Senior Technical Animator

Cloud Chamber • Novato, CA

3d • Hybrid

About The Position

As a Senior Technical Animator at Cloud Chamber, you will join our talented development team to help shape our advanced animation systems and runtime character performance. In this role, you’ll collaborate with a passionate group of game developers to build scalable technical solutions and animation workflows that support immersive gameplay—bringing the richly imagined world of BioShock to life.
We are seeking a technical wizard with a keen artistic eye who thrives on understanding the "why" behind the "how." If you are motivated by constant learning, seeking new wisdom, and taking pride in mentoring others to push creative boundaries, we want to hear from you.
What We’ll Do Together:
At Cloud Chamber, we are champions of high standards, pushing for progress and embracing change. We will work closely and constructively across design, art, engineering, animation, and audio teams to realize our creative ambitions. Together, we will stay current on technological advancements and identify solutions to overcome developmental obstacles.
Who We Are:
At Cloud Chamber we strive to make BioShock games that move people: evocative, immersive, and meaningful experiences that stay with you long after you’ve rolled credits. Great games are born from great collaborations, supported by a culture that brings out the best in our teams. We work openly, learn through play, take ownership, push ourselves to be better, and deliver for our players.

Requirements

• Previous experience in games development, preferably with at least one AAA title shipped.
• Thorough knowledge of Animation Graphs, Blend Trees, Sequencer, State Machines implementation and maintenance.
• Understanding and knowledge of procedural runtime animation solutions such as IK, Retargeting, Ragdoll, Cloth, Motion Matching, and more.
• Proficient in scripting to streamline the animation pipeline (Python, MEL or other scripting languages) to aid workflows and repetitive tasks.
• Understanding how to reduce workload and improve believability of characters in-game.
• Understanding the importance of documenting workflows and sharing knowledge.
• Knowledge of how important it is to apply animation principles to combine motions seamlessly.
• A reliable, positive force multiplier, actively seeking opportunities to integrate work across disciplines and contribute to a healthy, supportive team environment.
• A solid communicator with excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex ideas clearly, package information for diverse audiences, and deliver difficult feedback with empathy and professionalism.
• A persistent and self-motivated person with a proactive mindset.
• Able to maintain effectiveness and quality under pressure, ambiguity, and fast-changing priorities.
• An active listener able to build and maintain trust-based relationships across all levels of the organization, understand differing perspectives, and navigate organizational complexity with tact and emotional intelligence.
• Highly open to feedback and direction, possessing a desire to learn new skills, and capable of producing quick, quality revisions based on new insights or constraints.
• A strong owner of your tasks, who strives to drive their work forward autonomously while maintaining a critical eye for detail and organization, ensuring high standards of quality.
• Dedicated to upholding Cloud Chamber’s core values, contributing to a positive and respectful company culture while striving for excellence in all endeavors.

Responsibilities

• Implement and set up assets in the game engine.
• Help troubleshoot issues relating to animation in both Maya and the game engine.
• Help make sure assets and systems are optimized for run-time performance.
• Author and maintain Animation Blueprints.
• Author and maintain procedural animation, such as cloth and IK.
• Tune and troubleshoot Motion Matching locomotion.
• Work closely with the team to refine workflows and content authoring processes.
• Mentor and teach others on tool usages, technical workflows, and best practices.
• Create written or video documentation to aid information sharing.
• Take an active role in the structure, organization, and performance of animation systems in the editor.

Benefits

• medical, dental, vision, and basic life insurance coverage
• 14 paid holidays per calendar year
• paid vacation time per calendar year (ranging from 15 to 25 days) or eligibility to participate in the Company’s discretionary time off program
• up to 10 paid sick days per calendar year
• paid parental and compassionate leave
• wellbeing programs for mental health and other wellness support
• family planning support through Maven
• commuter benefits
• reimbursements for fitness-related expenses

What This Job Offers

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