Senior 2D Character Animator

Ello is a public benefit corporation focused on building AI teachers that help children learn worldwide. Our first product, Read with Ello, supports thousands of children each week. We’re now scaling to a real‑time AI teacher platform, and we need a Senior Character Animator on a part‑time contract to create expressive, emotionally resonant animation for kids aged 4‑8.

Responsibilities

Animate character states—idle, reactions, celebrations, emotional responses—in Rive.

Collaborate with the Art Director and technical animator to ensure quality and consistency across the character system.

Work with engineering to integrate animations cleanly into the live product.

Build scalable animation libraries and naming conventions that others can extend.

Required Qualifications

Portfolio or reel demonstrating exceptional character animation suitable for children.

Experience with real‑time, state‑machine‑driven animation tools (Rive preferred; Spine, Unity Animator, or similar accepted).

Strong communication skills to collaborate with engineers and other animators.

3‑5+ years of character animation experience.

US‑compatible time zone; ability to travel to San Francisco occasionally.

Nice to Have

State machine architecture experience.

Integration experience owning the handoff between animation and engineering.

Rigging skills: skeletal structures, joint constraints, deformation setups.

Experience animating for kids, interactive games, or Ed‑Tech products.

Background at animation‑forward companies such as Duolingo, Toca Boca, Headspace, ClassDojo, Lingokids, or similar.

We Look For

Animation with intent—timing decisions serve the character’s emotional state and the child’s learning moment.

A systems mindset—build animation that can be reused, extended, and handed off cleanly.

Ownership of the queue—surface risks early, flag scope changes, and don’t wait to be managed.

Ability to push back when it matters and advocate for quality creative decisions.

Reasons to Join

Animate characters loved by hundreds of thousands of children.

Work at the intersection of AI, animation, and education.

Collaborate with a world‑class design and engineering team that cares deeply about craft.

Real ownership: ship work you’re proud of directly to kids and families every week.

We are a small, collaborative team headquartered in San Francisco with an office in Nairobi, Kenya. We prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion, and we do not discriminate based on race, religion, skin colour, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

At Ello, we comply with equal opportunity employment laws. If you require accommodations during the interview process, please contact recruiting@ello.com.

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