Principle Animator - CA Sofia

Creative Assembly is looking for a Principal Animator to join our talented team to work on our new project, a sequel to Alien: Isolation. This role will be based at our studio in Sofia, Bulgaria and can be offered as hybrid or in-studio. Remote working would be considered, and further details can be discussed during the recruitment process.

The Role

As Principal Animator, you will play a crucial role within the animation team, producing best in class animation and showcasing exceptional creative and artistic skills that set a standard for the team to emulate.

Your work will drive character quality in-game, delivering memorable performances that provide players with an engaging and immersive experience.

This is a new project, being built in UE5, with a strong focus on character on an iconic IP. This role offers an exciting opportunity to have a significant impact on that experience.

What you’ll be doing

• On a day-to-day basis, you will:
• Create and implement high quality animation assets
• Collaborate with related teams to develop and refine animations and systems from block-out to final implementation, ensuring they integrate seamlessly and meet gameplay requirements.
• Work closely with the animation team, artists, technical artists, and engineers, in helping deliver engaging and immersive characters.
• Embrace opportunities to learn new skills that will enhance your capabilities, elevate the team's performance, and provide innovative solutions to meet project requirements.
• Tackle day-to-day requests for improvements and bug fixes.

What we are looking for

• Essential
• Expert hand-key animation skills for both creatures and humans.
• Excellent communication skills, self-motivated and proven ability to work well within a team with a passion for games.
• Excellent understanding of animation pipelines from conceptual phase to deployment.
• Strong ability to communicate clear direction, break down tasks and feedback to help mentor, guide and educate fellow teammates.
• Excellent knowledge of Maya/Motion Builder
• Previously worked on AAA titles in an equivalent role.
• Desirable
• Experience with Unreal Engine
• Experience with Motion Matching or equivalent advanced locomotion system
• Experience with facial animation
• Experience with character setup – rigging and skinning
• Experience with motion capture pipelines and shoots

Note: Applications for this role will ideally include a portfolio (or link to a portfolio).