Technical Artist - Animation

About the Position

Keywords Studios Singapore is currently looking to expand its team. We're currently looking for AAA, experienced Technical Animation Artists. These opportunities can be located in either Malaysia or Indonesia (Remote). This is a permanent, full-time position.

Keywords Studios is a global leader providing art services to AAA Publishers. Our work can be seen across many of the top-selling titles on console and PC. We've secured an exciting AAA IP project and anticipate further project announcements early in 2026. You'll get to work alongside seasoned developers bringing expertise from world-class AAA studios.

Responsibilities

As a Technical Animation Artist at Keywords Studios, you will:

Collaboration & Support

• Work closely with animators, character artists, and gameplay engineers to ensure efficient workflows and high-fidelity animated content.
• Translate the technical requirements of the animation team into actionable solutions for engineering and pipeline teams.
• Diagnose and resolve complex animation-related issues including rig behavior, deformation quality, skeletal hierarchies, retargeting, and physics performance.

Rigging, Simulation & Animation Systems

• Design, build, and maintain modular, animator-friendly rigs for characters, creatures, props, facial animation, and mechanical assets.
• Implement and refine physics-based systems including ragdoll setups, cloth simulation, spline dynamics, secondary motion, and procedural animation solutions.
• Develop scalable animation blueprints, state machines, blend trees, and control rigs in Unreal or Unity.
• Integrate motion capture data, build retargeting pipelines, and ensure consistent motion quality across diverse character sets.

Tools, Pipelines & Optimisation

• Create and maintain tools, scripts, and automated pipelines that improve animation productivity and asset quality.
• Build validation tools to enforce naming conventions, skeleton standards, rig integrity, and performance budgets.
• Profile and optimize animation systems, rig performance, runtime solvers, and physics setups to work efficiently within hardware constraints.
• Participate in cross-discipline R&D to establish best practices for real-time deformation, procedural animation, and advanced simulation workflows.

Requirements

Programming & Scripting

• Experience with: Python, C#, MEL, PyMEL, MAXScript, Blueprints (Unreal), Editor Tools (Unity)
• Understanding of runtime animation systems, rig solvers, and physics components
• Familiarity with shader scripting (HLSL/GLSL) is a plus, particularly for deformation or skinning R&D

Skills

• Character & Creature Rigging
• Cloth / Hair / Ragdoll / Physics Setup
• Animation Pipeline Development
• Procedural Animation & Secondary Motion
• Performance Profiling & Optimisation
• Motion Capture Integration

Software / Tools

• Unreal Engine (Control Rig, Physics, Animation Blueprints)
• Unity (Mecanim, Animation Rigging Package, DOTS animation optional)
• Maya, 3DS Max (rigging, scripting, tool creation)
• Houdini (procedural rigs, physics, motion tools a bonus)
• Perforce, Git, plus standard DCC tools such as Photoshop, Substance.

We Offer

• Opportunity to work on AAA projects with a global leader in art services.
• Collaborative environment with seasoned developers from top AAA studios.
• Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB).

About the Company

Keywords Studios is an Equal Opportunity Employer and considers applicants for all positions without regard to race, ethnicity, religion or belief, sex, age, national origin, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws. If you require any adjustments during the process, please let us know in your application. We are committed to creating a dynamic work environment that values diversity and inclusion, respect and integrity, customer focus, and innovation. We especially welcome applications from candidates of underrepresented groups in the industry.

Note: Only those with relevant working rights for Malaysia and Indonesia will be considered. Sponsorship and relocation are not being offered as part of this package.