Senior Animation Engineer

- Work within Unreal Engine 5, adapting existing animation systems and building new technology. - Prototype and implement animation features and runtime systems (animation graphs, state machines, blending, layering). - Build and maintain animation tools and pipelines. - Work closely with animation, art, design, and engineering teams. - Support planning efforts by estimating and dependency-checking animation feature development. - Identify technical and developmental risks/obstacles and generate solutions. - Research coding techniques and algorithms to stay current with technological developments. - Demonstrable programming experience in a creative environment. - Shipped one or more AAA game titles, ideally using Unreal Engine. - Advanced proficiency in C++, linear algebra, and 3D maths, with strong familiarity with Object-Oriented design principles (OOP). - Strong experience with Unreal Engine, Blueprints, and Unreal animation principles (Animation Blueprints, state machines, blend spaces, linked layers). - Hands-on implementation experience in one or more of the following: inverse kinematics techniques, ragdoll and physics-based character animation, procedural animation techniques, keyframe animation and forward kinematics. - Dedication to code quality and documentation. - Ability to work independently and efficiently under deadlines. - Effective communicator and collaborator across multi-disciplinary teams. - Highly desirable: Experience with machine-learning-driven animation techniques (e.g. motion matching, learned pose generation). - Highly desirable: Experience with Control Rig, IK Rig, and Motion Warping. - Highly desirable: Experience with new features like Mass locomotion, Mover and/or UAF/AnimNext. - Highly desirable: Strong familiarity with Data-Oriented design principles (DOP). - Highly desirable: Hands-on experience developing for Xbox Series X/S and PS5.