Technical Designer in Animation

Epic Games•Cary, NC

1d•$117,521 - $189,600•Remote

About The Position

Epic Games is looking for a Technical Designer in Animation (TDiA) to join our team working across various animation systems. As a TDiA, you will use your animation sense and technical understanding of character animation to design and create gameplay animation systems that facilitate entertaining, high-quality characters. You will be a primary point of contact for animation implementation, any animation-related technical challenges, and will work closely with Animation, Design, and Programming colleagues to ensure the animation pipeline operates smoothly and efficiently. You will also help identify potential issues and deploy correct solutions, using your technical knowledge to help bridge and facilitate communication between the animation team and other departments.

Requirements

A strong animation sense with a clear understanding of realistic and stylized character motion and how to achieve them with state-of-the-art animation methods
An understanding of generative AI tools and capabilities as it relates to character animation
Expertise with animation pipelines, including source content creation tools such as Maya, MotionBuilder, and the Unreal Engine using our Control Rig toolset
Exceptional problem-solving ability with strong written communication and teamwork skills
Strong familiarity with gameplay animation tools and concepts, such as blend trees, state machines, and Unreal Engine Animation Blueprints
Experience with AAA game development, preferably on a large team using an established game engine (internal or commercial); experience with Unreal Engine is a plus
Self-motivation, a strong work ethic, and the ability to work independently

Nice To Haves

Experience with C++ is not required

Responsibilities

Build animation behavior tools, techniques, and frameworks that enable complex systems and entertaining characters
Design and implement animation state machines, behaviors, and runtime solutions
Partner with animation leadership to translate creative vision into technical reality, protecting style consistency and pushing the quality bar
Collaborate with Design and Programming to troubleshoot and resolve in-game animation issues and technical challenges
Identify opportunities to improve the animation pipeline and workflow, and provide technical solutions for the animation team
Create documentation and deliver training to level up the animation team's technical fluency
Collaborate with Technical Designers in Animation (TDiA) across Epic Games to share solutions, align workflows where appropriate and identify opportunities to leverage existing tools and systems rather than duplicating effort