassion and bereavement leaves, parental leave; Mental health & wellbeing programs, fitness programs, free and discounted games, and a variety of other voluntary benefit programs like supplemental life & disability, legal service, ID protection, rental insurance, and others; If the Company requires that you move geographic locations for the job, then you may also be eligible for relocation assistance. Eligibility to participate in these benefits may vary for part time and temporary full-time employees and interns with the Company. You can learn more by visiting https://www.benefitsforeveryworld.com/. In the U.S., the standard base pay range for this role is $134,000.00 - $247,900.00 Annual. These values reflect the expected base pay range of new hires across all U.S. locations. Ultimately, your specific range and offer will be based on several factors, including relevant experience, performance, and work location. Your Talent Professional can share this role’s range details for your local geography during the hiring process. In addition to a competitive base pay, employees in this role may be eligible for incentive compensation. Incentive compensation is not guaranteed. While we strive to provide competitive offers to successful candidates, new hire compensation is negotiable. Activision Blizzard, Inc. is the world’s largest interactive entertainment company, with operations across North America, Europe, and Asia. We are home to some of the most beloved entertainment franchises including Call of Duty®, Skylanders®, World of Warcraft®, Overwatch®, Diablo®, Candy Crush™, and Bubble Witch™. Our combined entertainment network delights hundreds of millions of monthly active users in 196 countries, making us the largest gaming network on the planet! We’re proud to be recognized as one of FORTUNE’s "100 Best Companies To Work For®” for five consecutive years and have earned a spot on FORTUNE’s “Most Admired Companies,” and “Future 50” lists. Our 10,000+ global employees are some of the best and brightest talents across entertainment, media, and technology. This Applicant Privacy Notice summarizes how the information you submit as a job applicant through this website will be handled and protected by Activision Blizzard and its subsidiaries ("we" or "us") For full details regarding the types of information we may collect from you, how and why we use this information, and with whom we share this information, please see our applicant Privacy Policy. Please click one of the following links to see the full Applicant Privacy Policy In your language: Chinese, Korean (Entertainment), Korean (Studio), French — Canada, French — Europe, German ,Spanish

Requirements

• +12 years Leading Animation for Game Development
• An extreme passion for Animation, video games, and the entertainment it inspires and draws from
• An outstanding ability for Hand-Keyed Animation
• Excellent Maya Animation experience
• Understand all the roles within the Animation department
• Have a good understanding of the technology used in game design and development, its capabilities and limitations
• Capable of taking animation systems from concept to completion
• Can build good working relationships with other departments
• Has excellent communication skills, including tact and diplomacy

Nice To Haves

• Experience with Technical Animation and/or leading a content focused team in AAA games
• Have shipped 1 or more AAA games
• Master’s degree or equivalent experience in Computer Science or related field
• Experience with shader programming languages
• Experience with animation compression and streaming

Responsibilities

• Work with all Animation Directors, Leads and Producers of the project, ensuring Animation is created with the highest quality and delivered with the highest efficiency
• Use Motion Capture and Hand-Keyed Techniques to create high-fidelity Run-Time Action Cinematics, 1st and 3rd Person Gameplay and AI Animations
• Implement and maintain Animations using Proprietary Tools within our Game Engine.
• Connect with internal and external partners to ensure the highest collaborative, qualitative and efficient completion of team tasks

Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision, health savings account or health reimbursement account, healthcare spending accounts, dependent care spending accounts, life and AD&D insurance, disability insurance
• 401(k) with Company match, tuition reimbursement, charitable donation matching
• Paid holidays and vacation, paid sick time, floating holidays, compassion and bereavement leaves, parental leave
• Mental health & wellbeing programs, fitness programs, free and discounted games, and a variety of other voluntary benefit programs like supplemental life & disability, legal service, ID protection, rental insurance, and others
• If the Company requires that you move geographic locations for the job, then you may also be eligible for relocation assistance.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees