Senior Animator

Studio Overview

We are Sports Interactive. The studio behind:
Football Manager. Founded in 1994, Sports Interactive became a wholly owned subsidiary of SEGA Europe in 2006. Based at the Here East technology hub in Stratford, East London, the SI team continues to expand as we bring our titles to an ever‑growing audience across an increasing variety of platforms. To support our growth, we welcome the opportunity to connect with passionate people with the drive to match our ambitions and initiative to realise your individual potential.

Senior Animator

Art and Animation

Stephen Norgate

Hybrid 2-3 days | Remote by exception

Here East, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London, E15 2GW

We have an exciting opportunity for a Senior Animator to join the Art & Animation team at Sports Interactive. Following our transition to Unity, we are entering a new phase of development focused on raising the quality bar across our animation systems and overall visual output. As we continue to evolve our technology and workflows, we’re looking to expand our talented team with individuals who can help drive this next level of quality.

This is a great opportunity to work with modern engine technology and tools, contributing to the development of high‑quality animation content while helping shape the future of animation at Sports Interactive. In this role, you will play a key part in driving the quality and performance of animation across the project, creating compelling and immersive character experiences that support gameplay, narrative, and presentation.

You’ll collaborate closely across disciplines to deliver high‑quality animation while also identifying opportunities to improve workflows and pipelines. We’re looking for someone who combines strong creative and technical animation expertise with a proactive mindset – someone who can take ownership, solve complex problems, and help elevate both the quality of the work and the capabilities of the team.

• Create high‑quality, polished animations for characters, gameplay systems, and cinema tics.
• Own complex animation tasks, including full‑body, facial, and interactive animations.
• Direct and support motion capture shoots and refine captured data for in‑game use.
• Collaborate with Designers and Programmers to ensure animations meet gameplay needs and technical constraints.
• Support our Principal animator to define and maintain animation standards, benchmarks, and style guides.
• Identify and drive improvements to animation workflows, pipelines, and tools.
• Ensure animation work is optimized for real‑time performance without compromising quality.
• Support the development and integration of animation systems within the game engine.
• Provide clear, constructive feedback to peers and mentor junior and mid‑level animators.
• Contribute to team discussions, planning, and cross‑discipline problem solving.
• Communicate effectively with both technical and non‑technical stakeholders.

• Must have strong experience in game animation, with a focus on character, gameplay, and/or cinematic animation.
• Shipped at least one game to a comparable scale to Sports Interactive titles in a similar role.
• Has Unity experience.
• Advanced skills in creating realistic, expressive, and responsive animation.
• Experience working with motion capture pipelines, including directing shoots and cleanup.
• Has a solid understanding of how animation supports gameplay, systems, and player experience.
• The ability to balance visual quality with technical constraints and performance requirements.
• Experience owning large, complex animation features or tasks.
• A proactive approach to identifying problems and improving workflows.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to collaborate across multiple disciplines.
• Experience mentoring or supporting other animators.
• Organized and self‑motivated, with the ability to manage your work independently.
• A passion for animation and a drive to continually improve quality and process.

• Private Healthcare and Dental Plans.
• A range of Gym Membership options through our…