Character Animation Lead

<div class="content-intro"><h2>WHAT MAKES US EPIC?</h2> <p>At the core of Epic’s success are talented, passionate people. Epic prides itself on creating a collaborative, welcoming, and creative environment. Whether it’s building award-winning games or crafting engine technology that enables others to make visually stunning interactive experiences, we’re always innovating.</p> <p>Being Epic means being a part of a team that continually strives to do right by our community and users. We’re constantly innovating to raise the bar of engine and game development.</p></div><h2>ART</h2> <h3><strong>What We Do</strong></h3> <p>Push your artistic talent to the limit on a team of world-class environment, character, and concept artists who strive to innovate and inspire.</p> <h3><strong>What You'll Do</strong></h3> <p>Epic Games is looking for a <strong>Character Animation Director</strong> to join our Special Projects team to help drive the vision and execution of character animation across experimental and gameplay-driven prototypes. You will combine strong animation fundamentals with technical fluency in Unreal Engine to build responsive, expressive, and scalable animation systems. You will act as a bridge between animation and engineering - helping to define workflows, shape systems, and solve complex problems at the intersection of gameplay and motion.&nbsp; This role requires both hands-on creation and leadership: setting quality bars, guiding others, and helping a small team move quickly without sacrificing clarity or craft.</p> <h3><strong>In this role, you will</strong></h3> <ul> <li>Lead the creation and implementation of high-quality, gameplay-driven animation in Unreal Engine</li> <li>Prototype and iterate on new approaches to character movement, responsiveness, and player-driven animation</li> <li>Collaborate closely with engineers and technical designers to design scalable, flexible animation systems.&nbsp; Excite those around you with creative and clear thinking</li> <li>Own animation quality and leadership across projects, ensuring a strong and consistent point of view</li> <li>Translate gameplay needs into animation behaviours that feel intuitive and responsive</li> <li>Debug and solve complex animation and integration issues in the engine</li> <li>Contribute to and help evolve animation pipelines, tools, and workflows for rapid iteration</li> <li>Mentor and support other animators, fostering a culture of curiosity, experimentation, and craft excellence</li> </ul> <h3><strong>What we're looking for</strong></h3> <ul> <li>Expert-level understanding of character animation principles, with the ability to deliver both realistic and stylized motion</li> <li>Deep experience working in Unreal Engine, including Animation Blueprints, state machines, blending, and runtime systems</li> <li>Strong understanding of gameplay animation-how input, timing, and responsiveness shape player experience</li> <li>Proven ability to collaborate effectively with engineers and technical designers on complex, system-driven features</li> <li>Experience building or contributing to animation systems (not just assets), including debugging and iteration in-engine</li> <li>Animating in engine using Unreal Engine animation tools</li> <li>Comfort working in ambiguous, exploratory environments with rapid iteration cycles</li> <li>Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to balance creative goals with technical constraints</li> <li>Excellent communication and leadership skills</li> <li>Experienced AAA development or equivalent real-time production environments</li> </ul> <p><strong>Bonus Points</strong></p> <ul> <li>Experience with motion matching, procedural animation, or emerging animation technologies</li> <li>Familiarity with Control Rig and runtime rigging workflows in Unreal Engine</li> </ul> <p><strong>This role is open to multiple locations in North America.</strong></p> <h2>EPIC JOB + EPIC BENEFITS = EPIC LIFE</h2> <p><span data-sheets-userforma