We are searching for a Lead Animator to join and integrate themselves into our team, working on our exciting large-scale AAA project. As a Lead Animator at Bulkhead, you'll be leading a team of animators to bring personality to the world that we're building, creating satisfying and reactive animations. You will be responsible for working with the team to conceive, prototype and implement exciting features and sequences. Leading your team to create high and consistent quality across the game.

The team at Bulkhead are a tightly knit group of developers who strive to build impressive multiplayer games. Our team members tend to be multi-disciplinary developers who push the boundaries to deliver that goal. To be a part of this talented team you need to be passionate about first person shooter games and ideally understand the nuance in connecting gameplay animations to the player feel, creating engaging and reactive combat experiences.

During the Covid-19 pandemic we have proven that we are able to work efficiently in a number of different ways, and so this role is open for candidates who want to work full-time in our Derby studio, but also those who want to work 100% remotely. All candidates must be based in and have the right to work in the UK.

At this time, we are unable to offer any visa sponsorship. If you have the skills and passion we are looking for and want to be part of something special, we want to hear from you!

Here's what you'll be doing:

Create reactive, satisfying and replayable animations for our games that both look and feel incredible.
Leading and defining our animation quality standards and pipeline
Mentoring junior team members, helping them achieve their best work
Ownership of defined features in the game
Testing, reviewing and iterating upon animations to tune them to the highest quality
Working with Programmers, Artists and Designers to implement animations into the game

Here are the skills you'll need:

Demo Reel displaying character / first person animations for shooter games
4+ years of industry experience as an Animator / Senior Animator
Excellent Gameplay and Cinematic Animation skills
Maya expertise
A relevant degree in Animation or equivalent professional full-cycle project experience.
Unreal Engine 4/5 experience desirable
Small team management and development, proficient mentor able to train junior staff
Developed communication skills, able to work with a range of stakeholders

Preferred but not required:

Unreal Engine 4/5 experience in a professional environment
Experience on multiple deployed titles