Technical Animator – Rigging

Job Description

As a Technical Animator specializing in Rigging, you will: • Design, create, and maintain high-quality character, weapon, props, and creature rigs for real-time applications. • Develop and improve skinning, deformation systems, and blend shape setups to achieve high visual fidelity. • Work closely with Animators to ensure rigs are intuitive, efficient, and production-ready. • Collaborate with Character Artists, Modelers, and Engineers to integrate assets seamlessly into the game engine. • Implement and support rigs inside Unreal Engine, ensuring compatibility with animation systems and gameplay requirements. • Use Animation Blueprints to support animation logic, blending, and state machines when needed. • Create and maintain rigging tools and pipeline solutions (primarily in Maya or similar DCCs) to improve team efficiency. • Support and troubleshoot issues related to rigs, skinning, and animation workflows. • Contribute to the improvement of the animation pipeline, identifying opportunities for enhancement and optimization. • Act as a key point of contact for rigging-related technical challenges across the team.

Qualifications

To succeed in this role, you should possess: 1. Strong expertise in rigging, skinning, and deformation systems for characters and creatures. 2. Hands-on experience with the Unreal Engine animation pipeline, including Animation Blueprints. 3. Solid understanding of the full 3D art pipeline (modeling, rigging, skinning, export, integration). 4. Experience building and maintaining custom rigging tools and workflows. 5. Experience with 3D DCC tools (Maya preferred) for rig creation and tool development. 6. Understanding of real-time constraints and optimization for game development. 7. Familiarity with physics-based systems (cloth, hair, secondary motion rigs). 8. Basic to intermediate knowledge of programming/scripting (Python, C#, or C++). 9. Strong problem-solving skills and ability to collaborate with multidisciplinary teams. 10. Fluency in English and Spanish (written and spoken).

Benefits

At Nimble Giant Entertainment, you'll enjoy: - A culture where excellence is a core driver. - Continuous learning opportunities to stay at the forefront of the industry. - The flexibility to thrive in a fun and relaxed environment. - A commitment to inclusion and diversity, encouraging diverse talent to join us.