We are seeking a Design Technologist to define the expressive motion vocabulary that makes our robot feel alive: how it gestures when speaking, how it shows curiosity, excitement, hesitation, and calm. You will work with motion capture, hand animation, and procedural techniques to build a library of movements that bring our robots to life in real time.
This role sits at the intersection of character animation and robotics. You need strong animation instincts - timing, weight, personality - and enough technical fluency to work within the constraints of physical robots that must work in the real world.
Key job responsibilities
- Author expressive robot animations that articulate the robot's core personality: locomotion styles, conversational gesture, emotional reactions, interactive behaviors
- Partner closely with HRI researchers and robotics engineers to understand what the robot can physically do and what interactions need to feel like
- Work with motion capture to create base animations, then adapt and refine them for our robot's form factor and joint constraints
- Develop tools and workflows (Python, Blender/Maya scripting) to accelerate animation authoring and integrate with the robot's behavior pipeline
- Test animations on real hardware and iterate based on how they read in person, from all angles
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS
- Have an available online portfolio
- Experience with one or more of the following industry tools: 3D Studio Max, Maya, Photoshop, Zbrush, Substance, Unreal, Blender, etc
- 3+ years of professional experience in character animation, motion design, or technical animation
- Demonstrated ability to create expressive, personality-driven motion (demo reel required)
- Scripting ability in Python or equivalent for tooling, pipeline integration, and procedural animation
- Experience working within technical constraints (real-time engines, joint/physics limits, or hardware platforms)
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Experience with motion capture: directing sessions, cleaning data, retargeting to non-human characters
- Experience animating for stylized characters (robots, creatures, mascots)
- Familiarity with real-time animation systems (state machines, blend trees, procedural layers)
- Experience with robotics, physical characters, or animatronics
- Background in film, games, or themed entertainment where animation drives character personality
The base salary range for this position is listed below. Your Amazon package will include sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, qualifications, and location. Amazon also offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage), 401(k) matching, paid time off, and parental leave. Learn more about our benefits at https://amazon.jobs/en/benefits.
USA, NY, New York - 145,000.00 - 196,100.00 USD annually