Principal or Senior Software Engineer - Animation

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 currently working on a new game set in the Dungeons and Dragons universe. 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.

As a Senior or Principal Software Engineer with a focus in animation and character systems, you will help to design and implement the runtime animation and movement systems that define how players experience our characters moment to moment. With a strong foundation in character mechanics, controls, and camera systems, you’ll ensure animation, input, and camera behavior work together to deliver responsive, readable, and expressive gameplay.

Giant Skull thrives on a culture based on autonomy and rapid iteration giving you the chance to shape our approach to character-driven gameplay, solving complex problems at the intersection of animation, input responsiveness, and camera presentation to ensure our characters feel grounded, reactive, and emotionally resonant in every gameplay scenario.

• You will architect and implement real-time animation systems, including state machines, blend trees, IK systems, and runtime procedural techniques.
• You will collaborate with and empower our creative team members, from designers and animators to technical artists, to achieve efficient workflows and iterate rapidly.
• You will develop robust, performant animation runtime code that supports a wide range of use cases—from gameplay abilities to cinema tics.
• You will define the interface between animation and gameplay systems, ensuring player input, responsiveness, and transitions feel tight and intentional.
• You will optimize animation systems for performance across platforms, including memory, CPU usage, and streaming behavior.
• You will establish technical standards, help define the animation pipeline, and influence long-term architectural decisions in animation technology.
• You will collaborate on motion matching, ragdoll systems, or dynamic animation blending when needed.
• You will contribute to debugging tools and visualizers that help animators and engineers understand animation states and transitions.
• You may mentor engineers and contribute code reviews, helping level up technical rigor across the team.
• You may contribute to animation tooling or pipeline improvements that support rigging, motion capture integration, or retargeting.

• You have extensive experience working on animation systems for real-time games, including both runtime and tools-side development.
• You have strong C++ programming skills and a solid understanding of animation principles, data flow, and system architecture.
• You have extensive experience with the animation systems in UE5, specifically regarding Animation Blueprints, Motion Matching, Control Rig, and Sequencer.
• You have experience collaborating closely with Animators, Rigging, and Gameplay teams to bring characters to life with style and responsiveness.
• You have a strong foundation in 3D math, including linear algebra, quaternions, and transformation matrices.
• You have shipped titles where you owned or contributed significantly to animation pipelines or runtime systems.
• You are team-focused and have excellent communication and collaboration skills. You prioritize doing what is best for the player experience and work in partnership with other disciplines.
• You are a proactive problem solver, you take initiative to help drive improvements and make things better.
• You value an open feedback culture and have the ability to give and receive constructive feedback.
• You may have experience mentoring engineers or leading technical animation efforts.

• 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…