As the Animation Lead, you will help to bring characters to life through classic animation principles and body mechanics. You will create hand-crafted, high-quality animations for a range of characters that could include bipeds, quadrupeds, and creatures. A great reel will showcase a variety of combat scenarios, a diverse selection of game-related animation, strong characterization, and a foundation in the principles of animation, including weight, anticipation, and impact. You will be a partner to other senior craft experts and work alongside them to refine our content pipeline and creative vision. You will collaborate with designers, engineers, and artists to shepherd development of new features and technologies.

As a Lead Animator on the Unpublished R&D Product, you are accountable for Animation Team deliverables and driving the artistic quality for your discipline. These responsibilities include overall culture, performance and growth of your direct reports as the team grows through the phases of production. You will need to integrate into and build upon a well-established creative vision, and you will be responsible for owning and executing on the visual direction, quality, and cohesion of animation for the characters and creatures of the world. You will report to the Associate Art Director.

Responsibilities:

• Management of the animation team including working with producers to maintain animation team scheduling, meeting weekly 1-1 with reports, facilitating animation reviews and sync-ups, and mentorship and guidance of the team through annual performance reviews
• Provide crucial support around animation for gameplay systems on the product. This includes ensuring that animations integrate seamlessly with gameplay mechanics, enhancing the overall player experience
• Animation production support including block-ins, previz, and final animation assets
• Ensure that the animation team's work adheres to quality standards, artistic direction, and product deadlines
• Anticipate and recognize potential conflicts or production issues and provide recommended solutions
• Motivate and develop team members through technical and artistic mentorship
• Unreal technical animation support including troubleshooting and resolving any technical issues that arise within the Unreal Engine related to animation

Required Qualifications:

• 5+ years of professional experience working in animation for games
• 3+ years of direct experience making hand-crafted action-combat
• 3+ years of management experience in animation craft leadership
• Sufficient development expertise in Unreal Engine to make tools and pipeline recommendations for game development pipelines.
• Able to seamlessly integrate into and build upon a well-established animation vision and team with diverse levelling
• Strong understanding of animation principles – timing, weight, and staging
• Ability to plan, organize, and prioritize team work in the context of given timescales and quality requirements
• Ability to work autonomously and able to take initiative with little supervision

Desired Qualifications:

• Professional experience working with outsourcing studios for animation assets
• The ability to talk to and collaborate with tangential disciplines as they relate to animation (Design, VFX, Tech Art, Audio, Engineering)
• Strong gameplay animation implementation experience
• Deep familiarity with the action-combat genre
• Professional experience shipping at least one AAA game title

When submitting your application, please provide a portfolio of your high-quality animation art - including stylized artwork.

For this role, you'll find success through craft expertise, a collaborative spirit, and decision-making that prioritizes the delight of players. We will be looking at your past studies, experience, and your personal relationship with games. If you embody player empathy and care about players' experiences, this could be your role!

Our Perks:

Riot focuses on work/life balance, shown by our open paid time off policy and other perks such as flexible work schedules. We offer medical, dental, and life insurance, parental leave for you, your spouse/domestic partner, and children, and a 401k with company match. Check out our benefits pages for more information.

At Riot Games, we put players first. That mission drives every decision in our quest to create games and experiences that make it better to be a player. Whether you’re working directly on a new player-facing experience or you’re supporting the company as a whole, everyone at Riot is part of our mission. And just like in our games, we’re better when we work together. Our goal is to create collaborative teams where you are empowered to bring your unique perspective everyday. If that sounds like the kind of place you want to work, we’re looking forward to your application.

It’s our policy to provide equal employment opportunity for all applicants and members of Riot Games, Inc. Riot Games makes reasonable accommodations for handicapped and disabled Rioters and does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, handicap, veteran status, marital status, criminal history, or any other category protected by applicable federal and state law. We consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with applicable federal, state and local law, including the California Fair Chance Act, the City of Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, and the Washington Fair Chance Act.

Per the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, the following core duties may create a basis for disqualifying candidates with relevant criminal histories:

• Safeguarding confidential and sensitive Company data
• Communication with others, including Rioters and third parties such as vendors, and/or players, including minors
• Accessing Company assets, secure digital systems, and networks
• Ensuring a safe interactive environment for players and other Rioters

These duties are directly related to essential operations, safety, trust, and compliance obligations within our organization. Please note that job duties may evolve based on business needs and additional responsibilities may be assigned as necessary to maintain operational efficiency and security.