Animator, Cinematics - Unannounced Game | Irvine, CA or Albany, NY

Team Name:

Animator, Cinematics - Unannounced Game | Irvine, CA or Albany, NY

R026893

Your Mission

At Blizzard, we craft genre‑defining games and legendary worlds for all to share. Through unparalleled creativity and storytelling, we create immersive universes and iconic characters that are beloved across platforms, borders, backgrounds, and generations – only made possible by building a work environment that nurtures the artistry of game development and unleashes the aspirations of our people.

We are looking for an Animator, Cinematics to help craft a new, unannounced game for Blizzard. As a professional‑level individual contributor, you will create high‑quality in‑game cinema tics and narrative gameplay moments using motion capture, performance capture, and hand‑keyed animation. You will collaborate closely with artists, designers, engineers, and narrative partners to bring compelling characters, performances, and story moments to life through animation.

This role is anticipated to be a hybrid work position, with some work on‑site and some work from home. The potential home studio for this role is Irvine, CA.

Responsibilities

Priorities can often change in a fast‑paced environment like ours, so this role includes, but is not limited to, the following responsibilities:

• Create visually compelling in‑game cinema tics and scripted narrative events using motion‑capture, performance‑capture, and hand‑keyed animation techniques.
• Implement and validate animations within the game engine to ensure functionality, performance, and visual quality.
• Collaborate with Directors, Writers, Designers, and Engineers to ensure cinematic content aligns with narrative, gameplay, and overall creative vision.
• Participate in reviews, iterate on feedback, and continuously refine animation quality.
• Assist with planning and preparation for motion‑capture and performance‑capture shoots, ensuring characters, sets, and props are properly prepared and validated.

Experience

• 5+ years of experience
• Professional experience creating character or creature animation for games, film, or interactive media.
• Experience working with motion‑capture, performance‑capture, and hand‑keyed animation workflows.
• Experience collaborating within cross‑disciplinary development teams.

Knowledge and Skills

• Strong animation skills using Maya or equivalent 3D animation software.
• Strong facial animation skills and performance‑driven animation sensibilities.
• Solid understanding of cinematic systems and scripted narrative gameplay.
• Understanding of narrative structure and cinematography, including staging, camera, layout, and editing principles.
• Technical understanding of animation implementation in a game engine, including the ability to troubleshoot issues.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to work independently, take direction, and provide constructive feedback.

Key Attributes

• A collaborative, team‑oriented mindset with a passion for storytelling and performance.
• Attention to detail and commitment to high‑quality animation craft.
• Comfort working in a dynamic, iterative development environment.
• A player‑first mindset with enthusiasm for creating memorable narrative moments.

Extra Points

• Experience working on AAA games for major platforms.
• Experience in prototype‑driven or rapid‑iteration environments.
• On‑set experience with motion‑capture or performance‑capture shoots.
• Basic experience with modeling or rigging workflows.

Required Application Materials

• Resume.
• Demo reel or portfolio showcasing cinematic or character animation work.

Your Platform

At Blizzard Entertainment, we pour our hearts and souls into everything we create. Best known for iconic video‑game universes including Warcraft, Overwatch, Diablo, and Star Craft, we’ve been creating genre‑defining games for millions of players around the world for more than 30 years. We’re on a quest: bring our dreams to life and craft the most epic entertainment experiences…ever.

Our World

Best known for iconic video‑game universes including Warcraft®, Overwatch®, Diablo®, and Star Craft®, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (), a division of Activision Blizzard, which was acquired by Microsoft (NASDAQ:…