SENIOR TECHNICAL ANIMATOR

About This Position SportSpired Games is looking for a Senior Technical Animator to help build and evolve the character animation technology behind our next-generation AAA sports simulator.

In this role, you will work at the intersection of animation, character technology, and engineering, developing rigs, real-time animation systems, tools, and pipelines in Unreal Engine 5. You will collaborate closely with Animators, Technical Artists, Designers, and Engineers to turn creative requirements into scalable, production-ready solutions.

SportSpired Games is an international game studio developing next-generation sports simulators. Our team includes professionals with experience at Wargaming, MY.GAMES, Ubisoft, 343 Industries, Starbreeze, Sperasoft, and EA Sports. We are currently working on a large-scale AAA title planned for release in 2028–2029.

Responsibilities

• Create and maintain production-ready character rigs, skinning, and animator-friendly control systems
• Develop real-time character rigging and post-process solutions in Unreal Engine 5
• Set up, debug, and maintain hair and cloth simulation
• Develop and improve technical animation pipelines, workflows, and custom tools
• Build supporting animation logic for complex real-time animation systems
• Translate creative and design requirements into technically achievable animation solutions, including scope and production estimates
• Collaborate with Animators, Technical Artists, Designers, and Engineers on character and animation features
• Troubleshoot technical animation issues and drive improvements in character quality and gameplay

Requirements

• 5+ years of professional experience in Technical Animation or a similar role in the game industry
• Strong hands-on experience with Unreal Engine 5 in a technical animation environment
• Strong knowledge of modern body, facial, hair, and cloth rigging pipelines
• Experience with character rigging, skinning, and real-time animation workflows
• Strong understanding of Unreal Engine animation systems, including Motion Matching, State Machines, Blend Graphs, MetaHuman, and Control Rig
• Ability to design and implement supporting animation logic for complex animation systems
• Understanding of client-server animation systems and multiplayer constraints
• Strong problem-solving skills and ability to translate creative requirements into robust technical solutions
• Strong communication and cross-functional collaboration skills

Nice to Have

• Experience profiling and optimizing animation systems
• Experience developing custom animation tools used in production
• Experience working on a shipped AAA title
• Experience with large-scale PC and Console productions