Principal Technical Animator

Job Description

Principal Technical Animator (Star Wars Jedi)

Founded in 2010 by the original creators of the Call of Duty franchise, Respawn was created with the philosophy that when accomplished people have creative freedom, they'll make extraordinary games that achieve the unexpected. From our roots as an indie studio to joining the roster of studios at Electronic Arts, this remains our guiding principle. Our shipped titles include critically acclaimed multi-platform games Apex Legends, Titanfall, Titanfall 2, Star Wars™ Jedi: Fallen Order, and Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond. Join us for the opportunity to create groundbreaking games with some of the best developer talent in the industry.

Role Overview
We are looking for a Principal Technical Animator to join our Star Wars Jedi team. The Principal Technical Animator will play a key role in driving the quality of character animation and systems for our characters and creatures. This position reports to the Technical Art Director.

Responsibilities
• Lead communication efforts related to assigned features, such as runtime systems, physics/ragdoll, and facial animation R&D and implementation.
• Ramp up on existing animation systems, tools, and pipelines to provide support and debugging.
• Support and debug procedural animation systems such as facial animation, destruction, cloth, and hair.
• Collaborate with design, character art, animation, and outsourcing teams to ensure character fidelity.

Qualifications
• 5+ years of technical animation experience.
• Expertise in rigging and skinning assets.
• Proficiency with standard industry tools such as Autodesk Maya.
• Ability to identify and resolve issues quickly while exercising strong decision-making skills.
• Experience testing and reviewing your own work with attention to detail.
• Strong collaboration skills across multiple teams and departments.
• A solid understanding of animation principles and anatomy.
• At least one shipped AAA title as a Senior Technical Animator or above.
• Thorough experience creating and managing module rigging systems.
• Deep knowledge of Maya Python tool creation, adhering to best practices.
• Strong implementation experience, ideally with Unreal Engine and runtime rigging solutions.
• FACS rigging experience and knowledge of cloth simulation is a plus.
• Passion for games and high-quality animation.

If this opportunity sounds like a great fit for you, please submit your resume, and we will get back to you once we have reviewed it.

US COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

The base salary ranges listed below are for the defined geographic market pay zones in these states. If you reside outside of these locations, a recruiter will advise on the base salary range and benefits for your specific location.

EA has listed the base salary ranges it in good faith expects to pay applicants for this role in the locations listed, as of the time of this posting. Salary offered will be determined based on numerous relevant business and candidate factors including, for example, education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, and business or organizational needs.

BASE SALARY RANGES
• California (depending on location e.g. Los Angeles vs. Sacramento):

º $161,100 - $239,700 USD Annually
• Washington (depending on location e.g. Seattle vs. Spokane):

º $142,900 - $230,000 USD Annually

Base salary is just one part of the overall compensation at EA. We also offer a package of benefits including paid time off (3 weeks per year to start), 80 hours per year of sick time, 16 paid company holidays per year, 10 weeks paid time off to bond with baby, medical/dental/vision insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, and 401(k) to regular full-time employees. Certain roles may also be eligible for bonus and equity.

Jobcode: Reference SBJ-rj33y0-18-217-7-252-42 in your application.