Lead Animator - Gameplay​/Chef.fe d'équipe de l’animation – Gameplay

Position: Lead Animator - Gameplay / Chef.fe d'équipe de l’animation – Gameplay
Location: Montreal

Full-time
Business Segment: NBCU Corporate

Company Description
NBCUniversal is one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies. We create world-class content, which we distribute across our portfolio of film, television, and streaming, and bring to life through our global theme park destinations, consumer products, and experiences. We own and operate leading entertainment and news brands, including NBC, NBC News, NBC Sports, Telemundo, NBC Local Stations, Bravo, and Peacock, our premium ad-supported streaming service.

We produce and distribute premier filmed entertainment and programming through our powerhouse film and television studios, including Universal Pictures, Dream Works Animation, and Focus Features, and the four global television studios under the Universal Studio Group banner, and operate industry-leading theme parks and experiences around the world through Universal Destinations & Experiences, including Universal Orlando Resort, home to Universal Epic Universe, and Universal Studios Hollywood.

NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation. Visit  for more information.

Our impact is rooted in improving the communities where our employees, customers, and audiences live and work. We have a rich tradition of giving back and ensuring our employees have the opportunity to serve their communities. We champion an inclusive culture and strive to attract and develop a talented workforce to create and deliver a wide range of content reflecting our world.

Job Description
The Lead Animator supervises a team of animators in creating and implementing top-tier animation for real time gameplay systems. You will be responsible for managing the creation and delivery of exceptional NPC and player animations while providing clear direction, constructive feedback, and mentorship to your team. You will ensure that production goals are met and that the animation production runs smoothly and efficiently depending on the needs of production.

The lead animator guides the animation team in creating expressive, polished, and gameplay-ready animations that elevate the player experience.

This role blends artistic leadership with technical expertise, ensuring that animation quality, style, and performance meet the standards of AAA production.

Help design, construct, document and uphold pipeline procedures to deliver competitive, cutting-edge assets.

Motivate, mentor and inspire the animation team. Support animators in their career development, while guiding them through various stages of production with clear direction.

Coordinate and update the production team on assignments for the animation team.

Sync and communicate with other leads and disciplines and help resolve production blockers.

Create, document and communicate guidelines, directories and procedures.

Help create gameplay animation content as required, working with mocap data, keyframed animations and facial animations, to set a quality bar for other animators to follow.

Create style guides, best-practice documents, and clear communication channels for the team.

Qualifications

7+ years of experience as 3D character animator in video game development, having worked on at least two AAA games.

Strong communication and leadership skills and the ability to work within cross-disciplinary teams. Experienced in leading others.

Expert knowledge of industry-standard animation tools such as Motion builder or Maya.

Strong understanding of gameplay-systems and in-game engine workflows.

Excellent key frame and mocap animation skills with a great understanding of human motion, body mechanics, biped locomotion and animation principles.

Experience with Unreal 5 is a strongly desired asset.

Desired Characteristics:

Shipped at least one major title as a senior or lead animator.

Experience creating scripted events and cutscenes.

Experience in developing first-person and third-person gameplay systems and good understanding of 3C concepts

Understanding of animation-graph techniques and workflows

Experience working on locomotion, occupation, conversation and traversal systems

Understanding of camera animation and creation of a cinematic experience

Experience in creating creature-, animal- and combat-animations

Additional Information
As part of our selection process, external candidates may be required to attend an in-person interview with an NBCUniversal employee at one of our locations prior to a hiring decision. NBCUniversal's policy is to provide equal employment opportunities to all applicants and…