Technical Animator (12-month contract)

Job description

Blackbird Interactive is a creative-fueled, future-driven, independent game studio where the best talent in the industry can find long-term careers to help grow their abilities while working on a wide range of projects, which encompass world-class IPs as well as our own creations across multiple genres. Our studio operates as a remote-first workplace, offering flexible work arrangements. **PLEASE NOTE: At this time, we are only able to hire candidates who are legally eligible to work in Canada and reside within Canada.** **Blackbird Interactive** is seeking a passionate **Technical Animator** to join our team to deliver a large, exciting IP! Do you have a broad range of creative and technical experience setting up character and mechanical animations in **Unreal Engine 5**? We’re looking for a technical animator who has the technical proficiency to rig, skin, and export animated meshes into Unreal Engine. On top of that, we are requiring a versatile set of skills to animate humanoid characters as well as machinery within a sci-fi setting. We support both remote and hybrid working arrangements across Canada (Vancouver, BC). At BBI, you’ll find a flexible, forward-thinking environment where creative voices are valued and nurtured. Please include a link to your **showreel** with your CV. ### Responsibilities - Develop and maintain Maya and Unreal-based pipelines that enable animation, rigging, and content export workflows - Produce high quality animation in gameplay to fit the overall style and established creative direction - Proficient in animating both mechanical and humanoid assets - Ability to take direction from the Art Director in order to maintain a coherent aesthetic thread throughout the project - Collaborate with technical artists to fill gaps in pipeline and tools where needed - Collaborate with 3D artists to create smooth handoffs between asset creation and animation set-up - Collaborate with production to provide estimates and timelines to ensure timely delivery of assets ### Requirements - 4+ years of experience in technical animation and gameplay animation specifically for games - Strong knowledge of rigging workflows - Well-versed in Maya and Unreal Engine 5 - Familiarity with game-ready skeleton design, skinning, and animation scene structure - Comfort working in Perforce-integrated pipelines and managing scene referencing/export workflows - Comfort with quick iteration and problem-solving - Strong communication skills and a collaborative mindset ### Bonuses - Passion for games - Passion for film and cinematography - Experience manipulating Unreal camera rigs and setups