Senior Animation Director

Job Description

Cliffhanger Games is a newly formed Seattle Studio focusing on blockbuster action-adventure games and pioneering next-generation emergent storytelling beginning with Marvel's Black Panther. Join us to pursue your passion to build unique groundbreaking, and inclusive games that empower players to create incredible stories of heroic adventure. Become a foundational part of an ambitious, respectful and diverse team as we are looking for a Senior Animation Director to join our team.

Reporting to the Principal Art Director, you will establish and maintain the products animation quality with a focus on the combat experience. The Senior Animation Director will work with all relevant team members in ensuring all animation content delivers and enhances gameplay and narrative context for our players. You have a passion for creating and directing dynamic animated content that engages and enhances gameplay. You are fascinated by the nuance of movement and how it accentuates the emotional response of our players. You are a dynamic leader and manager that loves building and growing a team of experienced animators. The study and application of various forms of martial arts into a compelling combat experience is key to your success. The Senior Animation Director will combine foundational animation skills, technical knowledge, effective cross discipline collaboration, and animation team leadership to breathe life into the characters on screen.

Responsibilities
• Work closely with the art and creative directors to define and maintain the vision and quality bar for the animation style and combat expression of the project.
• Collaborate with technical partners in the development and maintenance of animation tools and pipelines ensuring efficient and high-quality output.
• Partner with development directors and art leadership in scope capacity planning, milestone planning, and resource allocation.
• In collaboration with combat team, plan, curate and direct mocap shoots with a focus on combat gameplay animation and movement.
• Lead, mentor, grow, and nurture the career development of the studio's animation team towards a healthy high performing collaborative team environment.
• Collaborate with cross discipline stakeholders ensuring animation content works in tandem with camera, characters, controls, and vfx towards a compelling gameplay experience.
• Work with Art and Creative Direction leadership in ensuring animation assets maintain coherence with the larger product creative goals.
• Partner with the Facial Animation and Presentation team members in implementation, iteration, and polish of in game cinematic presentations.
• Work with the Technical Art and Engineering Teams in the identification of technology requirements and performance metrics needed to meet product goals.

Required Qualifications
• Minimum of 10 years' experience as an Animation Director or equivalent in the video game industry.
We encourage you to apply, even if you don't match every qualification listed above. Let us know why this role appeals to you, why you will be great, what unique perspectives you will bring, and which requirements will challenge you to grow.

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 $162,300 - $252,600
• New York (depending on location e.g. Manhattan vs. Buffalo):
º $162,300 - $252,600
• Jersey City, NJ:
º $179,850 - $252,600
• Colorado (depending on location e.g. Denver vs. Colorado Springs):
º $162,300 - $213,300
• Washington (depending on location e.g. Seattle vs. Spokane):
º $162,300 - $230,150

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-gk7xw8-3-17-4-144-42 in your application.