Description
The Animation Lead is responsible for guiding the quality, execution, and day-to-day creative performance of assigned animation teams and projects.
Working closely with Art Directors, Production, and client-facing teams, the Animation Lead translates creative direction into clear, actionable guidance for animators, reviews work, mentors artists, and helps resolve quality, workflow, and delivery challenges.
Key Responsibilities:
- Provide clear, actionable feedback on animation work, focusing on body mechanics, timing, weight, acting, gameplay feel, and overall quality.
- Guide and mentor animators in India, helping strengthen artistic judgment, technical execution, and independence.
- Translate client direction, style guides, and feedback into clear guidance, references, and priorities for the team.
- Monitor quality, first-time approval, rework, and schedule risk; identify issues early and work with Production and creative leadership to resolve or escalate them.
- Partner with Tech Art, Production, and other disciplines to ensure animation assets integrate effectively in Unreal Engine, Unity, or other project pipelines.
- Help improve review practices, workflows, documentation, pose libraries, style guides, and other tools that enable teams to work more effectively.
Requirements:
- Strong professional experience in game animation, including shipped AAA or high-quality game titles.
- Deep understanding of body mechanics, weight, timing, acting, and both stylized and realistic animation.
- Proficiency with Maya, keyframe and mocap workflows, and Unreal Engine and/or Unity.
- Demonstrated experience reviewing work, mentoring animators, and providing effective creative direction.
- Strong communication and collaboration skills, including working across time zones and distributed teams.
- Ability to identify creative or workflow problems and help drive practical solutions.