Founded in 1998, Retro Studios is a wholly owned subsidiary of Nintendo Company, Ltd. Retro is a state-of-the-art game development studio, working in conjunction with Nintendo to bring award-winning games to Nintendo's cutting-edge next-generation platforms. Retro Studios is located in beautiful Austin, Texas. With rolling hills, scenic waterways, abundant wildlife, vibrant music and film scenes, and a laid-back cosmopolitan culture, Austin is a dynamic city with an excellent quality of life. Austin's sunny weather also supports a great range of outdoor activities, providing plenty of venues for top-notch game developers to recharge and unwind.
Essential Duties
- Work with the Development Management Team to execute the determined style and tone of animation for the final product
- Responsible, as an individual contributor, for creating high quality exemplar animation that sets the standards for the team for both in-game and cinematic animation
- Champion the project’s goals and inspire the Animation team to achieve the vision, through actionable tasks.
- Collaborate with Design, Engineering and the Technical Animation staff on animation pipeline
- Coordinate with Development Management Team to understand the evolving needs of the studio
- Evaluate and promote the use of appropriate techniques and systems to support animation goals
- Develop and implement quality assurance protocols to review and approve animation work
- Anticipate and recognize potential conflicts or production issues and recommend solutions
- Mentor a team of animators, supporting and promoting a growth mindset amongst the staff.
- Handle performance evaluations, bonus reviews, and any necessary disciplinary plans for direct reports
- Recommend promotions for individuals within the team
- Responsible for having 1-1 meetings to understand the career goals for individuals within the group
- This job description outlines primary duties and requirements and is not intended to identify all tasks that may be performed; individuals occupying the position may be required to perform other duties. The company may modify job duties from time to time, either in practice or in writing.
Summary Of Requirements
- Must have a robust portfolio of high-quality hand-keyed animation work in a variety of styles
- Demonstrated ability to use independent judgment and creativity in developing animation to support art direction and theme as defined by Art Director
Leadership Skills:
- Self-starter with proactive attitude to improve own qualifications
- Passion for sharing insights and ability to coach less experienced people
- Demonstrated leadership in organizing efforts involving multiple collaborators
- Excellent communication, organizational, personal, and problem-solving skills
- Demonstrated ability to build and manage teams, provide leadership, and creatively solve problems
Knowledge:
- Thorough understanding of animation technical requirements for video game production pipelines
- Able to critique animations by using various techniques like draw-overs, demos, etc,
- Able to problem solve issues that can occur during the various stages of the animation pipeline from creating the animation to implementing in game.
Technical Experience with Animation for video game software:
- Experience using industry standard tracking and communication software such as Jira, Confluence, etc.
- Experience working with 3D software, Maya preferred.
- Experience working with animation trees or any other node-based animation systems.
- Familiarity with current rigging methods and evaluating rigs for game and cinematic animations.
- Experience with rigging characters is a plus.
- Experience with already established IP is a plus.
- Prior Cinematics experience is a plus.
We are an equal opportunity employer of individuals with disabilities and protected veterans...valuing diversity…celebrating strengths.
Education:
Undergraduate degree in art related subject; or completion of an intensive art training program; or equivalent independent study and experience.
Work Environment:
Fast-paced environment with fluctuating production requirements; may be necessary to change specific duties, projects, schedule or direction on short notice; overtime, weekend, holiday work, and minimal travel may be required.
