3D Animator

Fully Remote
Contract

About Us

Afterburner Studios was formed in the summer of 2018 by three veteran game devs who were feeling burned out in more traditional development. Our debut title, Dreamscaper, an action roguelike with a lucid dreaming twist, launched in 2021. Since then it has gone on to reach over 600,000 players with an 89% positive rating on Steam.

Our next project is a larger, more ambitious title in the AA space – a science fantasy 3D action / adventure blending classic elements with new twists. We’re looking to expand our team with motivated individuals that are excited to work in a small, fast-paced indie studio, in order to make a big impact on our next game.

The Job

We are seeking a talented and experienced 3D Animator to work with us on a contract basis. You will be critical in bringing our characters to life, across a very wide variety of fluid and dynamic animation. You will collaborate closely with other members of the team on the design and art side to create a variety of humanoid and creature animation across both gameplay and cinematics. This is a semi-technical role that will require working knowledge of Unreal Engine to see your ideas through to execution.

We’re looking to form long-term relationships with contractors as we anticipate a multi-year project.

As our studio operates on core hours of 10AM to 2PM ET we will not accept candidates beyond UTC +2 or UTC -8.

Responsibilities

Keyframe beautiful character animations across locomotion and combat that match the vision and fidelity bar for the project.
Work closely with art and design to ensure the personality and traits are reflected in the character’s animation.
Collaborate with our designer to meet gameplay needs to ensure all animations feel great within the engine.
Work in-engine to implement animations, leveraging our tooling.
Collaborate with our engineer for any highly technical animation work that comes up.
An openness to both giving and receiving feedback, in order to iterate quickly on solutions, identify problems, and ultimately achieve the best possible results.
Identify and help solve issues within the animation pipeline.

Requirements

A strong demo reel or portfolio showcasing a variety of animations.
Strong proficiency in Maya.
Working knowledge of Unreal Engine’s animation systems.
Expert understanding of animation principles, body mechanics, motion and character performance, enabling you to create convincing and expressive animations.
Strong communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively within a small, multidisciplinary team.
Creative problem-solving skills and adaptability to changing requirements.
Highly self-motivated and proactive, you thrive while working without supervision.

Bonuses

Both humanoid and creature experience.
Experience with cutscene animation (Pacing, camera work, getting things technically set up in UE4 Sequencer).
Familiarity with perforce.

How to Apply

Please submit your resume (or linkedin) and a link to your portfolio to ian@theafterburnerstudios.com with the title of the job you are applying for in the subject line.

We look forward to connecting with you!