Animation Programming Lead/Director

WHAT MAKES US EPIC?

At the core of Epic’s success are talented, passionate people. Epic prides itself on creating a collaborative, welcoming, and creative environment. Whether it’s building award-winning games or crafting engine technology that enables others to make visually stunning interactive experiences, we’re always innovating.

Being Epic means being a part of a team that continually strives to do right by our community and users. We’re constantly innovating to raise the bar of engine and game development.

ENGINEERING - GAMES

What We Do

Unreal projects have been leading the pack of real-time entertainment with our constantly growing team of engineering experts. We’re always improving on the tools and technology that empower content developers worldwide.

What You'll Do

The Walt Disney Company and Epic Games are collaborating on an all-new games and entertainment universe.

In addition to being a world-class games experience, this new persistent universe will offer a multitude of opportunities for consumers to play, watch, and engage with content, characters, and stories from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, Avatar, and more.

Players, gamers, and fans of all kinds will be able to create their own stories and experiences, express their fandom in a distinctly Disney way, and share content with each other in ways that they love. Come join us in creating the future of interactive entertainment.

We are a new and growing team at Epic, aiming to build innovative new experiences and technology as part of our collaboration with Disney. Epic Games is seeking an Animation Engineering Lead. In this role, you will work closely with our Unreal Engine, Metahuman, and Research teams to design, extend, and apply the next generation of animation systems and tools in support of our first party development efforts. If you have extensive experience in building runtime animation systems and tools, are passionate about raising the bar and want to be at the cutting edge of innovation, we would like to hear from you!

In this role, you will

• Designing and implementing animation features and tools in the context of shipping first-party games
• Building and leading a team of experienced engineers and technical animators
• Working with other technology teams at Epic to advance the state of animation technology across the company, including in the Unreal Engine
• Working with senior leadership to define vision of next-generation animation tools
• Researching and exploring novel forward-looking techniques, including machine learning
• Supporting internal and external customers

What we're looking for

• 10+ years experience building runtime animation systems and tools in major game franchise, real-time engine, or middleware
• Experience as a leader in an engineering role, with demonstrated ability to lead a team effectively
• Experience writing tools and systems that improve the capability or efficiency of users
• A skilled software engineer, well-versed in software engineering principles, with excellent C++ skills and debugging capability
• An expert in runtime animation technology (IK, Quaternions, Motion Matching, Motion Warping, Data Compression, etc.)
• Intrinsic motivation to work with content creators, solve problems, and create better tools
• Has shipped at least one game and/or product

Nice to have skills

• Research work/publications in the fields of Animation Technology, Machine Learning, Computer Graphics and/or Computer Vision
• Familiarity with procedural animation techniques, including modern Machine Learning techniques
• Familiarity with multiple platforms and/or Unreal Engine is a plus
• Experience developing in a large codebase; ideally experience designing and implementing a tool from the ground up

EPIC JOB + EPIC BENEFITS = EPIC LIFE

We pay 100% for benefits for both employees and dependents and offer coverage for supplemental medical, dental, vision, critical illness, telemedicine, Life and AD&D, long term disability insurance as well as weekly indemnity (short term disability) and a retirement savings plan with a competitive employer match. In addition to the EAP (employee assistance program), we also offer a robust mental well-being program through Modern Health, which provides free therapy and coaching for employees & dependents.

ABOUT US

Epic Games spans across 25 countries with 46 studios and 4,500+ employees globally. For over 25 years, we've been making award-winning games and engine technology that empowers others to make visually stunning games and 3D content that bring environments to life like never before. Epic's award-winning Unreal Engine technology not only provides game developers the ability to build high-fidelity, interactive experiences for PC, console, mobile, and VR, it is also a tool being embraced by content creators across a variety of industries such as media and entertainment, automotive, and architectural design. As we continue to build our Engine technology and develop remarkable games, we strive to build teams of world-class talent.

Like what you hear? Come be a part of something Epic!

Epic Games deeply values diverse teams and an inclusive work culture, and we are proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer. Learn more about our Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy here.

Note to Recruitment Agencies: Epic does not accept any unsolicited resumes or approaches from any unauthorized third party (including recruitment or placement agencies) (i.e., a third party with whom we do not have a negotiated and validly executed agreement). We will not pay any fees to any unauthorized third party. Further details on these matters can be found here.