Senior Technical Gameplay Animator

This is a hybrid / onsite position.  

For nearly 40 years, Naughty Dog has been crafting best-selling, critically acclaimed games that constantly push the boundaries of narrative, gameplay, and technology. Naughty Dog recently released The Last of Us Part II Remastered as well as a current generation remake of The Last of Us Part I for the PS5. We're also proud to say that The Last of Us Part I and Part II are now available for the first time on PC. Currently, we’re busy at the kennel working on Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, and we'd love to find talented individuals to join us!

Naughty Dog games have long been lauded for their evocative, character-driven stories and attention to detail. We are committed to innovation within our games and as such have curated some of the top creative and technically innovative minds in the industry. We welcome diverse candidates and believe that a broad range of cultural and life experiences contribute to the overall well-being and success of the studio and the titles we craft together.

Please note: This is not a rigging position. We are looking for an animator that is capable of being the bridge between art and technical teams by designing, implementing, and troubleshooting complex runtime animation systems and character behaviors. 

What you will do:

• Create high quality animation content supporting the newly developed behaviors and systems and implement it in engine
• Work with the animation leadership on defining and maintaining the style and quality bar of the in-game animation
• Collaborate with the Animation, Design, and Engineering teams to analyze, troubleshoot, and resolve in-game animation implementation issues and animation-related technical challenges
• Take ownership of challenging projects and provide innovative solutions, including mentoring team members and creating documentation
• Contribute to the strategic development of internal technologies and artistic processes
• Facilitate the creation and implementation of tools and techniques that allow the building of complex and high-quality animation systems
• Innovate and streamline animation pipeline processes and workflows

What skills you will use: 

• 5+ years of industry experience in gameplay animation for games
• Proven track record of creating visually stunning animations for diverse game genres
• Full understanding of in-game animation tools like state machines, blend trees, IK solvers, etc.
• Expertise with mocap and keyframe based digital content creation pipelines built on Maya or Motionbuilder
• Proficiency in Python, C#, C++ or other programming languages is required
• Proactively contributes to the progress of the team and the project

As a part of the Naughty Dog application process, candidates will be expected to provide a portfolio or demo reel of their work and may be asked to complete an animation test. 

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The estimated USA base pay range for this zone (Los Angeles area) is listed below. This role may be eligible for additional compensation packages that includes annual bonus and other incentive plans.