Cinematic Assembly Animator

Job Description

Cinematic Assembly Animator (Contingent)

PlayStation isn't just the Best Place to Play - it's also the Best Place to Work. Today, we're recognized as a global leader in entertainment producing The PlayStation family of products and services including PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, PlayStation®VR, PlayStation®Plus, acclaimed PlayStation software titles from PlayStation Studios, and more.

PlayStation also strives to create an inclusive environment that empowers employees and embraces diversity. We welcome and encourage everyone who has a passion and curiosity for innovation, technology, and play to explore our open positions and join our growing global team.

The PlayStation brand falls under Sony Interactive Entertainment, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation.

This position is for temporary engagement through our staffing partner DZConnex. Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States for this position.

This is a hybrid position and will be based in our studio in Santa Monica, CA.

For 40 years, Naughty Dog has been crafting best-selling, critically acclaimed games that constantly push the boundaries of narrative, gameplay, and technology. Naughty Dog recently released The Last of Us Part II Remastered as well as a current generation remake of The Last of Us Part I for the PS5. We're also proud to say that The Last of Us Parts I and II are now available for the first time on PC. Currently, we're busy at the kennel working on Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, and we'd love to find talented individuals to join us.

Naughty Dog games have long been lauded for their evocative, character-driven stories and attention to detail. We are committed to innovation within our games and as such have curated some of the top creative and technically innovative minds in the industry. We welcome diverse candidates and believe that a broad range of cultural and life experiences contribute to the overall well-being and success of the studio and the titles we craft together.

The Cinematic Assembly Animator will be responsible for prepping and setting up cinematic assets in Maya and in game. They will work closely with Editorial and the Cinematography teams on the iterative revisions of scenes layout. They will make sure the scenes are building and running in the game engine.

What you will do: 
• Maya: Assembling cinematic scenes with characters/sets/props
• Loading character mocap data as Time Editor clips
• Updating the timing for iterative editorial passes
• Engine: Creating necessary assets to build cinematic animations into the game engine
• Debugging issues that may arise either in Maya or in Engine to ensure we maintain efficient workflow for the team
• Potential to also support the cinematography team with rough layout of cameras for scenes (skill set depending)
• Potential support of Facial performance solving

What skills you will use:
• Experience with character animation using Maya
• Should be Proficient using Maya's Time Editor
• Basic understanding of scripting
• Technically proficient, able to grasp new processes and workflows quickly
• Be a creative, innovative problem solver

Bonus Skills: 
• Experience with animation production for games
• Have experience working on cut scenes and/or interactive animation
• Have experience using nonlinear animation editors (Time Editor, Story tool (mobu), etc.)
• Experience animating realistic humans, including facial animation

As a part of the Naughty Dog application process, candidates will be expected to provide a portfolio or demo reel of their work and may be asked to complete a skill assessment test.

Please refer to our Candidate Privacy Notice for more information about how we process your personal information, and your data protection rights.

At SIE, working with our partners, we consider several factors when setting each role's base pay range, including the competitive benchmarking data for the market and geographic location.

Please note that the individual base pay range may vary based on job-related factors which may include knowledge, skills, experience, and location.

In addition, this role is eligible for benefit offerings that include medical, dental, and vision. Click here to learn more.

The estimated base pay range for this role is listed below, this is an hourly rate.

$57.69
- $72.12 USD

Equal Opportunity Statement:

Sony is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All persons will receive consideration for employment without regard to gender (including gender identity, gender expression and gender reassignment), race (including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin), religion or belief, marital or civil partnership status, disability, age, sexual orientation, pregnancy, maternity or parental status, trade union membership or membership in any other legally protected category.

We strive to create an inclusive environment, empower employees and embrace diversity. We encourage everyone to respond.

PlayStation is a Fair Chance employer and qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records will be considered for employment.

Jobcode: Reference SBJ-yjp120-18-97-9-169-42 in your application.