Lead Technical Animator

uk remote or west midlands based – birmingham / part-time contractor: x1 day per week

please note: we welcome applicants that prefer to work from home, so please get in touch!

role and purpose:

we are looking for an exceptionally skilled and experienced leader to be a fundamental driving force behind our technical animation team, both for flix’s own exclusive projects and alongside our high profile co-development partners. The ideal candidate will be able to support, inspire and motivate a diverse team of animators whilst utilising your technical abilities and creativity to breathe life into game assets;

being responsible for achieving the level of quality needed for characters, creatures, vehicles and objects in our games.

responsibilities:

• be responsible for technical animation pipeline and delivery across an entire project – managing and guiding highly skilled teams across multiple disciplines to deliver animation content and pipeline solutions to exceptional quality by delivery deadlines – whilst meeting all performance, gameplay and aesthetic targets.
• support the team to design, implement and optimise expressive and believable character animations, creature movements, and object interactions – ensuring seamless integration from prototype to final implementation.
• collaborate across disciplines to develop and maintain animation rigs, tools, and workflows that support both artistic vision and technical efficiency, while troubleshooting and refining systems to achieve high-quality, performant results in-engine.
• provide leadership, mentorship, and guidance to the animation team, fostering a collaborative and creative work environment.
• establish and communicate technical animation priorities, standards and direction for the team, ensuring consistency and quality project-wide.
• oversee the day-to-day progress of animation development, supporting your team with project-specific processes and problem-solving.
• champion best pipeline practices for animation creation, optimization, and performance, ensuring animation meets visual quality standards and works smoothly across target platforms.
• work alongside the other leads to solve problems and define and scope content, considering dependencies and bottlenecks.
• own delivery of completed technical animation solutions, presenting work to internal and external stakeholders with exceptional communication and presentation skills.
• lead by example, keeping an enthusiastic attitude for the project whilst motivating and supporting a diverse team of animators.
• manage staff interviews, onboarding, mentorship programmes and performance reviews, fostering skill development and artistic growth.
• support the animation team studio-wide, perpetuating and building on our studio culture.
• stay informed about industry trends and emerging technologies in games and related media, identifying areas we can improve and working with others to action.

requirements:

• professional experience in a lead/senior animator role for games, including shipped titles in a leadership position, with an exceptional portfolio demonstrating excellent understanding of animation pipeline and quality.
• expert level understanding of the full animation production pipeline for unreal engine content, and highly skilled with unreal engine animation tools such as animation montages, animation blueprints, state machines, blend trees and animation modifiers.
• high proficiency in relevant industry-standard software including rig creation and skinning in maya, blender or equivalent.
• a creative eye and care for animation direction in your own work and the work of your team.
• mastery of animation fundamentals such as weight, timing, and posing, as well as understanding of character anatomy, movement, and performance principles.
• strong support-focused interpersonal skills, able to communicate, collaborate and mentor effectively.
• able to manage your time effectively, delegating and prioritising based on project need.
• a passion for gaming and a commitment to delivering visually stunning and captivating gaming experiences.
• a passion for leadership and skills development, keeping up with animation technology such as retargeting pipelines,…