Lead Cinematic Animator

Cloud Chamber is looking for a dynamic Lead Cinematic Animator to manage and mentor a talented team of cinematic animators in creating a high-quality, immersive BioShock experience. You will oversee the efforts of the cinematic animation team while evangelizing the creative direction and vision for the project. You are an expert in the fundamentals of traditional animation principles and how they are applied to video game development. 

You will work side by side with the Cinematic Director, Animation Director, Lead Tech Animator, Lead Cinematic Designer, and Production to push the limits of what is possible, carry forward the vision of the project, and build a thriving collaborative culture for the animation department.

Job Details:

• Manage and mentor a team of cinematic animators in the development of high-end cinematic and cut-scene animations.
• Contribute to the development of the cinematic animation pipeline and workflows, with a continuous eye for improvement.
• Partner with other department leads and animation leadership to plan for mocap sessions.
• Lead review sessions with the cinematic animation team, giving constructive, actionable feedback.
• Actively collaborate with other disciplines to ensure cinematic animation goals are set, met, and completed in a timely manner.
• Work closely with Production to identify blocking issues, develop milestone roadmaps, participate in sprint planning and tasking, and delegate animation work.
• Share your own experience, best practices, and cinematic animation know-how to elevate the less experienced members of the team.
• Take on a small animation workload when time permits. 
• Take an active role in the animation and cinematic leadership circle, by sharing your voice and best practices to help guide the culture of the cinematic team.
• Participate in the hiring process for the department, including the creation of job roles and responsibilities. 
• Establish on-boarding and team training for the cinematic animation team regarding animation related tools, and processes, and software.
• Embrace and evangelize the Cloud Chamber values: Act with Kindness, Lead With Courage, Dare To Be Original and Creative, Stand For Unity, and Embrace Diversity. 

Skills, Experience, and Qualifications:

• Previous Lead, Team Lead, or coaching experience, leading an animation team.
• Shipped multiple AAA titles, ideally using Unreal or a comparable engine. 
• Exceptional knowledge of motion capture and hand key animation as they pertain to video game cinematics.
• Animation graph and data integration experience.
• Experience working with Motion Capture data and pipelines.
• Experience in hand-key facial animation and audio-driven facial animation tools.
• Experience structuring & maintaining animation processes such as rigging, or prototyping. 
• A very strong understanding of character performance, form, gesture, and silhouette.
• Excellent understanding of anatomy and caricature.
• Exceptional skill in animating the human bipedal figure, organic forms, quadrupedal, and mechanical objects.
• An exemplary understanding of traditional animation principles and physical storytelling. 
• Able to respond elegantly to difficult creative changes, often late in the process.
• Strong collaborative and flexible spirit.
• Champion of high standards, pushing for progress, embracing change, and challenging the status quo.
• Uncompromising ethics and unwavering integrity.
• A positive force multiplier with a great team-player attitude. 

We are Cloud Chamber: a collaborative team of inspired minds who create games together. We strive to make unique, entertaining, and thoughtful game experiences that engage the world.

We believe in the beauty and strength of diversity, in both the makeup of the studio and the nature of our thinking. Our focus on open communication and overall well-being allows each of us to strive for excellence in our work, and happiness in our lives.

We’re currently making the next BioShock. Our passion and love for this iconic franchise is what brought us together. The thrill and responsibility of creating the next iteration of such a beloved game is what keeps us going.

If all of this sounds as exciting to you as it is to us, we’d love to meet you. Join us in creating worlds that move people.

Please note that 2K Games and its studios never use instant messaging apps or personal email accounts to contact prospective employees or conduct interviews. When emailing prospective employees, we only use 2K.com email accounts.

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