Introduction

• We are a small team (<10) creating an unconventional, simulation-driven narrative game.
• Our team operates on a principle of psychological safety. We all get a voice in the decisions we care about, and everyone’s opinion is deeply valued and respected. We set ego aside and invite open feedback and discussion.
• Creativity is an iterative process, and we all understand that we’re on the same team working together to create the best possible experience for our players.
• Flexibility and work-life balance are very important to us. We believe happy, healthy developers make better games. Video games are very cool, but life is very cool too.
• As a powerful emotional medium, games can provide hope, introspection, and positivity. All creative works carry a message, and it’s important to consider the social and ethical ramifications of what we make. We know that the best way to do this is with a diverse team and collaborators.

The Basics

• Location: Fully remote, located within a PT (UTC−8) to ATL (UTC−3) time zone (majority of team located in Canada)
• Hours: 32 per week, with coordinated core hours across team timezones
• Employment Type: Contract, minimum 3 months
• Compensation: Competitive, based on duration of contract

The Role

The Technical Animator is responsible for rigging and animating our game’s 3D characters.

They work with Engineering to build rigs that fit the game’s specific needs, and with our Character Modeler to help define the pipeline and its requirements. They conceptualize and are able to think flexibly about the trade-offs that are inherent in this process, helping to create a pipeline that meets the needs of the project.

They produce animation loops and emotes to be shared between the character rigs as appropriate, making smart choices about such trade-offs as personality vs broad reusability. They determine the most beneficial use of their time in this regard, and are able to rank animation needs by priority.

Our characters are the heart of our game, and a successful Technical Animator will be interested in supporting (and furthering) its tone and themes. They are highly organized and proficient in self-direction, with a love for both the technical and more expressive sides of animation.

The Skill Set

• Experience as rigger/animator on a multi-person project creating a video game or other interaction-rich application
• Strong fundamental knowledge of the process of rigging lower-poly characters
• Strong knowledge of animation principles and practicalities (especially when it comes to idle loop-centric NPC needs)
• Unity and Blender experience advantageous!
• Disposition for working without supervision and proactively looking for ways to contribute to our game's production
• Excitement for an iterative process centred around quickly drafting a solution to a problem, evaluating it to gather feedback, and integrating that feedback into a future revision
• Openness to feedback with the expectation of leveraging that feedback in the continual pursuit of learning and enhancing skills, and providing similarly enabling feedback to others

Application

If you are interested, please send us an email with your resume and a portfolio link with the subject line of Technical Animator.

Interview Process

1. Video call with creative director Nels Anderson and COO Karla Zimonja (~1 hour)
2. Video call with other close collaborators on the art and engineering teams (~30-45 minutes)
3. Reference checks as appropriate
4. Offer

We do our best to work quickly, and a typical timeline is 2 weeks from initial interview to offer. Sonderlust is dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive team. We encourage applications from all qualified candidates and will accommodate applicants' needs throughout the process. If selected to participate, please inform us of the nature of accommodation(s) you may require.