Senior Gameplay Animator - Infinity Ward

Activision Blizzard • Woodland Hills, CA

23h

About The Position

Founded in 2002, Infinity Ward is the original studio behind the Call of Duty® franchise. The titles developed by Infinity Ward have won more than 200 "Game of the Year" awards and 100 "Editor's Choice" awards, among many other industry accolades. Some of our previous titles include: Call of Duty®: Ghosts , Call of Duty®: Infinite Warfare and most recently, Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare . Infinity Ward employs more than 250 people in Woodland Hills, Calif., just outside of Los Angeles. A critically acclaimed studio, Infinity Ward is proud to have one of the most passionate and talented development teams in the industry. We love to have as much fun as the games we create, and it shows in our relaxed, yet diligent, workplace environment. We believe that making the best games relies on having the best people, so we like to look after ours. We enjoy having fun with top-notch events that everyone gets involved with. Infinity Ward is wholly owned by Activision. To learn more about our studio, please visit us at https://www.infinityward.com/ , on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/InfinityWard/ , and @InfinityWard on X.

Infinity Ward is looking for a world-class, industry-leading Senior Gameplay Animator for our future projects. In this role, you will help inspire the team by creating the highest quality animations while pushing the boundaries of gameplay, storytelling, and technology. The ideal candidate is passionate about animation, gameplay, and has a strong understanding of animation principles, body mechanics, and motion-capture editing techniques. A successful Senior Gameplay Animator will bridge animation, engineering, and design to identify potential issues and deploy correct solutions. You must be highly organized and have outstanding communication skills. While working with a Lead Animator, you will champion the animation vision and become an essential pillar of the animation team. Additionally, a Senior Animator will provide relevant input that will influence animation technology development, resources, and tool development.

Your Mission: With a focus on character performances and gameplay, produce high-quality animations using the tools at your disposal. Collaborate with animators, designers, artists, and software engineers to identify and address areas of need or concern. Contribute to the development of new techniques and processes involved in the implementation and creation of animations. Participate in the planning and directing process of motion capture shoots. Identify potential areas of risk, create/execute mitigation plans before issues happen, and keep yourself operating at a high level of productivity. Work hands-on with the game engine to implement and troubleshoot first-person animations, collaborating with designers and engineers to make sure combat mechanics feel polished, engaging, and intuitive for players.

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience in the game industry
• Strong experience creating immersive first-person animations for weapons and hands, with attention to detail in movement, weight, and responsiveness. The ideal candidate can deliver animations that feel intuitive and satisfying to players while aligning with the signature quality and realism of Call of Duty.
• Great understanding of realistic body mechanics as well as animation principles
• Mentorship skills
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Facial animation experience
• Expert knowledge of Motion Builder
• Excellent organizational, communication and interpersonal skills
• Expert knowledge of animation implementation and debugging techniques
• Self-starter and problem solver

Nice To Haves

• Creature animation experience
• Camera animation skills
• Experience working with outsourcing

Responsibilities

• With a focus on character performances and gameplay, produce high-quality animations using the tools at your disposal.
• Collaborate with animators, designers, artists, and software engineers to identify and address areas of need or concern.
• Contribute to the development of new techniques and processes involved in the implementation and creation of animations.
• Participate in the planning and directing process of motion capture shoots.
• Identify potential areas of risk, create/execute mitigation plans before issues happen, and keep yourself operating at a high level of productivity.
• Work hands-on with the game engine to implement and troubleshoot first-person animations, collaborating with designers and engineers to make sure combat mechanics feel polished, engaging, and intuitive for players.

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: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed