3D Animator

We are looking for a talented and creative 3D Animator & Rigger to help bring the characters and creatures to life
Working closely with the Game Director, 3D Character Artist and programming team, you will be responsible for developing animation-ready character rigs and creating expressive animations for gameplay and cinematic sequences.
The ideal candidate has a strong understanding of character movement, body mechanics, animation principles and rigging workflows, with the ability to translate personality and emotion through movement.
Our animation direction emphasises a distinctive handcrafted aesthetic, drawing inspiration from stop-motion animation, gothic fantasy and stylised cinematic storytelling.
Characters should feel expressive, slightly imperfect and physically believable within the game's unsettling world. Subtle gestures, unusual movement patterns and carefully controlled timing will play an important role in establishing atmosphere.
You will have meaningful creative input into the movement and behaviour of the game's characters while helping establish a consistent animation style across the project.
Responsibilities

• Create and maintain animation-ready skeletal rigs for stylised characters and creatures.
• Develop high-quality character animations for real-time gameplay in Unreal Engine 5.
• Animate locomotion, including idle, walking, running, turning and transitions.
• Create contextual animations for interactions, environmental puzzles and scripted events.
• Develop expressive character performances using body language, posture, timing and movement.
• Create stylised creature animations that reinforce each character's personality and behaviour.
• Rig and skin character models, ensuring clean deformation and reliable animation performance.
• Collaborate with the 3D Character Artist to resolve topology, skinning and deformation issues.
• Import, test and refine skeletal meshes and animation assets in Unreal Engine 5.
• Work with programmers to support animation integration, blending and gameplay responsiveness.
• Maintain consistency with the project's established animation and artistic direction.
• Optimise animation assets and rigs for real-time performance.

What We're Looking For

• Strong portfolio or animation showreel demonstrating 3D character animation and rigging.
• Experience creating character animations for video games or real-time environments.
• Good understanding of the 12 principles of animation, body mechanics, weight and timing.
• Experience creating skeletal rigs, skin weights and deformation systems.
• Proficiency in Blender, Maya or equivalent 3D animation software.
• Understanding of animation-friendly character topology and skeletal hierarchies.
• Ability to create convincing movement for stylised characters and creatures.
• Experience exporting animation assets for use in game engines.
• Good communication and collaboration skills.
• Comfortable working remotely within a small independent development team.
• Passion for gothic horror, dark fantasy and expressive character animation.

Desirable Skills

• Experience with Unreal Engine 5 animation pipelines.
• Knowledge of Animation Blueprints, Blend Spaces, State Machines and Montages.
• Familiarity with Control Rig and IK Rig / IK Retargeter workflows.
• Experience with stylised, handcrafted or stop-motion-inspired animation.
• Experience animating unusual creatures, dolls, puppets or non-human characters.
• Understanding of root motion and in-place animation workflows.
• Experience with facial rigging, blend shapes and expressive facial animation.
• Familiarity with procedural animation, inverse kinematics and animation layering.
• Experience creating cinematic animations using Unreal Engine Sequencer.
• Basic Blueprint knowledge for animation implementation and gameplay integration.
• Previous experience working on indie games or narrative-driven projects.