Lead Animator

As a Lead Gameplay Animator at Cloud Chamber, you will join our talented development team to help shape the character performance and movement systems of our project. In this role, you’ll collaborate with a passionate group of game developers to craft high-end player characters and AI animations that support responsive, immersive gameplay—bringing the richly imagined world of BioShock to life. What You’ll Do: Manage, support, and mentor a team of animators in developing high-end gameplay and AI animations, conducting regular 1:1s, annual evaluations, and setting clear, actionable goals. Partner with the Animation Director and leadership to establish the animation vision, evangelize studio values, and shape a positive and inclusive team culture. Develop and refine animation pipelines, workflows, and tools, setting up onboarding, Unreal Engine 5 training, and motion capture planning. Deliver exceptional hand-key animations and edit motion capture data for first-person and third-person characters, taking on animation tasks as time permits. Collaborate with Production on milestone roadmaps, sprint planning, and task delegation while addressing blocking issues and participating in hiring efforts. Take an active role in the animation leadership circle by sharing your voice and best practices to help guide the team's culture, as well as updating the group on new or outstanding issues What We’ll Do Together: At Cloud Chamber, we are champions of high standards, pushing for progress and embracing change. We will work closely and constructively across design, art, engineering, animation, and audio teams to realize our creative ambitions. Together, we will stay current on technological advancements and identify solutions to overcome developmental obstacles to deliver a world-class AAA experience. Skills & Experiences: Shipped multiple AAA titles as a Lead, Team Lead, or Senior Animator ideally utilizing Unreal Engine. Deep knowledge of gameplay and AI animation systems, animation graph/data integration, motion capture pipelines, and rigging/prototyping processes. Strong practical skill in hand-key facial animation (such as FaceFX) alongside high proficiency in animating human bipeds, organic forms, quadrupeds, and mechanical objects. Exceptional understanding of traditional animation principles, human anatomy, caricature, form, gesture, and silhouette as applied to real-time interactive gameplay. Who You Are: A reliable, positive force multiplier, actively seeking opportunities to integrate work across disciplines and contribute to a healthy, supportive team environment. A solid communicator with excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex ideas clearly, package information for diverse audiences, and deliver difficult feedback with empathy and professionalism. Experienced in working in cross-disciplinary teams with strong communication skills. Persistent and self-motivated with a proactiv