Super Spline Studios Lead 3D Games Animator

Super Spline Studios is seeking an experienced Lead 3D Games Animator to join its animation leadership team. This position is responsible for supervising character animation production across gameplay systems, cinema tics, and mechanics while mentoring internal and external animators.

The selected candidate will guide animation quality standards, collaborate closely with cross-discipline teams, coordinate schedules, and ensure that animation assets integrate smoothly into real-time engines.

This role requires strong artistic direction capability combined with pipeline awareness and production leadership skills.

Company Name: Super Spline Studios

Job Title: Lead 3D Games Animator

Employment Type: Permanent / Full-Time

Work Mode: Remote (Europe) or Hybrid (Leamington Spa, UK studio)

Location Options: Europe Remote or Leamington Spa Office (United Kingdom)

Experience

Required:

Minimum 7+ years in game animation

Department: Animation / Gameplay / Cinematics

Tools

Required:

Autodesk Maya, Unity, Unreal Engine (UE4/UE5)

Leadership Level: Lead / Senior

Schedule: 4-day work week

Salary Range: Competitive (based on experience and location)

Industry: Video Game Development / Animation Co-Development

Super Spline Studios is a specialized animation co-development partner supporting game studios with high-quality character animation, technical animation workflows, and cinematic production across multiple platforms. The studio collaborates with leading global entertainment companies and game developers and provides flexible remote-friendly production environments tailored to animation professionals.

The studio follows a people-first production philosophy
, offering structured career progression support, training subsidies, profit-share initiatives, and a permanent four-day work week policy designed to improve work-life balance without reducing compensation.

This opportunity is ideal for experienced animation professionals looking to transition into a leadership-focused gameplay animation role within a collaborative and technically advanced production environment.

The Lead Animator will contribute across creative execution, technical delivery, and team leadership functions.

• Lead animation production across gameplay and cinematic sequences
• Maintain consistent animation quality standards across projects
• Provide creative direction for character personality, movement style, and performance delivery
• Ensure animation assets support gameplay readability and responsiveness

• Mentor junior and mid-level animators
• Coordinate workload distribution across animation teams
• Support external animation partners and freelancers
• Provide feedback reviews and performance guidance
• Foster collaboration between animation, rigging, design, and engineering teams

• Create animation schedules aligned with project milestones
• Support delivery planning and timeline tracking
• Communicate progress updates with internal leadership and clients
• Manage animation priorities across multiple concurrent projects
• Implement animations directly into game engines
• Work with animation state machines and runtime behavior systems
• Coordinate motion capture planning and shoot direction when required
• Support technical animation workflows including rigging and skinning integration

Applicants should demonstrate strong professional experience in gameplay animation leadership within real-time production pipelines.

• Minimum 7 years professional animation experience in video games
• Experience leading animation teams on shipped titles
• Previous freelance or co-development experience considered advantageous
• Proven ability to manage animation schedules and production deliverables

Candidates should demonstrate proficiency in:

• Gameplay animation systems
• Animation state machines
• Motion capture workflows
• Rigging and skinning fundamentals

Experience with the following engines is preferred:

Applicants must demonstrate strong creative animation capability across multiple styles and gameplay contexts. This includes:

• High-quality hand-keyed character animation
• Creature animation workflows
• Environmental animation assets
• Stylized and realistic animation styles
• Personality-driven performance animation
• Gameplay readability and responsiveness awareness

The ability to adapt animation style depending on project requirements is essential.

The Lead Animator plays a critical role in shaping both animation output and team performance. Candidates should demonstrate:

• Problem-solving capability across pipeline challenges
• Confidence mentoring internal and external team members
• Ownership of production responsibilities
• Ability to provide constructive creative feedback

A collaborative mindset and supportive leadership approach are highly valued.

The successful candidate will also contribute to:

• Animation scheduling and milestone planning
• Production tracking and reporting
• Cross-discipline collaboration with designers and programmers
• Animation polish and gameplay…