Lead Gameplay Animator
$196,500–$247,133 year
Hybrid · Irvine, California, United States
Job Summary
As Lead Gameplay Animator for Bonfire’s first original IP Arkheron, you will shape the animation vision for a fast-paced, competitive PvP title, mentor a lean animation team, and own combat-feel and gameplay readability from prototype through polish. You’ll balance fidelity with performance, evolve animation pipelines, guide motion capture and keyframe techniques, partner with design/engineering/art/production to align animation with gameplay systems, review external partners, contribute to hiring and onboarding, and drive a high craft bar while keeping the player experience at the center of development.
Required Qualifications
- Proven experience creating high-quality in-game animations for multiple shipped titles
- Strong understanding of combat systems and how animation drives readability, feel, and player satisfaction
- Experience developing animation systems, ideally in new or evolving engines
- Ability to own features end-to-end from exploration through implementation
- Ability to convey character through gameplay animation beyond cinematics
- Ability to collaborate across disciplines (design, engineering, art, production) to align animation with gameplay systems
- Experience leading and mentoring a lean animation team, setting expectations, providing constructive feedback, and guiding growth
- Comfort with hands-on animation work while also setting standards and driving ideas forward independently
- Strong collaboration and communication skills across cross-discipline teams
- Growth mindset and commitment to team development
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