Lead Technical Animator

About the Position

Lead Technical Animator

Epic Games is seeking a Lead Technical Animator with extensive rigging experience in Maya and Unreal Engine 5 to join our team in multiple US locations.

About the Role

At Epic Games, we pride ourselves on creating a collaborative, welcoming, and creative environment. Our team is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of engine and game development, always striving to innovate and inspire.

Responsibilities

In this role, you will:

• Work closely with technical animators, Leads, Directors, and Outsource Managers to ensure assets are set up for success in the different stages of production.
• Communicate and drive alignment around strategy for technical animation and adjacent cosmetics teams.
• Work with production to schedule, prioritize, and delegate assets for the team, both internal and vendor.
• Collaborate with animators, modelers, and designers to ensure a smooth development pipeline that delivers high-quality assets.
• Assist with pipeline tools and work with engine and project leads on the continuous improvement of those engine tools.
• Mentor rigging-focused technical animators.
• Rig characters, weapons, creatures, and vehicles.
• Set up assets in Unreal Engine 5, including control rigs, cloth, physics, and blueprints.
• Maintain detailed documentation, video reference, and examples of art asset production, procedures, and engine requirements to support internal and external artists.

Requirements

• Extensive experience rigging characters in Maya and/or Unreal Engine.
• A portfolio demonstrating rigging for a range of characters, bipeds, and creatures, both body and faces.
• Attention to aesthetic detail, especially with regard to character deformation and physics movement.
• Familiarity with the Unreal Engine 5 art pipeline.
• A positive individual with strong written communication and teamwork skills.
• Exceptional problem-solver.

Nice to Have

• Control Rig experience.
• Python programming.

We Offer

• Competitive salary.
• Opportunity to work in a leading interactive entertainment company.
• Collaborative and innovative work environment.

About the Company

Epic Games is a leading interactive entertainment company. For over 30 years, we've been making award-winning games and engine technology that empowers others to create visually stunning games and 3D content. Our Unreal Engine technology is used by developers and content creators across various industries, including media and entertainment, automotive, and architectural design.

Pay Transparency Information

The expected annual base pay range(s) for this position are detailed below. Each base pay range is relevant only for individuals who are residents of or will be expected to work within the specified locale. Compensation varies based on a variety of factors, which include (but aren’t limited to) things such as skills and competencies, qualifications, knowledge, and experience. In addition to base pay, most employees are eligible to participate in Epic’s generous benefit plans and discretionary incentive programs (subject to the terms of those plans or programs).

• New York City Base Pay Range: $189,482-$277,906 USD
• California Base Pay Range: $166,744-$244,558 USD
• Washington Base Pay Range: $151,585-$222,324 USD

Note to Recruitment Agencies: Epic does not accept any unsolicited resumes or approaches from any unauthorized third party (including recruitment or placement agencies) (i.e., a third party with whom we do not have a negotiated and validly executed agreement). We will not pay any fees to any unauthorized third party. Further details on these matters can be found here.

Join our team and be a part of something Epic!

Epic Games deeply values diverse teams and an inclusive work culture, and we are proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer. Learn more about our Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy here.