An individual contributor who is responsible for creating robust animation technology that supports high-quality character and creature animation for State of Decay 3. As a member of the software engineering team, you will work closely with animators and technical artists to build a shared understanding of feature requirements and engage with your fellow software engineers to bring those features to life. This is a role that will have a big impact on the quality and feel of the moment-to-moment gameplay for State of Decay 3, a great fit for someone who highly values quality in execution and polish in presentation.

Your skills in software development, debugging, 3D mathematics and user-focused problem solving will be critical to your success. As an animation engineer on the team, you will tackle problems both technical and artistic, and you will play a pivotal role in our shared goal of creating an amazing product for our millions of fans.

At Undead Labs, we work in highly collaborative, cross-discipline teams because we understand that the best ideas are ones we generate together. We are creators of the hit survival-fantasy franchise State of Decay, played by millions, and we operate independently as part of a network of first-party Microsoft studios. We have a rich history of entrepreneurship and empowerment that will carry us forward as we reach new levels of quality, ambition, and polish.

Core Responsibilities and Objectives

Collaborate with a team of animators to develop requirements for animation features.
Write, maintain and optimize runtime animation systems that support delivering high-quality performances for player- and AI-driven characters.
Develop and iterate on in-engine authoring tools that support the team in crafting animations that elevate the quality bar for our franchise.
Bring a performance-oriented mindset to diagnosing problems and bottlenecks within a complex pre-existing codebase.
Apply your knowledge, critical thinking skills, unique perspective and ideas to the production of our games.

Core Traits and Experience

Proficient with C++ and familiar with software development methodologies.
Familiar with modern character animation techniques (such as rigging, skeletons, inverse kinematics, motion matching, animation syncing) and the related 3D math and linear algebra.
Familiar with modern facial animation concepts and technology.
Familiar with animation content pipelines, tools and terminology.
A self-starter with the ability to make progress in the face of ambiguity by gathering data and performing analysis needed to make and justify decisions.
An ability to communicate effectively across disciplines.
Ideally brings 2 to 8 years of experience in a software engineering role.

Bonus Traits and Experience

Experience with Unreal Engine 4 and its animation tools and systems.
Experience with console game development.

Physical Requirements

Close vision to monitors and screens, consistently working on computer equipment such as keyboards and monitors, long periods of sitting.
Noise levels are low to moderate in the work environment.

Reasonable accommodations can be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

This position reports to the Engineering Manager.

Undead Labs is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations, and ordinances.

We look forward to hearing from you!