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Refactor Games

Senior Technical Animator – Gameplay / Character Animator Controller Design (Unr

Refactor Games, Santa Monica, California, United States

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Senior Technical Animator – Gameplay / Character Animator Controller Design (Unreal Engine 5 / Soccer)

Senior Technical Animator – Gameplay / Character Animator Controller Design (Unreal Engine 5 / Soccer)

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We’re looking for a Senior Technical Animator who can design and implement the character animation controller systems that drive player movement and gameplay responsiveness in a next-gen soccer game. This role sits at the intersection of animation, gameplay engineering, and systems design , with responsibility for making sure characters feel fluid, grounded, and responsive under player control.

You’ll own the animation blueprint, state machines, and blend trees that bring dribbling, shooting, passing, tackling, and locomotion to life in Unreal Engine 5.

We’re looking for a Senior Technical Animator who can design and implement the character animation controller systems that drive player movement and gameplay responsiveness in a next-gen soccer game. This role sits at the intersection of animation, gameplay engineering, and systems design , with responsibility for making sure characters feel fluid, grounded, and responsive under player control.

You’ll own the animation blueprint, state machines, and blend trees that bring dribbling, shooting, passing, tackling, and locomotion to life in Unreal Engine 5.

You’ll Work On:
  • Designing and implementing animation controllers (state machines, blend spaces, transition rules) for soccer gameplay
  • Building locomotion systems : walking, sprinting, turning, and foot planting across different movement contexts
  • Integrating gameplay actions: dribbling, passing, crossing, shooting, tackling, and goalkeeping
  • Working with gameplay engineers to synchronize animation and physics for collisions, tackles, and ball interaction
  • Creating procedural animation solutions (IK, FK, additive layers) for foot placement, ball contact, and player balance
  • Optimizing controllers for responsiveness, fluidity, and low-latency input
  • Debugging, profiling, and refining state graphs and blend spaces for stability and performance
  • Collaborating with animators to ensure high-quality mocap and keyframed animations integrate cleanly into the pipeline
  • Building reusable animation blueprints and tools for faster iteration and scalability
Requirements:
  • 5+ years of animation or technical animation experience in video games
  • At least 1 shipped 3D title (sports, action, or simulation preferred)
  • Expert knowledge of Unreal Engine 5 Animation Blueprint, State Machines, Blend Spaces, IK systems
  • Strong grasp of character locomotion and responsive gameplay animation design
  • Experience with mocap integration, data cleanup, and retargeting workflows
  • Solid understanding of character rigging, skinning, and pipeline dependencies
  • Ability to profile and optimize animation systems for performance
Bonus Points:
  • Experience with sports titles or character-driven gameplay systems
  • Knowledge of Chaos Physics integration with animation (ragdoll, partial physics, procedural blends)
  • Familiarity with motion matching, pose space deformation, or other advanced animation techniques
  • Passion for soccer, with an instinct for how players should feel on the field

This is a hands-on senior role : you’ll own the animation controller layer that defines how the game’s characters move, react, and feel—turning motion capture data and gameplay logic into a responsive, authentic soccer experience.

Seniority level

  • Seniority level

    Mid-Senior level

Employment type

  • Employment type

    Full-time

Job function

  • Job function

    Design, Art/Creative, and Information Technology

  • Industries

    Computer Games

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