Associate Technical Gameplay Animator (Contingent)

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 contributes to the overall well-being and success of the studio and the titles we craft together. 

We are looking for an associate technical gameplay animator to support our team and take on many of the simpler gameplay tasks, so they can focus more time on the more complex aspects of development. If you are detail oriented, a quick learner, and hungry to grow, this position is a great opportunity for you to be surrounded and mentored by a very special team of gameplay animators. We have a very open, inclusive, team-oriented environment and this will give you a very good taste of AAA game development. We will look forward to watching you grow alongside us. 

What will you do:  

• With guidance from senior animators learn how Naughty Dog’s proprietary animation systems and tools work 

• Ability to create high quality animation content in Maya and implement them correctly in our engine 

• Ability to learn our engine debug tools to solve gameplay problems and work with senior animators to find a solution 

• Ability to learn our motion capture pipeline including operating the motion capture stage 

• Ability to learn how to process and retarget motion capture data 

• Ability to take on any assignment using efficient practices 

• Additional responsibilities may be assigned as needed 

What skills you will use: 

• Good eye for animation is a must 

• Patient, organized, and very detail oriented 

• Highly motivated and proactive with a CAN-DO attitude 

• Great communicator 

• Understanding of Maya: layers, time/trax editor 

• Team oriented attitude and willing to take on a range of different types of tasks 

Bonus Skills: 

• General technical knowledge of how games work 

• In engine animation layering knowledge 

• Familiar with an existing Animation system: Unreal, Morpheme, Unity 

• Scripting / programming knowledge: Python, C# or C++ 

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 an animation test. 

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