Lead Gameplay Animator

Giant Skull is an independent game studio on a mission to craft unforgettable single-player, gameplay-driven action-adventures in rich, immersive worlds. We are a hybrid studio with space in Encino, CA, designed for creativity as well as remote collaboration. We are highly collaborative and value empowering autonomy; each individual at Giant Skull has the opportunity to feel their impact across the game, studio, and team. If you’re ready to join a studio where every voice shapes the adventure, we’d love to create something extraordinary together. The Role: As the Lead Gameplay Animator , you will take ownership of player animation and help bring our characters to life with movement that feels expressive, responsive, and grounded in gameplay. You’ll lead a team and collaborate across disciplines to bring fluid movement, dynamic combat, and personality to our characters - creating moments that feel incredible in the player’s hands. This is an opportunity to help shape the vision for animation, define quality standards, mentor a team to bring out the best in them, and contribute to the strategic roadmap for animation while laying the foundation for an exciting new game. Impact and Ownership You will own the player animation experience, ensuring the feel of movement reflects both gameplay responsiveness and animation fidelity You will contribute to the animation and gameplay vision, helping define quality standards while inspiring and guiding a team towards excellence in their craft You will help shape and maintain animation pipelines, tools, and best practices that support iteration and high-quality results, including rig testing and building animation libraries You will work hands-on to create high-quality gameplay and combat animations using a combination of mocap and keyframe techniques You will partner with production and discipline leads to scope work, track progress, and support milestone planning and delivery for the animation team You will collaborate closely with design and engineering to integrate animation into gameplay systems using Unreal Engine You will manage and coach a small team of animators, helping them grow in craft, autonomy, and collaboration You will contribute to hiring practices as the team grows You will cultivate a healthy, inclusive team culture where creativity, accountability, and open communication thrive You will proactively identify challenges, cross-discipline dependencies, and workflow needs, offering solutions early and helping the team stay unblocked and efficient Your impact will be felt not just in the game but across our creative processes, best practices, and collaborative culture Qualifications You have 7+ years of experience in gameplay animation for games, with at least one shipped title and prior experience leading or managing other animators You have strong keyframe skills and an expert understanding of body mechanics, timing, and weight You have a deep understanding of gameplay principles such as timing, responsiveness, and feel, with experience creating expressive combat and other gameplay animations that help define the player experience You have shipped animations in a real-time engine (such as Unreal) and are familiar with animation systems You are confident in planning and prioritizing team deliverables, scoping work, and helping ensure milestone goals are met You are proactive in identifying and solving workflow or pipeline challenges, and you communicate risks or needs clearly to collaborators You’ve successfully mentored animators - providing clear goals, actionable feedback, supporting growth, and fostering healthy, inclusive team dynamics You value proactive communication and creative ownership, and thrive in a highly collaborative, iterative environment You lead by example while embodying values, contributing to a positive studio culture, and exhibiting integrity and accountability Why Join Giant Skull You will collaborate with a passionate team of AAA veterans from studios like Epic, Respawn, Rocksteady, Riot, and more on exciting and ambitious gaming projects You will enjoy a development process that balances collaborative teamwork with a high degree of individual autonomy You will benefit from competitive compensation, access to cutting-edge technology and resources to support your work, as well as opportunities for career growth, personal and professional development You will be shown trust and flexibility through remote or hybrid options, open PTO, and support for balancing work and personal life Your ultimate impact will be unconstrained by your focus areas. You will have the opportunity to shape not only the game we are making but the foundation of our studio and development cultures, best practices, team collaboration, and beyond You will add to a deeply inclusive workplace where every team member is valued and respected For this position, our target base salary range is 160k to 220k. Ranges may expand based on experience and location. Salary is just one aspect of our overall compensation package - we also offer opportunities for bonuses, retirement plan matching, and comprehensive benefits. We’re excited to share more about how we invest in our team during the interview process. We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all qualified candidates. #J-18808-Ljbffr