Animateur technique senior / Senior Technical Animator

People Can Fly

4d • Remote

About The Position

People Can Fly is hiring a Senior Technical Animator for a fully remote role in Canada. The role establishes and maintains production and software pipelines, creating high-quality character, creature, and prop rigs and skinning. The animator independently implements character rigs in Maya, including cloth, physics, and hair setups, and collaborates with modelers, animators, and technical leads to deliver quality assets and improve tools and workflows.

The position also involves creating rigging and retargeting systems, sharing ownership of pipeline tools, providing clean assets or code that meet established requirements, leading research and development and technically difficult bug fixes, and applying lessons from post-mortems. The Senior Technical Animator shares knowledge with less experienced colleagues and may occasionally assist with recruitment and onboarding.

Requirements

• At least 5 years of experience in Technical Animation or a similar field.
• Participation in the production cycle of at least two titles.
• Strong experience with Python.
• Knowledge of Houdini.
• Excellent communication skills, including the ability to clearly provide technical feedback on tasks, rigs, toolsets, and documentation.
• Expert knowledge of Maya, specializing in rigging and skinning.
• Expert understanding of anatomy and character movement.
• Knowledge of facial rigs for games, television, or film.
• Strong knowledge of topology requirements for old and new 3D models.
• Experience with physics simulation for cloth, hair, and other physics items.
• Knowledge of current and future video game technologies and trends.
• Familiarity with Maya art export and production pipelines, particularly character- and animation-related features.
• Self-motivation.
• Strong spoken and written English communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Establish and maintain production and software pipelines and meet deadlines in collaboration with the Lead.
• Create high-quality rigs and skinning for characters, creatures, and props suited to the project's technical requirements and intended universe.
• Independently implement character rigs in Maya, including cloth, physics, and hair setups.
• Work closely with modelers and animators to support a smooth development pipeline and deliver high-quality assets.
• Create new rigs and retargeting systems or tools to transfer from old rigs to new rigs.
• Share ownership of pipeline tools and collaborate with engine and project leads on their continuous improvement.
• Support the technical quality of the team's output by providing clean assets or code within established systems and requirements.
• Carry out R&D projects and improve pipelines and workflows; conduct post-mortems and implement their outcomes.
• Tackle technically difficult bug-fixing efforts.
• Share knowledge with less experienced colleagues.
• Occasionally support recruitment projects in collaboration with HR and assist with onboarding new hires.

Benefits

• Benefit package paid 100% by PCF.
• Insurance reimburses 100% of claims, up to $1,000 per service per year, with individual or family coverage.
• Full dental coverage, including major dental.
• 4% RRSP matching before tax deductions, fully vested on the first day.
• Paid week off during winter holidays.
• 20 paid vacation days and 5 paid sick days.
• Free virtual health and mental well-being sessions for plan members and their dependents.
• Personal development opportunities and the ability to work in a global environment.
• Opportunity to work in a creative team with passionate colleagues.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed