Lead Animator

Looking to bring direction and animation to the re-animated? Then this might just be the job for you! Starbreeze is now looking for talented Lead Animator to join our award-winning team in Stockholm.

As a Lead Animator, you will not only be responsible for creating solid animations, both in-game and in cinematics, but you have the essential role of leading and inspiring your team to success. You lead through setting an example in terms of animation quality but also in the understanding of gameplay, storytelling and overall character movement. You and your team will be responsible for pitching ideas and creating prototypes, while you also posses the skills and experience to direct actors and stuntmen during motion capture sessions. Ultimately, you will enable your team to polish and finalize life-like (and un-life-like, of course) animations while ensuring their implementation into the game.

Key Responsibilities:

- Collaborate closely with the leads from the Art, Engineering and Design teams to establish the aesthetic look and feel of animations going into the given game. This done through defining animation styles, producing pre-visualizations and concept ideas while presenting them to the team
- Communicate effectively the art and design direction to the animators
- Oversee the work of the animators on a daily basis while leading the iteration process and giving feedback on all areas of animation
- Lead by example and create compelling character performances, be it gameplay or cinematic animations, utilizing both key framed and motion capture techniques. Naturally to compliment the game design and promote the artistic vision of the game as a whole
- Understand game-required techniques such as blending, tagging, state machine transitions, animation blending trees, compression, etc. while also participating in the improvements of these techniques
- Ensure ontime delivery for all deliverables working closely with the project managers for all planning aspects
- Work with the Producers, Department Leads and Animation team to establish methods to improve the production pipeline, tools and systems that will benefit the integrity of the animation for the studio
- Help to troubleshooting any animation and technical pipeline issues
- Clearly communicate updates and concerns in a timely manner to the Production team to ensure project goals are met and delivered to the highest levels
- Expected to lead, advise and mentor any level of Animators


You have experience working with animations in the game industry with at least two shipped AAA title. You are an experienced Maya and possibly Motion Builder user and have an expert understanding of all animation principles. Experience and knowledge of the Unreal game engine is an advantage as is previous lead experience. We also consider storyboarding skills, a love for zombies/The Walking Dead franchise and a strong interest in working on Virtual Reality experiences as strong positives. You must be fluent in English, both verbally and in writing.

To be successful in this position you have:

- At least 4-5 years of experience with animation in the video game industry
- Shipped at least two game title or show other relevant animation industry experience
- A strong understanding of quick and efficient iteration techniques that respect the gameplay requirements while displaying high quality
- The ability to lead, collaborate, communicate and work professionally with other animators and directors
- Demonstrate superior artistic expertise in regards to animation
- Excellent communication skills that allow to work efficiently with other disciplines and departments
- Contribute and be part of a highly creative team, giving and receiving feedback
- Solid understanding of game asset creation pipelines and ability to learn and master new tools, processes and pipelines
- Ability to work closely with project managers to develop schedules and keep these schedules
- Proficient in MotionBuilder and Maya
- Familiarity and excitement for games and game development
- Reel should demonstrate solid in-game as well as cinematic animations
- Passionate about video games and animation.


Still reading? Great, because here comes the good part bit:
We offer you a position at a dynamic and rapidly growing company where we live and die by gameplay. While we grow, we want you to grow with us and to evolve in your professional development while leading the way to make our games some of the most kick-ass within the gaming industry.

Sounds good? Then we can’t wait to see your resumé and meet you!
We recommend that you apply as soon as possible, as interviews are held continuously. Send your application with a resumé, portfolio and a personal letter in English. All applications must include a resumé and personal letter to be considered.

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