Principal Animator (Apex Legends)

Locations : Los Angeles - Chatsworth, California, United States of America

Principal Animator (Apex Legends)
Location:

Vancouver, BC; Los Angeles, CA; Madison, WI

Work Model:

Hybrid

What You’ll Do

Reporting to the Animation Director, create high‑quality animations and help define animation direction across a variety of gameplay and character experiences.

Serve as a subject matter expert for animation, establishing best practices, workflows, and animation standards across the project.

Partner with Animation Leadership to shape the long‑term vision for animation quality, pipelines, technologies, gameplay readability, and character performance.

Implement animations into the project’s engine with full ownership, improving implementation workflows, tools, and animation systems.

Collaborate closely with Design, Tech Animation, Engineering, and other disciplines to solve complex gameplay and production challenges.

Influence animation direction through mentorship, communication, collaboration, and advocacy for player experience and animation quality.

Identify risks and opportunities early, proactively proposing solutions that improve animation quality, production efficiency, and team effectiveness.

Take animation features and experiences from conceptualization to shipping with minimal direction, driving creative and technical execution.

Ideally You Will Have

10+ years of professional game development experience shipping multiple AAA titles, including senior, lead or principal‑level animation roles.

Expert‑level character animation experience with strong understanding of body mechanics, performance, timing, and movement across diverse character types and gameplay experiences.

Expert knowledge of Maya and extensive experience modifying and enhancing motion‑capture data for gameplay‑focused animation.

Strong experience integrating animations into game engines and working within modern animation state machines, blend systems, and gameplay pipelines.

Proven experience working closely with Designers, Tech Animators, and Engineers to create compelling gameplay experiences.

Demonstrated ability to mentor other animators and elevate the overall quality and effectiveness of a team.

Strong understanding of animation systems, production challenges, and scalable content creation practices, with a passion for pushing the boundaries of gameplay animation and creating exceptional player experiences.

Pay Transparency - North America
The ranges listed below are what EA in good faith expects to pay applicants for this role in these locations at the time of this posting. Pay is determined based on a number of relevant business and candidate factors (e.g., education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, or business needs).

In the US, we offer a package of benefits including paid time off (3 weeks per year to start), 80 hours per year of sick time, 16 paid company holidays per year, 10 weeks paid time off to bond with a baby, medical/dental/vision insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, and 401(k) to regular full‑time employees. Certain roles may also be eligible for bonus and equity.

Electronic Arts is an equal opportunity employer. All employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, genetic information, religion, disability, medical condition, pregnancy, marital status, family status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We will also consider employment qualified applicants with criminal records in accordance with applicable law. EA also makes workplace accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities as required by applicable law.

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