Senior/Lead Gameplay Animator - 3C & FPS

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Senior/Lead Gameplay Animator - 3C & FPS based in Canada. This is a hands-on gameplay animation role focused on creating responsive, polished character movement for AAA first-person shooter experiences. You will own animation features from early concepts and prototypes through engine implementation, debugging, and final polish. Working closely with gameplay designers, programmers, and technical animators, you will help shape how movement, controls, and camera behavior come together to create compelling game feel. The role combines strong animation craft with practical technical implementation and problem-solving skills. At Senior level, you will independently drive complex features and make creative and technical decisions across production. At Lead level, you will additionally help guide feature planning, establish quality standards, provide feedback, and mentor other animators. Remote work is available in Canada, with collaboration across international teams and a preference for relocation to China where feasible.

Own gameplay animation features from concept through completion, including reference gathering, prototyping, asset creation, engine integration, debugging, iteration, and polish. Create high-quality character animations covering locomotion, directional movement, stance transitions, traversal, combat interactions, and other gameplay actions. Develop and refine first-person animation while maintaining strong relationships between first-person presentation, full-body movement, weapon handling, and camera feedback. Collaborate with gameplay designers and programmers to improve responsiveness, timing, transitions, interruption behavior, weight, and physicality. Build and maintain animation graphs, state machines, blend setups, animation layers, and gameplay-driven transitions within the game engine. Use keyframe animation and motion-capture workflows to produce assets that meet gameplay and visual requirements. Evaluate animation in playable builds, diagnose issues, and work cross-functionally to identify and implement effective solutions. Partner with technical animation and engineering teams to improve workflows and address runtime, asset, tooling, and production constraints. For Lead-level responsibilities, guide feature planning, establish animation quality benchmarks, provide actionable feedback, align interconnected animation work with gameplay goals, and mentor teammates. Continue contributing directly to animation creation and implementation while helping improve production processes and team practices. Requirements Proven professional experience creating and implementing gameplay animation for AAA first-person shooters, with clear ownership of animation features or systems. A strong portfolio demonstrating body mechanics, weight, timing, posing, and a sophisticated understanding of responsive gameplay animation. Hands-on experience bringing animation assets into a game engine and iterating on their behavior in playable builds. Working knowledge of animation graphs, state machines, blending, additive animation, and gameplay-driven transitions. Strong understanding of the relationship between character movement, player controls, camera behavior, and overall game feel. Proficiency with professional animation tools, including keyframe animation and motion-capture editing workflows. Ability to investigate animation problems, identify likely causes, communicate technical findings clearly, and collaborate with design and engineering partners on solutions. Strong ownership, communication, organization, and reliability, with a demonstrated ability to deliver high-quality work within production constraints. Experience on recent AAA FPS productions with demanding standards for movement, first-person animation, and combat responsiveness is highly valued. Experience establishing or evolving 3C animation systems from early development through production is an advantage. Additional experience with AAA action or action-adventure games involving traversal, melee combat, or complex character interactions is beneficial. Technical animation experience and familiarity with inverse kinematics, motion matching, procedural animation, motion warping, or animation retargeting are advantageous. Scripting or tool-development experience that improves animation workflows and iteration speed is a plus. Experience maintaining consistency between first-person presentation and third-person character animation is beneficial. Senior candidates should be able to independently own complex animation features and drive implementation and polish with cross-disciplinary partners. Lead candidates should combine strong individual delivery with the ability to guide teammates, align animation work with gameplay objectives, and maintain quality across interconnected features. Candidates with strong production experience and exceptional portfolios who demonstrate potential for broader ownership may also be considered. Benefits Remote work option available in Canada. Opportunity to contribute to AAA FPS gameplay animation with meaningful ownership of core animation features and systems. Hands-on collaboration with gameplay design, programming, technical animation, and other disciplines. Opportunity to influence animation workflows, tools, and production practices. Senior and Lead-level scope depending on demonstrated experience and contribution. Potential opportunity to work within an international development environment, with relocation to China preferred where applicable. Commitment to an inclusive and equal-opportunity workplace. Reasonable accommodations available throughout the application process for candidates who require them.

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