Technical Animator

Step Into the Multiverse: Your Next Adventure Starts Here 
At Wizards of the Coast, we harness the power of imagination and connection to create unforgettable experiences. We create entertainment that inspires creativity, sparks passion, forges friendships, and fosters communities around the globe. In every pursuit our mission is to inspire a lifetime love of games. Whether it's through the strategic depth of Magic: The Gathering®, the rich storytelling of Dungeons & Dragons®, or our AAA digital game studios, we build worlds that bring people together, spark creativity, and fuel adventure. As we continue to grow and explore new realms, we're seeking passionate, curious, and innovative minds to join the adventure.  

Skeleton Key is a game development studio and division of Wizards of the Coast. We are a group of industry veterans who are guided by the belief that empowering our teams and providing the necessary time, tools, and support we can foster a creative culture where everyone can do their best work.

Reporting to the Lead Technical Animator you will play a meaningful role as we start pre-production. You'll help to build, assess, and implement the animation vision for the project and support the cinematic and gameplay experiences in it. You will be responsible for developing and maintaining animation systems, rigging, pipelines and processes used by the animation team.

What You'll Do as a technical animator:

• Develop and maintain character rigs and skinning systems for lifelike animations.
• Build and implement tools to improve workflow efficiency for animators.
• Optimize animation pipelines for seamless game engine integration and improved performance.
• Implement procedural techniques to improve character movement and behavior.
• Collaborate with artists, animators, and programmers to align technical and artistic vision.
• Author documentation, tutorials, and training materials to educate team members.
  
  

What You'll Bring to the team:

• 3+ years of experience as a Technical Animator in video games.
• Proficiency in rigging and skinning using software like Maya, 3ds Max, or Blender.
• Experience developing custom tools for animators using programming languages like Python.
• Unreal Engine experience with animation systems (blueprints, control rigs, modifiers).
• Knowledge of motion capture processes, including data cleaning and integration.
• Proficiency in troubleshooting animation-related technical issues.
• Strong communication, organizational, and documentation skills.

Nice to Have:

• C++ Maya plugin development.
• Unreal Engine cloth / hair / ragdoll setup experience.
• Unreal Engine MetaHuman creation and customization.
• Qt or Pyside UI tool scripting.