Animation Director

Job Summary 

The Animation Director works closely with the Directors of the Studio to translate the overall creative vision into cohesive, high-quality animation direction and practices. This key leadership role supports Game Directors and leads the animation team, providing artistic and technical direction, methodologies, and inspiration to deliver compelling character performances and immersive animation systems that elevate the overall player experience. 

Responsibilities 

• Define and maintain the studio’s animation vision, style, and principles, in alignment with the overall creative direction.
• Collaborate with Game Directors to guide and oversee animation direction across each project, ensuring consistency, quality, emotional impact, and alignment with gameplay and narrative goals.
• Contribute, as part of the Directors Team, to maintaining consistency and cross-project quality across all titles in development.
• Work with the Studio Director and Production Director on animation resource planning and management.
• Supervise and support the animation team, fostering a culture of creativity, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Review animation pipelines, tools, and implementation processes to ensure efficiency, scalability, and high production quality.
• Provide strategic and operational feedback on character animation, cinematics, motion quality, and integration with gameplay systems.
• Collaborate with Technical Directors and Engineering teams to optimize animation systems, workflows, and performance within the engine.
• Stay up to date with industry trends, emerging technologies (e.g. motion capture, procedural animation), and animation techniques, integrating best practices into the studio’s processes.

Requirements 

• Minimum 8 years of experience in animation for games, including at least 3 years in a leadership or director role.
• Proven experience working on AA/AAA titles or other high-quality productions.
• Deep understanding of animation principles, character performance, body mechanics, and storytelling through motion.
• Solid experience with Unreal Engine animation systems (e.g. Animation Blueprints, state machines, blend spaces).
• Familiarity with industry-standard animation tools (e.g. Maya, MotionBuilder) and pipelines.
• Ability to lead and align multiple project teams with different creative goals.
• Excellent communication, leadership, and mentorship skills.
• Fluency in English (spoken and written).

Plus 

• Experience working in studios handling multiple projects simultaneously.
• Experience with motion capture pipelines and performance direction.
• Experience training and developing animators.

Skills 

• Strong artistic vision combined with technical understanding of animation systems.
• Ability to evaluate and improve animation quality based on player and critic feedback.
• Strategic mindset with strong operational awareness.
• Capacity to unify animation direction across teams and projects.
• Decision-making grounded in both artistic goals and technical constraints.
• Constant commitment to quality, clarity, and innovation.

Soft Skills 

• Clear, confident, and authoritative communication style.
• Curiosity, adaptability, and a strong collaborative spirit.
• Proactive attitude and ability to manage complexity.
• Clear, positive, and constructive communication.
• Genuine passion for video games, animation, and storytelling.

Submit your resume and a short cover letter to join Stormind Games.