Senior Technical Animator

<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-decoration: underline; font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><strong>THE OPPORTUNITY</strong></span></p> <div> <p><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Unknown Worlds is seeking a Senior Technical Animator to work on Subnautica 2. In this role, you will collaborate closely with Animation, Art, Design, and Engineering to build polished, performant animation systems for players, creatures, and gameplay features.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">You will be a key individual contributor on the Animation team, responsible for integrating animation and art assets in Unreal Engine 5 and developing the systems that support them, including Animation Blueprints, physics assets, Control Rig workflows, procedural animation, and related tools. The ideal candidate is self-motivated, highly collaborative, and passionate about creating elegant technical solutions that support immersion, wonder, and strong moment-to-moment gameplay.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">This is a full-time remote position on a globally distributed team.</span></p> <h1><span style="text-decoration: underline; font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">RESPONSIBILITIES</span></h1> <ul> <li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Implement, tune, and maintain animation systems in Unreal Engine 5 that meet the project’s artistic, technical, multiplayer, and platform requirements.</span></li> <li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Prototype, test, and ship animation, physics, procedural animation, and rigging solutions for real-time gameplay.</span></li> <li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Create and maintain Animation Blueprints, Control Rigs, physics assets, animation frameworks, and animator-facing tools that support efficient content implementation.</span></li> <li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Partner with Animation, Design, Art, and Engineering to ensure animation features are both artistically strong and functionally robust.</span></li> <li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Identify Animation team needs and improve workflows, pipelines, best practices, and documentation to support consistent execution against art and design pillars.</span></li> <li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Participate in planning, help define realistic milestone goals, and communicate risks, dependencies, and implementation needs clearly.</span></li> <li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Contribute actively to the Animation team’s creative process by giving, receiving, and incorporating feedback.</span></li> <li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Mentor more junior team members and model a high standard of craft, problem solving, ownership, and collaboration.</span></li> </ul> <h1><span style="text-decoration: underline; font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">QUALIFICATIONS</span></h1> <ul> <li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">7+ years of experience as a Technical Animator, including at least one shipped Unreal Engine 5 title in a Technical Animator role.</span></li> <li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Strong proficiency with Unreal Engine 5 animation systems, including Animation Blueprints, Blueprints, components, interfaces, and object-oriented or class-inheritance workflows.</span></li> <li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Strong understanding of state-driven and parameterized animation approaches, runtime gameplay animation, and performance-conscious implementation.</span></li> <li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Strong real-time character rigging knowledge, including weighting, blend shapes, deformation joints, and related animation software workflows such as Blender.</span></li> <li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Experience designing intuitive tools, frameworks, and workflows that empower animators and streamline production.</span></li> <li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Strong debugging and documentation skills, with the ability to diagnose complex animation issues and communicate solutions clearly.</span></li> <li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Deep understanding of animation, art fundamentals, and aesthetic judgment as applied to real-time games.</span></li> <li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Demonstrated ownership of complex features with minimal oversight in a collaborative, cross-disciplinary environment.</span></li> <li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Excellent written, visual, and verbal communication skills, with strong organization and self-direction.</span></li> <li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Comfortable working on a remote, globally distributed team.</span></li> </ul> <h1><span style="text-decoration: underline; font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">PREFERENCES:</span></h1> &lt