Lead Animation Engineer (Apex Legends)

We are seeking a Lead Animation Engineer to join our Animation team at Respawn Entertainment, a studio within Electronic Arts. As a Technical Lead, you will drive the evolution of Apex Legends' animation system, leading a team of animation engineers and working closely with riggers, animators, and tech art to add new capabilities and streamline workflows.

Responsibilities:

• Lead a team of animation engineers, fostering a collaborative environment.
• Partner with tech art, rigging, and the animation director to realize their vision.
• Plan and execute major technical changes while maintaining a stable live-service codebase.
• Analyze and improve existing animation systems to streamline performance and maintainability.
• Define technical roadmaps and staffing plans aligned with long-term engine goals.
• Mentor engineers through reviews, architecture discussions, and hands-on guidance.
• Architect, implement, and maintain animation systems in C++.
• Collaborate across disciplines to design efficient, scalable solutions.
• Optimize systems for memory, CPU, and streaming performance.
• Develop cross-platform for Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo hardware.
• Debug and resolve complex animation issues in large-scale, live environments.
• Identify risks in future roadmaps and build mitigation strategies.
• Collaborate with the animation team to help improve their workflows.

Requirements:

• Passion for games and animation systems, with a deep understanding of animation fundamentals and the state of the art.
• Demonstrates strong ownership, comfortable navigating ambiguity and finding pragmatic solutions.
• Nimble, flexible, and adaptable to changing requirements.
• This role requires someone comfortable working in a custom engine environment, evaluating existing animation architecture, and helping evolve bespoke runtime animation workflows.
• Technical expertise in C/C++ and real-time animation systems, with a strong focus on performance, memory efficiency, scalability, and runtime optimization in a AAA game environment.
• Expertise in designing, developing, and maintaining runtime character animation systems and architecture.
• Solid understanding of skeletal deformation systems, including skinning, blendshapes, corrective shapes, facial animation, character rigs, and runtime retargeting.
• Strong knowledge of animation content pipelines, including the path from DCC tools such as Maya into engine runtime systems.
• Versatility: Comfortable across engine domains and large codebases.
• Experience: 10+ years in game development, including 5+ in animation and 3+ in a technical leadership role.
• Leadership: Proven ability to guide experienced engineers and align teams on complex goals.
• Platform knowledge: AAA engines, console development (Sony/Microsoft/Nintendo), Perforce, Visual Studio, Windows; shipped at least one AAA title.
• Skills: Expert debugging and performance optimization using industry profilers; cross-disciplinary collaboration and solutions-focused mindset.