Senior Animator, Unannounced Super Fun Video Game (Contract)

Second Dinner•Irvine, CA

12h•$60 - $70•Remote

About The Position

We're building a PvE co-op action game with a small, highly autonomous team where each discipline is represented by a single owner. This role focuses on animation, requiring the creation of both expressive character performances and exceptional gameplay animation. The ideal candidate will own animation from rigging and implementation through final polish, and due to the team's size, will also be expected to identify technical challenges, improve workflows, and occasionally step outside traditional discipline boundaries. This is a fully remote role that requires clear written communication, proactive updates, and the ability to make progress asynchronously. The strongest candidates are builders who demonstrate a habit of learning and creating beyond their day job.

Requirements

A portfolio demonstrating exceptional animation work.
Demonstrated strength in both character performance animation and gameplay animation.
Strong understanding of character acting, facial expression, appeal, timing, and physicality.
Strong understanding of gameplay readability, responsiveness, combat feel, and player feedback.
Strong rigging skills.
Experience implementing animation content in Unreal Engine.
Comfort working directly in-engine to solve problems and iterate on content.
The ability to independently own a discipline and make forward progress with minimal oversight.
Strong written communication skills and comfort working in a fully remote, asynchronous environment.
The ability to discuss technical and creative tradeoffs with designers, engineers, artists, and external partners.
Comfort learning unfamiliar tools, workflows, or disciplines when doing so benefits the project.
Comfort using AI-assisted tools as part of a modern game development workflow.
Must be legally authorized to work and reside in the United States.

Nice To Haves

Experience as a Technical Animator, Tech Artist, Art Director, or other cross-disciplinary role.
Experience building tools, pipelines, procedural systems, or workflow automation.
Experience managing external vendors or outsourcing relationships.
Experience shipping an indie game, game jam project, mod, or significant personal project.
Experience working on small teams where individuals routinely contribute outside their primary discipline.
Experience with cooperative action games, boss-focused encounters, or other highly replayable multiplayer experiences.
Affinity for complex competitive games such as League of Legends, Teamfight Tactics, or similar titles.
Experience with endgame MMO content such as raiding in World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy XIV, or similar games.
Familiarity with anime-inspired visual styles, character archetypes, and modern anime storytelling conventions.

Responsibilities

Create high-quality character, gameplay, and combat animation.
Bring personality, appeal, emotion, and charm to characters through performance and facial animation.
Create responsive, readable, and satisfying gameplay animation that supports combat and player feedback.
Rig, skin, and prepare assets for animation.
Implement, iterate on, and polish animation directly in Unreal Engine.
Work closely with Design and Engineering to improve gameplay feel, responsiveness, readability, and player experience.
Coordinate with Character Art, Environment Art, and VFX to ensure assets integrate smoothly into the game.
Identify bottlenecks and improve workflows through tooling, automation, technical solutions, or process improvements.
Evaluate and leverage AI-assisted workflows when they meaningfully improve iteration speed, content creation, or production efficiency.
Occasionally collaborate with external art partners to review deliverables, communicate feedback, and maintain quality standards.
Own animation as a discipline from concept through final implementation.