Senior Gameplay Animator at Skydance Games, Austin

Skydance Games, a cornerstone division of Paramount, a Skydance Corporation
, is at the forefront of a new era in interactive entertainment. We are not just making games; we are crafting immersive legacies. Following the ambitious momentum of Marvel 1943:
Rise of Hydra, we are seeking a visionary Senior Gameplay Animator to help anchor our core team.

This role is designed for a veteran artist who thrives at the intersection of technical logic and cinematic artistry. As a Senior member of our agile animation department, you will be a primary driver of character feel, weight, and responsiveness in a high-profile AAA single-player, story-driven action-adventure title built within the Unreal Engine
.

Category
Details

Company Skydance Games (Paramount, a Skydance Corporation)

Position Title Senior Gameplay Animator

Employment Type Full-Time

Work Model Remote / Hybrid / On-site Options

Strategic Hubs Santa Monica (LA), Austin (TX), Seattle (WA)

Annual Salary (LA) $120,000 – $135,000 (Base salary only)

Experience Level Senior (6+ Years / 2+ Shipped AAA Titles)

Primary Toolset Unreal Engine, Motion Matching, Motion Warping

At Skydance Games, our philosophy is rooted in the belief that small, elite teams can achieve extraordinary things when empowered with trust and creative autonomy. Being a part of the broader Paramount ecosystem allows us the resources of a global media titan while maintaining the soul and agility of a boutique studio.

• Creativity: We don’t just solve problems; we invent new ways to play.
• Collaboration: Animation is the heartbeat of gameplay, requiring a seamless dialogue between designers, engineers, and narrative leads.
• Trust: We give our seniors the space to take ownership of their systems, encouraging bold visions that challenge industry expectations.

As a Senior Gameplay Animator, your influence extends beyond the animation timeline. You are a mentor, a technical pioneer, and a guardian of the project’s visual fidelity.

You will provide daily, expert-level editing and tuning of motion capture-based content. This isn’t just about cleaning data; it’s about "plussed up" the performance to bring that elusive "super" quality to our heroes. You must be adept at hand-keying high-quality placeholder content for rapid prototyping, ensuring that the gameplay feel is established long before final assets are integrated.

In collaboration with the Engineering and Design departments, you will devise and debug complex animation systems. You will be a power user of Unreal Engine’s most advanced features—specifically Motion Matching and Motion Warping
—to ensure that character movement is not only realistic but also highly responsive to player input.

A unique aspect of this senior role is the responsibility to guide and mentor. You will oversee a distributed team of external animation partners, providing the clear communication and technical feedback necessary to ensure their output meets Skydance’s rigorous quality standards and stays on schedule.

You will be an active participant in the entire lifecycle of a character. This includes:

• Motion Capture Shoots: Assisting in the direction of talent to ensure the data captured serves the technical needs of the gameplay systems.
• Cinematic Synergy: Working as a bridge between gameplay and cinematic animation to ensure the transition between "playing" and "watching" is indistinguishable and fluid.
• Narrative Alignment: Partnering with Animation Directors to ensure that every movement—no matter how small—is an extension of the character’s personality and the story’s tone.

Skydance Games is seeking a seasoned professional who has "been in the trenches" of AAA development and has the battle scars to prove it. The ideal candidate blends deep technical knowledge with the intuition of a traditional animator.

• The 6+ Year Mark: You have spent at least six years refining your craft in…