3D Animator (Lead)

We are looking for a skilled Lead 3D Animator to design and maintain the full animation pipeline, starting from rigging stylized low-poly 3D characters to producing clean 2D animation assets in Spine and integrating them into Unity. You will take ownership of the workflow, set animation standards, and collaborate with designers, engineers, and VFX artists to ensure smooth, high-quality motion in game. This role is both creative and technical, offering the opportunity to build a robust pipeline that delivers expressive and optimized animations for live products.

Key Responsibilities

• Pipeline development: Define and manage the 3D → 2D render process (camera setup, frame rate, resolution, lighting, export templates) ensuring consistency across Spine assets.
• Spine animation: Build skeletons, mesh weights, skins, and constraints; create polished animation clips (idle, movement, attacks, reactions, emotes).
• Asset preparation: Deliver optimized sprite sheets and Spine exports (JSON/Binary) ready for Unity integration.
• Rigging & character animation: Rig low-poly characters with clean deformations and expressive poses; animate game-ready cycles with strong timing, weight, and exaggeration.
• Integration: Implement Spine content into Unity, set up animation states, transitions, and events; collaborate with engineers to connect gameplay logic.

• Collaboration & workflow: Partner with artists, designers, and VFX to ensure clarity, performance, and visual quality. Establish standards, documentation, and tools for scalable production.

   

Required Skills & Experience

• 5+ years of character animation experience in games or interactive media.
• Strong rigging and keyframe animation skills in Blender or Maya (low-poly stylized characters).
• Hands-on experience creating Spine rigs and animations for runtime integration.
• Proven knowledge of 3D → 2D rendering pipelines optimized for mobile performance.
• Excellent grasp of animation principles (timing, spacing, arcs, weight, anticipation, follow-through).

• Ability to write clear documentation and specifications for engineers and other team members.

   

Nice to Have

• Familiarity with Unity animation systems (Animator Controller, blend trees, Timeline).
• Experience customizing Spine-Unity runtime or shaders for 2D/Spine content.
• Knowledge of live-ops delivery systems (asset bundles, addressables).

• Basic scripting for automation (Python/MEL for rigging, C# for Unity integration).

   

What We Offer

• A leadership role with creative influence on animation style and production.
• Opportunity to establish and refine a scalable animation pipeline.
• Collaborative environment with cross-disciplinary teams.
• Competitive salary, flexible working model (remote/hybrid/on-site).
• Professional growth support (learning budget, mentoring opportunities).
• Hardware allowance and paid time off.
• Travel opportunities if relocation or on-site collaboration is of interest.