Principal Technical Animator

<table> <thead> <tr> <th style="text-align: left;"> <p>Job Title</p> </th> <th style="text-align: left;"> <p>Principal Technical Animator (Gameplay)</p> </th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td> <p><strong>Department</strong></p> </td> <td> <p><strong>Technical Art</strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p><strong>Location(s) </strong></p> </td> <td> <p><strong>Brighton, Prague, Brno</strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p><strong>Reports To </strong></p> </td> <td> <p><strong>Associate Director Technical Animation</strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p><strong>Job Type (Permanent, fixed term, internship) </strong></p> </td> <td> <p><strong>Permanent</strong></p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p> </p> <p><strong>Job Summary </strong></p> <p>The Principal Technical Animator (Gameplay) will help define the technical vision, architectural framework, and long-term strategy for character animation integration across the studio. In this highly influential role, you will champion innovation, driving the adoption of cutting-edge technologies to ensure our games achieve world-class animation quality and responsiveness. You will serve as a technical authority on gameplay animation, solving the studio’s complex R&D challenges while collaborating with design, animation and engineering to establish future-proof pipelines. While not a people manager, you will inspire, mentor, and elevate the technical capabilities of the entire animation department. </p> <p><strong>Duties and Responsibilities </strong></p> <ul> <li><strong>Architect and oversee</strong> the high-level design of gameplay animation systems, ensuring scalability, performance, and seamless integration across complex real-time systems.</li> <li><strong>Drive R&D initiatives</strong> to evaluate and implement cutting-edge animation technologies (e.g., advanced Motion Matching, machine learning/AI animation, next-gen physics).</li> <li><strong>Partner with Engineering and Tech Animation leadership</strong> to implement project-wide animation roadmaps and toolsets. </li> <li><strong>Solve deep, complex runtime bugs</strong> and drive animation optimisation efforts to meet strict performance and memory budgets.</li> <li><strong>Define and document</strong> technical standards, best practices, and pipeline workflows for the wider technical animation team.</li> <li><strong>Collaborate closely with Design and Animation leads</strong> to heavily iterate on and perfect 3C mechanics (character, camera, controls), maximizing game feel.</li> <li><strong>Actively mentor and upskill</strong> senior and mid-level technical animators through code/blueprint reviews and hands-on guidance.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Essential Skills, Attributes and Experience</strong></p> <ul> <li><strong>Extensive proven experience</strong> architecting and integrating gameplay animation systems for AAA titles using Unreal Engine.</li> <li><strong>Master-level expertise</strong> in Unreal Engine’s animation suite (Anim Blueprints, Motion Matching, Control Rig, State Machines, and Sequencer).</li> <li><strong>Deep technical understanding</strong> of low-level animation concepts, including runtime optimisa