Senior Animation Engineer

As a Senior Animation Engineer at 31st Union, your primary responsibilities revolve around designing and optimizing high-performance animation systems for our AAA title, Project ETHOS. You will collaborate closely with animators, artists, and engineers to ensure that character movements are fluid and responsive, all while integrating animation systems with other gameplay elements like AI and player controls. Your role will also involve refining animation performance for smooth gameplay in multiplayer environments.

To be considered for the Senior Animation Engineer role at 31st Union, candidates should possess strong proficiency in C++, and experience with game engine internals, particularly animation systems. A solid understanding of 3D math and proven ability to collaborate with cross-disciplinary teams are essential. Familiarity with Unreal Engine 4/5's animation tools and performance optimization for AAA titles, particularly on consoles, is highly beneficial.

As a Senior Animation Engineer at 31st Union, you will primarily work on Project ETHOS, which is a free-to-play, 3rd person rogue-like hero shooter. This project is at the cutting edge of game design, allowing you to employ innovative animation techniques that enhance character movements and enrich the player's experience.

At 31st Union, we pride ourselves on our commitment to diversity, ensuring that our team members, partners, and communities reflect a wide range of voices. We believe that a diverse team not only fosters creativity but also strengthens our games. We are committed to equal employment opportunity and support initiatives that promote inclusive hiring to create a welcoming environment for all.

Senior Animation Engineers at 31st Union are offered a competitive salary ranging from $120,000 to $160,000 annually. Additionally, our total compensation package includes bonuses and/or equity awards, alongside a comprehensive range of medical, financial, and other benefits. We make it a priority to provide our employees with a supportive and rewarding work environment.

In answering this question, focus on specific projects where you worked on animation system optimization. Discuss the techniques you employed to ensure high performance across different platforms, such as profiling tools or algorithms you applied, and emphasize the impact of your work on gameplay fluidity and responsiveness.

When discussing character animation blending, detail your familiarity with blend trees, procedural animation techniques, and any specific tools you’ve used in Unreal Engine. You might want to highlight a project where your blending techniques improved character realism and player engagement.

In your response, discuss your understanding of how animation systems must work in concert with AI-driven characters. Provide examples of your experience implementing responsive animations based on AI decision-making, ensuring that player control and AI movements feel seamless and intuitive.

Here, it’s essential to elaborate on your hands-on experience with Unreal Engine’s animation resources like Animation Blueprint and Control Rig. Mention any particular projects where you utilized these tools effectively to create dynamic animations that align with gameplay mechanics.

You should discuss the principles of inverse kinematics (IK) and how it plays a crucial role in character movement and animation accuracy. Illustrate your answer with instances where you applied IK in previous projects to improve character interactions in complex animations.

In responding to this question, emphasize your problem-solving skills and detail a systematic approach to debugging animation scripts. Provide examples of specific challenges you faced and how you resolved them to maintain animation quality and performance.

Here, describe specific techniques for creating smooth transitions between animations, such as blending techniques and state machines. Mention how you have applied these methods in prior projects and their effect on overall player experience.

Discuss the importance of cross-discipline collaboration in your work and share specific examples of projects where you have co-created or received feedback from artists and designers. Highlight effective communication and iterative processes as key components.

In answering this question, be specific about a challenge you faced, whether it was technical or collaborative, and detail the steps you took to resolve it. This shows your resilience and ability to learn from difficult situations in animation development.

Your response should reflect genuine enthusiasm for 31st Union and Project ETHOS. Discuss what excites you about the company's mission, culture, and the opportunity to work on innovative gaming projects, along with how your skills align with their vision.