Lead Animator, Games Studio

This is a Full Time Job

Lead Animator, Games Studio (Blue)

We're looking for a creative and highly-skilled Lead Animator to help us forge the creative vision on a brand-new AAA multi-platform game. This is a unique opportunity to be at the heart of crafting and bringing to life worlds for one of Netflix's first generation of internally developed original games.

As Lead Animator, you will be responsible for leading a team of animators and/or technical animators in establishing, maintaining, and continuously advancing the quality of in-game and/or cinematic animation excellence. The ideal candidate is a well organized leader with a strong, hands-on background with a devotion for sharing. This role will involve leading all aspects of production by collaborating with Character and Tech Artists to create high quality animations of 3D characters, weapons, vehicles and cameras for both gameplay sequences and cinematics.

We're building the foundation for a small, but ambitious, team of creators whose primary goal is to create a game experience that our players want to repeatedly come back to; and as our Lead Animator, you will be able to create, ship, and run a game without any competing design constraints due to monetization.

Quality is something that we are immensely proud to be aiming for, and we are looking at putting the right team together to help take us forward. We're looking for that group of leaders who are aligned with our core values, and care deeply about the experiences they create as well as the people they make them with. Those who bias towards action and are energized by the learning that comes with bold experimentation at an agile pace. As a part of Netflix, we strive to hire the best and value integrity, excellence, respect, inclusion, and collaboration.

Now is an amazing time to join Netflix as we seek to entertain the world. We have over 200 million paid members in over 190 countries, and we won't stop there!

Responsibilities
Include
• Mentor and guide animators in areas of expertise; instill best practices.
• Partner with leads and directors to meet visual and technical standards.
• Research, define, extend, and maintain DCC pipelines, processes, and workflows.
• Create and maintain an animation schedule that works with the overall schedules of the assigned production.
• Works with Art Director and Designers to plan and direct an animation style that works with the overall tone, team size, and schedules of the assigned production.
• Works with the Tools department to help create and evaluate new tools that would expedite the animation process.
• Maintains a strong understanding of Character Set up process and highly proficient with skeletons, IK, FK, facial animation system, constraints and other systems used for character animation.
• Reviews game characters and run levels to check on correct implementation of animations.
• Maintains a solid understanding of the entire process of creating cinematics; e.g. creating partial levels, setting up cameras and characters, animating, checking, and troubleshooting scenes.
• Stay informed on the latest in animation techniques from various games.
• Engage in broader game production challenges as they relate to combat design, animation, and character art.

The Ideal Candidate
• Minimum 8 years of relevant experience
• Has worked on at least one AAA title as a Team Lead
• Strong Maya and Unreal Engine Knowledge
• Intimate knowledge of Maya and strong understanding of Maya's rigging tools
• Has an excellent understanding of art pipelines, dependencies, and the overall scope of the project
• Ability to pioneer practical production-oriented rig systems and workflows, including motion capture techniques and performance capture
• Portfolio that demonstrates relevant animation experience in games (tools, pipelines, etc.)
• Deep knowledge of animation workflows and rigging to implement characters in unreal
• Strong communication skills and understanding of various art disciplines (animation, character, environment, VFX)
• Strong understanding of game engines and art integration pipelines and how to optimize them

Additional and Bonus Skills
• Working knowledge of shaders, specifically as they relate to animation
• Proficient with polygon modeling and topology adjustments related to character deformations
• Well-versed in human and animal anatomy
• A keen eye for correct form throughout a wide range of movement
• Experience with writing tools for animation
• Passion for gaming

Our compensation structure consists solely of an annual salary; we do not have bonuses. You choose each year how much of your compensation you want in salary versus stock options. To determine your personal top of market compensation, we rely on market indicators and consider your specific job family, background, skills, and experience to determine your compensation in the market range. The range for this role is $100,000-$500,000.

Netflix provides comprehensive benefits including Health Plans, Mental Health support, a 401(k) Retirement Plan with employer match, Stock Option Program, Disability Programs, Health Savings and Flexible Spending Accounts, Family-forming benefits, and Life and Serious Injury Benefits. We also offer paid leave of absence programs. Full-time hourly employees accrue 35 days annually for paid time off to be used for vacation, holidays, and sick paid time off. Full-time salaried employees are immediately entitled to flexible time off. See more detail about our Benefits here.

Netflix is a unique culture and environment. Learn more here.