Software Engineer, Animation
Absurdventures · Santa Monica
About this role
**Summary** We’re seeking a skilled **Animation Engineer** to join our team and help develop the systems and technology that bring characters to life in a new IP AAA open-world game. You’ll work closely with Animators, Gameplay Engineers, Designers, and Technical Artists to build and support responsive, performant, high-quality character animation systems in **Unreal Engine**. You’ll contribute to runtime animation systems, tools, and workflows that enable the team to create believable characters while meeting the technical and performance demands of a large-scale game. This is a hands-on engineering role for someone who enjoys solving problems at the intersection of animation, gameplay, and technology. **Core Responsibilities** - Develop, maintain, and improve runtime animation systems for player characters, NPCs, creatures, and enemy characters. - Work closely with Animators, Designers, and Gameplay/AI Engineers to implement responsive, high-quality character behaviors and animation-driven gameplay. - Build and support animation systems for locomotion, traversal, interactions, combat, crowds, and other gameplay scenarios. - Develop tools and workflows that improve the efficiency and iteration speed of the Animation team. - Implement and support animation functionality using **C++**, **Blueprints**, **Animation Blueprints**, state machines, blend spaces, montages, and other Unreal Engine animation technologies. - Collaborate with Technical Animation and Technical Art to integrate character rigs, animation assets, and procedural systems into the game. - Profile and optimize animation systems for runtime performance, memory, and scalability. - Work within existing engineering architecture and contribute clean, maintainable, well-documented code. - Participate in code reviews and technical discussions; contribute to engineering standards and best practices. - Proactively identify animation technology risks and communicate technical challenges and potential solutions. **Core Qualifications** - 3+ years of professional experience as a Gameplay Engineer or similar role in the video game industry, including work on animation systems. - Strong **C++** programming skills and experience developing real-time game systems. - Professional experience working with **Unreal Engine**. - Strong understanding of real-time character animation concepts (animation blending, state machines, locomotion, inverse kinematics, animation-driven gameplay). - Experience with Unreal Engine animation systems (Animation Blueprints, Blend Spaces, Montages, skeletal animation). - Strong debugging and problem-solving skills across code and animation content. - Experience collaborating directly with Animators, Designers, Technical Artists, and other Engineers. - Strong communication skills and a collaborative mindset. **Plus if…** - Experience with AAA, open-world, or large-scale 3D games. - Experience developing Unreal Engine editor tools or animation pipeline tools. - Experience with gameplay animation techniques such as motion matching, motion warping, procedural animation, or physical animation. - Familiarity with motion capture pipelines and animation data processing. - Experience profiling and optimizing animation systems on console hardware. **Role Details** - Full-time job with benefits. - On-site in **Santa Monica, CA**. - Office located near downtown Santa Monica (near metro and freeways). **Compensation & Benefits** - Base pay range: **$120,000 – $150,000/
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