PrincipalTechnicalAnimator(Gameplay)

Job Title Principal Technical Animator (Gameplay) Department Technical Art Location(s) Brighton, Prague, Brno Reports To Associate Director Technical Animation Job Type (Permanent, fixed term, internship) Permanent Job Summary The Principal Technical Animator (Gameplay) will help define the technical vision, architectural framework, and long-term strategy for character animation integration across the studio. In this highly influential role, you will champion innovation, driving the adoption of cutting-edge technologies to ensure our games achieve world-class animation quality and responsiveness. You will serve as a technical authority on gameplay animation, solving the studio’s complex R&D challenges while collaborating with design, animation and engineering to establish future-proof pipelines. While not a people manager, you will inspire, mentor, and elevate the technical capabilities of the entire animation department. Duties and Responsibilities Architect and oversee the high-level design of gameplay animation systems, ensuring scalability, performance, and seamless integration across complex real-time systems. Drive R&D initiatives to evaluate and implement cutting-edge animation technologies (e.g., advanced Motion Matching, machine learning/AI animation, next-gen physics). Partner with Engineering and Tech Animation leadership to implement project-wide animation roadmaps and toolsets. Solve deep, complex runtime bugs and drive animation optimisation efforts to meet strict performance and memory budgets. Define and document technical standards, best practices, and pipeline workflows for the wider technical animation team. Collaborate closely with Design and Animation leads to heavily iterate on and perfect 3C mechanics (character, camera, controls), maximizing game feel. Actively mentor and upskill senior and mid-level technical animators through code/blueprint reviews and hands-on guidance. Essential Skills, Attributes and Experience Extensive proven experienc