Senior Technical Animator Job at Absurd Ventures in Santa Monica

Summary

We are seeking a Senior Technical Animator to join our growing animation team. This role sits at the intersection of animation, rigging, and engineering, supporting the creation, integration, and optimization of high-quality character and creature animation systems. The ideal candidate is highly collaborative, technically minded, and comfortable solving complex animation challenges at scale.

Core Responsibilities

• Partner with animators, character artists, gameplay designers, and engineers to develop and maintain robust animation pipelines in Unreal Engine
• Implement, debug, and optimize animation systems including state machines, blend trees, IK, motion matching, and procedural animation solutions
• Create and maintain character and creature rigs, animation blueprints, and supporting tools
• Ensure animation systems are performant, scalable, and stable across a large open world
• Support animation integration for gameplay, cinematics, traversal, combat, and systemic behaviors
• Identify workflow inefficiencies and develop tools or processes to improve iteration speed and quality
• Troubleshoot animation-related issues and provide technical guidance to the animation team
• Maintain documentation and best practices for animation systems and pipelines

Core Qualifications

• Solid experience authoring traditional 3D animation for games
• Professional experience as a Technical Animator or similar role on shipped games or large-scale interactive projects
• Strong understanding of character rigging, skinning, and deformation techniques
• Hands-on experience with Unreal Engine animation systems, including Animation Blueprints and Control Rig
• Proficiency with DCC tools such as Maya or equivalent
• Solid scripting or technical experience (Blueprints, Python, or similar) to support tools and workflows
• Strong problem-solving skills and ability to communicate technical concepts to non-technical team members
• Solid experience and strong understanding of fundamental 3D animation authoring for games

Plus If...

• Experience working on open-world or systems-driven games
• Familiarity with advanced animation techniques such as motion matching, procedural animation, or runtime IK solutions
• Experience collaborating closely with gameplay and AI teams
• Knowledge of performance optimization for console hardware
• Experience supporting both gameplay animation and in-engine cinematics

Description

• Full-time job with benefits.
• Role is on-site in Santa Monica, CA.
• Office is located near downtown Santa Monica – near metro and freeways.

The base pay range for this position is $140,000 to $160,000 per year. Actual compensation is based on market location and may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. We also offer a competitive package of benefits including vacation time, sick time, company holidays, parental leave, medical/dental/vision insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, and 401(k) matching to regular full-time employees. Certain roles may also be eligible for bonus and equity.