Carbonated Inc. is hiring: Technical Animator (Contract) in Los Angeles

Carbonated is a passionate game studio founded in 2015 by industry veterans from EA, Sony, and Zynga. We are backed by top-tier partners like a16z, Bitkraft, and Com2Us.

Our culture is centered around a love for the craft and a drive to innovate. We are looking for individuals who share our key values: Talent, Attitude, and Fearless Curiosity.

We’re currently working on an undisclosed streaming video game along the lines of a PC/PS4 quality game with one of the biggest streaming companies in the world.

We are seeking a Technical Animator who lives at the intersection of high-fidelity art and systems architecture. You’ll be responsible for bringing our "Gun Fu" combat to life, ensuring that every melee strike and firearm transition feels weighty, responsive, and seamless.

• Combat Mastery: Create and refine high-fidelity animations for in-game player characters, specifically focusing on realistic melee and firearm sequences.
• Systems Integration: Work closely with engineers to implement animation state machines/animgraphs, node based editing, blend trees, and IK/FK systems within the game engine.
• Scripting, Tooling & Automation: Develop Maya/Python scripts to automate repetitive tasks and optimize the animation export pipeline.
• Rigging: Maintain and improve character rigs to support complex combat mechanics and deformation requirements.
• MoCap Pipeline: Own the motion capture pipeline, from cleaning raw data from various sources to retargeting and hand-keying secondary motion to ensure a "AAA" feel. We have existing tools to process but are looking for improvement.
  

• Experience: 3+ years in game animation with a portfolio that emphasizes weight, timing, and realistic human kinetics.
• Technical Proficiency: Strong understanding of technical animation constraints (looping, state transitions, bone counts, and optimization).
• Engine Savvy: Proficient in working within modern game engines (O3DE, Unreal, or Unity) to troubleshoot animation behavior in-game.
• AI-Forward: Comfortable utilizing generative AI tools to accelerate the pipeline, from initial blocking to refining complex motion data.
• Collaborative: A proactive communicator who can bridge the gap between Art and Engineering.
  

• Physics: Experience with ragdoll setups and physical animation blending.
• Engine Logic: Familiarity with Lua or similar scripting languages for gameplay-triggerred animations.
• Education: BFA in Fine Arts or a related technical field.
• Agile: Experience working in a fast-paced, Scrum-based environment.
• Culture: A sense of humor (we have a high tolerance for dad jokes!).
  

• Please send your resume, portfolio link, and cover letter to jobs@carbonated.com.