JOB DESCRIPTION
The Animation Programmer will be responsible for the technical side of character animations within the project and will serve as a liaison between Character Animation Artists and Gameplay Programmers.
Specific responsibilities will include:
- Expand and maintain the animation layer between NPC behaviors and Unity's Mecanim system.
- Maintain the visual character prefabs.
- Create and update procedural animations and IK systems on NPCs.
- Implement real-time facial phoneme animation system for spoken audio lines.
- Support character ragdoll code and the animation side for grabbing, pushing, pulling.
- Design, implement, and iterate on new and existing systems and tools.
- Assist with performance optimization of animation systems, including levels of detail.
Internal Relationships
- Act as a technical contact between animation artists and feature team programmers.
- Collaborate with technical artists as needed.
Qualifications
- 3+ years of professional programming experience with an emphasis on character animation (at least 1 published title preferred)
- Master's or Bachelor's degree in Mathematics, Computer Science, or Software Engineering
- Very good knowledge of C++
- Experience in Unity and Unity's Mecanim system
- Strong 3D math and computer graphics skills
- Experience in IK/FK systems
- Debugging and problem-solving skills
- Good understanding of modern animation techniques
Additional information
Your Benefits
- Bonus Scheme
- Relocation Support: We offer financial support in form of a cash allowance and assistance with accommodation search and settle-in support via our relocation partner, for international candidates we offer visa assistance.
- 26 days paid vacation per year. Additionally, you will get half a day off on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve and approximately 11 bank holidays in the NRW region.
- Flexible Working Hours: We have core working times between 10:00 AM – 04:00 PM and the distribution of the other hours is up to you.
- Development Support: Leadership training, workshops, guest speakers from the industry, online Ubisoft learning platform, coaches, paid self-study hours and library.
- Free English and German; The business language in the studio is English. No German is required to work with us.
- Company Pension Scheme. We offer an attractive scheme through salary sacrificing in which the employer also matches contributions
- Up to 350€ childcare support per child per month. In addition, we also offer 5 ‘care for ill children days’ per child per year.
- Gym Subsidy
- Monthly Travel Budget
- Discounted Ubisoft Games
- Ubisoft pays 50% of your Health Insurance
- & more
Living in Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is a very international city close to the border of Germany famous for it's Japanese culture. With a Japanese gardens, "Little Tokyo" area for Asian cuisine and celebrating Japan Day along the River Rhine each year. Art Galleries and Museums can be found as well as the "Old City" - a lively area of bars and restaurants amongst traditional German architecture. Two hours from Paris, Amsterdam, the UK and Hamburg - an excellent location to explore Europe even on a weekend. A large Deer park offers a natural sanctuary for those needing a break from the city life. More rural and suburban areas surround the city for those looking for a more relaxed pace.
If you are passionate about video games and would like to work with like-minded professionals in an international team, please apply via our career portal.
The application must include your resume, and a cover letter detailing your earliest starting date, salary expectations and motivation.
