We build ground-breaking games and content for some of the world’s biggest publishers including Microsoft, Sony, Apple and Sega. Sumo Newcastle joined the Sumo Digital family in January of 2018. As a former CCP Games studio, we have a solid history of cutting-edge development, and now with Sumo, a spectacular future of ‘AAA’ game development for some of the biggest and best publishers in the world.
It’s an exciting time to be part of Sumo, winners of the Develop: Star Awards 2019 Best Studio; big things are on the horizon and we want you to be part of our continued journey. Join us!
The role @ Sumo
Sumo Newcastle are looking for a talented and experienced animator who can create dynamic, compelling animation (both hand-keyed and motion-captured) and understands gameplay animation and its idiosyncrasies.
The ideal candidate will enjoy being involved in a friendly, supportive and hard-working environment, able to communicate well within the animation team as well as with other development disciplines. You will be working under the guidance of the Senior Animator but able to take responsibility for managing your own work and schedule.
Within this role you will:
- Production of high-quality hand-keyed and/or motion-captured animation
- Exhibit a strong understanding of the fundamental principles of animation
- Contribute to the conceptualization of character behaviors and abilities
- Help to design and implement gameplay features in collaboration with programmers and designers in-engine
- Meet production schedules and deadlines
- Communicate effectively with peers
We need you to have:
- Industry Experience: 3+ years of AAA game experience
- Excellent knowledge of at least one major 3D package (preferably Maya)
- Demonstrate an understanding of games industry animation pipelines and procedures
- Experience with game engines (particularly Unreal 4) is highly preferable
- Able to reconcile the desire for high-quality animation with the functionality requirements of code and game design
- Experience with MotionBuilder is a plus
- Good written and oral communication skills
- Passion for playing games and an up-to-date knowledge of current industry trends
What we Offer:
Sumo Digital is one of the UK's most prolific game developers, enjoying over fifteen years of stability and growth. We have UK studios in Sheffield, Newcastle, Nottingham, Leamington Spa, The Chinese Room in Brighton and Red Kite Games in Leeds, along with Sumo Video Games in Pune, India.
We offer a superb benefits package including generous holidays and flexi-time. We care about our people, with an emphasis on the work/life balance and out of office events such as our legendary annual Sumo ‘Big Day Out’, plus epic Christmas parties and much more! Our regular studio Game Jams are a highlight - winning concepts can go on to commercial release, so far including Snake Pass and the upcoming Spyder for Apple Arcade.
We are proud to be in the North-East of England in the Northern Design Centre on the Quayside next to the River Tyne, and will soon move into purpose-built, state-of-the-art facilities nearby. Newcastle was voted the number one place that travelers should visit in 2018 by Rough Guide and has everything that a major European city has to offer; culture, heritage, lively bars and fantastic retail. It is an exciting cosmopolitan city while also boasting plenty of beautiful outdoor space including several beaches less than an hour’s drive away.
Our environment is relaxed, friendly and built on every team member having the opportunity to shine and have real, meaningful input into the games that we create. We pride ourselves on our positive atmosphere and sociable team who regularly partake in shared interest groups, lunchtime and after-work clubs, and charity fundraising events.
