Senior Technical Animator - Art Center Team

Snail Games USA is seeking a Senior Technical Animator to build reliable animation systems and workflows across our fantasy and science-fiction game projects. As part of our Central Art Team, you'll connect animation, art, design, and engineering. You'll develop rigs, tools, and runtime animation systems in Unreal Engine 5, resolve integration issues, and help animators bring their work into the game. Success in this role means creating systems other people can confidently use, maintain, and expand. You should be comfortable documenting technical decisions, explaining workflows, training teammates, and taking ownership from initial development through production handoff. Job Type: Full-Time Location: Remote - Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maine, Missouri, New Jersey, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming (Los Angeles area preferred) Responsibilities • Design, build, and maintain UE5 animation systems using Animation Blueprints, state machines, blend spaces, montages, and layered animation. • Develop and support character rigs, Control Rigs, retargeting workflows, and MetaHuman animation integration. • Own animation integration from FBX import and skeleton setup through Blueprint configuration, gameplay implementation, and final validation. • Troubleshoot rigging, deformation, retargeting, blending, root motion, and runtime animation issues. • Create reusable tools and workflows that improve animation production and reduce repetitive work. • Build modular, maintainable systems that other technical artists and animators can extend independently. • Write clear documentation covering system structure, setup, usage, limitations, troubleshooting, and maintenance. • Train teammates and provide practical demonstrations to support successful adoption and handoff. • Work with animators, designers, engineers, and the Lead Animator to define requirements and preserve animation quality in-game. • Establish technical review criteria and validate submitted animation assets before production integration. • Profile and optimize animation systems for runtime performance and memory usage. • Independently plan work, communicate dependencies and risks, and track progress in Jira. Minimum Requirements • Professional technical animation experience on video game projects, with examples of systems or pipelines used in production. • Strong hands-on Unreal Engine 5 experience, including Animation Blueprints, state machines, blend spaces, montages, and Blueprint scripting. • Practical experience with MetaHuman, Control Rig, IK Rig, IK Retargeter, and skeletal animation workflows. • Strong understanding of character rigging, skinning, deformation, and animation fundamentals. • Experience integrating FBX animation assets into functional gameplay systems in Unreal Engine. • Proficiency in Maya or Blender and experience supporting workflows between DCC tools and Unreal Engine. • Ability to design reusable animation systems and troubleshoot issues across the asset-to-engine pipeline. • Clear written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain technical concepts to artists and engineers. • Demonstrated experience documenting systems and enabling teammates to use and maintain them independently. • A self-directed, organized approach to delivering production-ready work and coordinating across departments. Nice to Have • Several shipped PC or console games using Unreal Engine. • Experience with motion matching, procedural animation, motion warping, or Unreal's Gameplay Ability System. • Facial rigging, facial animation, or performance-capture integration experience. • Python, MEL, or C++ skills for tool development and automation. • Experience supporting humanoid characters, creatures, and characters with varied proportions. • Experience collaborating with distributed teams and external partners. Salary Range $100,000-$150,000 annually Compensation within the range will depend on experience, technical breadth, demonstrated production ownership, and location. Why Join the Snail Games USA Team? • True focus on work/life balance • Paid company holidays, vacation, and separate sick leave • Medical, dental, vision, and Life/LTD • 401k with company match Work Authorization Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States. Visa sponsorship is not available for this position. Additional Information As part of the Company's activities in video game development, publishing, and short-form video content creation, certain projects, discussions, or creative materials may include themes, visuals, language, or subject matter that some individuals could find mature, violent, sexual, graphic, or otherwise sensitive in nature ("Mature Content"). Examples may include, but are not limited to, depictions or descriptions of combat, violence, adult themes or relationships, suggestive or satirical humor, or strong language. Employees are expected to engage with such material in a professional and creative context as part of their job duties.