Technical Animator

Archetype Entertainment is a new game studio in Austin, Texas led by industry veterans from BioWare and other AAA studios. Archetype is a division of Wizards of the Coast (Hasbro). We are building a development team with world-class talent to create a new science fiction universe for our first multiplatform roleplaying video game.

Our goal is to create the greatest story-driven roleplaying games in the world.

At Archetype, we believe there will always be a place for story-driven roleplaying games that put the player at the center of an epic personal narrative with impactful choices. We are building games that represent the diversity of our audience. We also believe that game studios should empower top developers and challenge them with ambitious projects that are shaped by a strong, clearly communicated creative vision.

We chose Austin because it is a great place to live and work. Austin is the capital of Texas and is a fast-growing city with a vibrant music scene, cosmopolitan culture, a world-class university (the University of Texas at Austin -- “Hook ‘em Horns!”), and scenic rolling hills. It was recently voted the #1 place to live in America for the third year in a row — based on affordability, job prospects, and quality of life.

The Role

We’re looking for an exceptional Technical Animator to join us on an exciting unannounced project! You'll work on a variety of science fiction creatures, vehicles, and characters and will be responsible for developing and maintaining animation systems in Unreal, tools, rigs, pipelines and processes used by the animation team.

What You’ll Do

• Develop and maintain animation systems in Unreal. (Animation Blueprints, Blendspaces, Overlays, etc.)
• Collaborate with Design, Tech, and Animators to implement gameplay animations.
• Work closely with Artists/Animators to troubleshoot and fix problems arising during production.
• Evaluate new technologies to improve existing pipelines and visual quality of gameplay animation.
• Create animation tools and rigs as needed.

What You’ll Bring

• 1+ years of production experience in Games, Feature Film or VFX
• Unreal Engine Experience in procedural animation systems (Animation Blueprints, Control Rig setups)
• Scripting / tool creation experience with Python / Mel
• Strong understanding of character rigging / animation pipelines
• Dedicated and internally driven, able to take initiative and work independently or collaborate effectively with artists, engineers, and designers.
• A passion for deep, compelling science fiction stories and role-playing games.

We'd love to see

• C++ Maya Plugin development
• Unreal Engine Cloth / Ragdoll setup experience
• Qt or Pyside Maya UI tool scripting

We are an Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action Employer

The above is intended to describe the general content of and the requirements for satisfactory performance in this position. It is not to be construed as an exhaustive statement of the duties, responsibilities, or requirements of the position.

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.