# Associate Animator

## Details

- **Company:** [Makeshift Software](https://hitmarker.net/companies/makeshift-software.md)
- **Location:** Columbus, Ohio, USA
- **Contract type:** Full Time
- **Level:** Entry \(0–1 years\)
- **Salary:** $100000 - $125000 / year
- **Tags:** Animation, 3D, Game Development
- **Posted:** 2026-09-08
- **Apply:** [View and apply on Hitmarker](https://hitmarker.net/jobs/makeshift-software-associate-animator-4723582)

## Description

[**Makeshift Software Inc**](https://makeshift.software) | Remote (3–6 months) → Hybrid On-Site **Full-Time**

## 
About Hexborn

[**Hexborn**](https://store.steampowered.com/app/3770540/Hexborn/) is our upcoming dark fantasy action RPG — a brutal blend of hack-and-slash combat, deep dungeon crawling, guild progression, and player-driven rivalry set in a world consumed by an ever-expanding corruption known as the Graveglass Blight. 

Players rise from an unknown mage into the leader of a legendary guild, mastering arcane combat, recruiting allies, forging relics, and descending into cursed ruins and large-scale raids to uncover the truth behind their rare ability to fly.


The demo is [**live** ](https://store.steampowered.com/app/3770540/Hexborn/)now on Steam.


We're building toward a cinematic bar that matches the quality references below — both in gameplay animation and in prerendered cutscenes — and we're looking for an animator early in their career who's ready to learn our pipeline and grow into a full production role on the team.

## 
The Role

We're looking for an Associate Animator to support gameplay animation and prerendered cinematics for Hexborn, working closely with our senior animators to learn our pipeline and take on increasing ownership over time. You'll help clean up motion capture data, animate on established rigs, and build the foundational skills to eventually own shots independently.

This is a hands-on production role with real mentorship built in. You won't be expected to work in isolation — you'll pair closely with senior animators, get regular feedback, and grow into more autonomous work as you get comfortable with our tools and quality bar.

### 
What You'll Do

- Assist with animating gameplay moments and prerendered cutscenes/film sequences in **Blender**, under the guidance of senior animators
- Support **motion capture cleanup**, learning our process for taking raw capture through to production-ready animation
- Animate on both **biped and creature rigs** using our existing, established rig library
- Follow and help maintain our team's **rigging and animation standards**
- Collaborate closely with senior animators to build toward greater independence and shot ownership over time
- Work within our existing animation tooling: Animation Sets in use and our broader workflow tools

### What You'll Need

- Some professional or strong portfolio-level experience with **Blender** animation
- Familiarity with **motion capture** cleanup and workflows (professional or coursework/personal project experience welcome)
- Basic experience animating on **biped and/or creature rigs**
- A strong demo reel or portfolio showing animation fundamentals — weight, timing, and readability
- Eagerness to learn from senior animators and grow within a structured production pipeline

### Quality Bar References

To give a sense of the cinematic and animation quality we're aiming for:

1. [Reference 1](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWLalg6YvG4)
2. [Reference 2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRZFrlWDqCE)

## Perks & Tools

- [**MOVE AI** ](http://move.ai/)markerless mocap + [**Z CAM E2-M4**](https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1442842-REG/z_cam_e1503_e2_professional_4k_cinematic.html) camera capture system
- **Faceware Mark IV** mocap helmets for facial performance capture
- Industry-grade workstation, built to spec: see our standard build
- Remote for the first 3–6 months, transitioning to hybrid on-site thereafter

## Work Arrangement


We'll start fully remote for a 3–6 month grace period while you ramp up and get embedded with the team, then transition to a hybrid on-site schedule.


**Columbus** is also a genuinely affordable place to build a life relative to the coastal cities most gamedev careers run through. 

Cost of living runs roughly **50%** below Seattle and Santa Cruz — driven mostly by housing, where Columbus's median home price (around **$263K**) compares to *$808K* in Seattle and $*1.24M* in Santa Cruz — and it stays competitive even against Montreal, historically one of the more cost-conscious major gamedev hubs in North America.

[***Makeshift Software Inc***](https://makeshift.software) *is the developer and publisher of* [*Hexborn*](https://store.steampowered.com/app/3770540/Hexborn/)*.*