Lead Gameplay Animator

What's the one game you couldn't put down? The game that connected you with friends, and made you feel like you belonged? If a game has ever defined a chapter of your life, then you already know the spark we're chasing.

Our mission is to ignite that same feeling for players; the thrill of competition, the joy of community, and the belonging of finding your own corner of a larger world.

We're a group of experienced and ambitious developers, proud to be creating our first original IP: Arkheron. It is a fast-paced, competitive PVP game set in a surreal dark fantasy world where 15 teams of three battle their way up the Tower.

As our Lead Animator, you'll be accountable for how our game moves and how our animation discipline grows. You'll set vision, mentor artists, evolve pipelines, and hold the quality bar high for a competitive, combat-driven multiplayer experience.

Responsibilities:

• Inspire and guide the animation discipline, setting the creative vision and quality bar for characters and combat in a competitive multiplayer game.
• Lead and mentor a lean animation team, fostering autonomy, accountability, and growth through clear expectations, constructive feedback, and thoughtful development.
• Balance leadership with hands-on creation, contributing directly to gameplay animation while setting standards and pushing ideas forward independently.
• Partner with cross-discipline leads (design, engineering, art, production) to align animation with gameplay systems, technical realities, and the overall player experience.
• Own combat feel and moment-to-moment gameplay expression, ensuring characters are readable, responsive, expressive, and impactful.
• Drive production clarity and execution, prioritizing animation goals, pipelines, and team focus while balancing fidelity, performance, and schedule.
• Evolve animation systems and workflows, including thoughtful use of motion capture, keyframe techniques, and external partnerships.
• Guide and review external animation partners, maintaining a high craft bar across both internal and outsourced work.
• Contribute to studio-wide hiring, onboarding, and team-building efforts to grow and strengthen the animation discipline.
• Foster accountability and self-sufficiency, empowering the team to solve problems proactively while maintaining strong collaboration.

Requirements:

• Proven experience creating high-quality, in-game animations, ideally across multiple shipped titles.
• Energized by competitive multiplayer combat and understand the critical role animation plays in readability, feel, and fairness.
• Strong understanding of combat systems and how animation drives responsiveness and player satisfaction.
• Experience developing animation systems, ideally in new or evolving engines.
• Comfortable owning features end-to-end, from early exploration through final implementation.
• Highly skilled at conveying character through gameplay animation, not just cinematics.
• Push for animation excellence while always putting gameplay quality first.
• Thrive in tight-knit, highly collaborative teams and communicate clearly across disciplines.
• Self-directed, adaptable, and able to focus on what matters most for the game right now.
• Believe great games are built by great teams that put people first.
• Value trust, openness, humility, curiosity, and enjoy learning alongside others.
• Have a growth mindset and care deeply about helping teammates develop.
• Want to make a meaningful impact on a new IP and shape both the role and the studio as we grow.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience working with motion capture data and keyframe techniques.
• Familiarity with game engines such as Unreal Engine or Unity.
• Strong understanding of animation principles and techniques.
• Ability to work effectively in a remote or hybrid environment.

We're Excited About You Because:

• You have a passion for creating high-quality, engaging animations that bring characters to life.
• You're a strong communicator and team player who can collaborate effectively with cross-discipline leads.
• You're comfortable taking ownership of features and driving them from start to finish.
• You're adaptable and able to pivot when necessary to meet changing project requirements.
• You're committed to delivering exceptional results and continuously improving your skills and knowledge.

This Might Not Be the Role for You If:

• You prefer to focus solely on individual contribution and don't enjoy coaching, mentoring, or guiding others.
• You're looking for a role where the animation vision is already fully defined and doesn't require iteration or collaboration.
• You're uncomfortable balancing creative ambition with gameplay, tech, and production realities.
• You prefer rigid role boundaries and aren't excited by wearing multiple hats in a small, evolving team.
• Competitive multiplayer games,or the tradeoffs they require,don't genuinely excite you.
• You're seeking a highly siloed environment rather than a studio where cross-discipline collaboration is constant and expected.

You'll Love Working at Bonfire Because:

• We embrace bold challenges with creativity and courage, making the tough calls to build a game we're proud to play every day.
• We keep fun at the core: we play Arkheron daily, staying grounded as players. If it's not more fun than yesterday, we fix it. We don't chase trends; we listen by playing.
• We stay truly independent, with decisions driven by the team , not by investors or a board.
• We thrive in a culture of passion, trust, and shared ownership; where transparency matters and egos don't.

Salary Range: $196,500 - $247,133