# Senior Animator

## Details

- **Company:** [Makeshift Software](https://hitmarker.net/companies/makeshift-software.md)
- **Location:** Columbus, Ohio, USA
- **Contract type:** Full Time
- **Level:** Senior \(5+ years\)
- **Salary:** $140000 - $150000 / year
- **Tags:** Animation, 3D, Game Development, Game Production, Technical Art
- **Posted:** 2026-09-07
- **Apply:** [View and apply on Hitmarker](https://hitmarker.net/jobs/makeshift-software-senior-animator-4717128)

## Description

**Makeshift Software Inc.** | 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 now on [**Steam**](https://store.steampowered.com/app/4810690/Hexborn_Demo/).


We're building toward a cinematic bar that matches the quality references below — both in gameplay animation and in prerendered cutscenes — and we need a strong individual contributor who can turn raw mocap and rigs into finished, expressive animation.

### The Role

We're looking for an experienced Senior Animator to work across gameplay animation and prerendered cinematics for **Hexborn**.

You'll take motion capture data from cleanup through polish, animate on both biped and creature rigs, and collaborate closely with the rest of the animation team to hit a consistent, high-quality bar throughout the game.


This is a hands-on production role. You'll be expected to own shots and animation passes independently, give and receive feedback within the team, and help maintain rigging standards that keep everyone's work compatible.

### 
What You'll Do

- Animate gameplay moments and **prerendered cutscenes/film sequences** in **Blender**
- Take **motion capture data** through cleanup to production-ready, polished animation
- Animate on both **biped and creature** rigs
- Build and maintain **extensible control rigs** as needed for your own work and team use
- Collaborate closely with other animators to maintain consistency and hit shared quality standards
- Work within our existing animation tooling: [Animation Sets in use](https://assetstore.unity.com/lists/list-2475999758859) and our broader [workflow tools](https://assetstore.unity.com/lists/list-2475835924355)

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

### Perks & Tools

- **OptiTrack Prime 41** motion capture system
- **Faceware Mark IV** mocap helmets for facial performance capture
- Industry-grade workstation, built to spec: [see our standard build](https://pcpartpicker.com/user/Copywright/saved/sFc7pg)
- **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**.*