About the Role

We are seeking a highly skilled and creative Lead Animator to drive the animation vision, quality, and execution across our game projects. You will lead and mentor a team of animators, collaborate closely with other Art Leads, Riggers, Game Designers, Developers and Clients to ensure that all animations meet world-class gameplay and cinematic standards.

Key Responsibilities

Creative & Technical Leadership

Create high quality animations to set the style and quality standards for 3D Animation and 2D Spine projects.
Translate game design requirements into strong, readable, and engaging gameplay animations.
Drive Visual style, combat, locomotion, facial, and cinematic animation quality.
Ensure animation deliverables are suitable for real-time game engines (Unity/Unreal).

Team & Production Management

Lead, mentor and conduct regular reviews for a team of animators.
Estimate project requirements with detailed breakdowns. Plan and assign tasks to ensure on-time delivery.
Provide clear, actionable feedback and maintain high team morale and productivity.
Identify skill gaps and conduct training or upskilling initiatives.
Oversee and provide key inputs on the tasks of Rigging and FX artists in certain projects to ensure they are aligned with the overall art direction.

Pipeline & Collaboration

Work closely with Developers and Designers to ensure smooth pipeline integration.
Maintain and improve animation workflows, tools, rigs, and export pipelines.
Troubleshoot animation, rigging, and implementation issues in engine.
Establish best practices for custom 3D keyframe animation, 2D spine animation, motion-capture/mixamo animations and animation blending.

Required Skills & Qualifications

8+ years of professional experience in animation. With at least 2-3 years of those in game studios as a senior or lead animator.
Experience working on a AAA quality commercial game and multiple shipped titles.
Expert knowledge of Maya, 2D Spine animations, and technical integration of animations in game engines.
Experience with multiple styles of animations like Realistic, Stylized, Cartoonish and Anime.
Strong understanding of:
All Animation principles
Human & Creature anatomy
Gameplay animation systems (locomotion, combat, state machines, control rigs, Animation Blueprints)
Hands-on experience with Unreal Engine or Unity animation pipelines.
Strong team leadership, mentoring, and communication skills.
Experience working on combat-heavy, third-person, or cinematic-driven games.
Background in Technical Animation is a big plus.

What success looks like in this role:

Animations feel responsive, impactful, and polished in-game.
The animation team consistently meets quality and delivery expectations.
Strong collaboration between animation, design, and engineering.
A motivated, well-mentored animation team with growing skill levels.

Portfolio Requirement:

Applicants must provide their Animation Demo reel showcasing: High quality Cinematic or Dialogue shots