Hardsuit Labs is looking for an experienced cinematics leader to join the studio as Cinematics Lead. The person in this role will be responsible for the studio’s cinematics pipeline in addition to building, managing, and guiding the careers and day-to-day tasks of the cinematics team. This Cinematics Lead collaborates closely with creative leaders across the company to understand, communicate, and uphold the spirit and quality of our projects across all in-game cinematics. This is a full-time, benefits-eligible position located in Seattle, WA. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all positions at Hardsuit Labs are subject to remote interviews and work at this time.
You
You are a passionate, collaborative team leader with knowledge of cinematics pipelines and workflow best practices. You have a keen eye for animation quality, shot composition, and visual storytelling. You also bring proven leadership experience and will thrive reviewing work, growing, and mentoring a team of artists and designers. You’ll work to establish and iterate on cinematic pipeline and tools, while collaborating daily with both the in-house teams and external co-development partners.
Core Responsibilities
- Build, mentor, and manage an internal, multi-disciplinary team creating in-game cinematics.
- Manage the daily workflow of animation outsourcing co-developer, including reviewing work, scheduling meetings, planning sprints, and unblocking both internal and external partners.
- Establish and iterate on the studio cinematics pipeline.
- Interface with cross-disciplinary groups to resolve blocker bugs and improve tooling.
- Plan, direct, and review motion capture shoots, related materials, and data.
Basic Qualifications
- At least 2-4 years of Cinematics Lead/similar experience on AAA/high profile game or movie projects.
- Proven experience directing motion capture shoots, informing data cleanup methods, and mentoring junior team members with both motion capture and keyframed animation tasks.
- Experience with and the ability to create realistic human facial animations.
- Deep knowledge of implementing cinematics in the Unreal Engine (UE4) using Sequencer.
- Ability to troubleshoot technical issues with UE4 and Blueprints scripts.
- Proficiency with Autodesk Maya, MotionBuilder, and other industry-standard software and tools.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience in multiple game engines, preferred.
- Knowledge of cinematography, camera placement, lenses, lighting, etc. as applied to video games.
- Prior experience working with/building AAA game development processes and cinematics pipelines.
- Skill in one or more related disciplines such as: illustration, modeling, sculpting, lighting, rigging, etc.
Required Application Materials
- Résumé and portfolio/animation reel with shot list outlining your input in each shot.
- Must be willing to complete a work review exercise.