Senior Animation Programmer

Job content

Rare is a one-of-a-kind game studio where we create the kind of games the world doesn’t have, games that are uniquely Rare! Working here offers opportunities unlike anywhere else. You’ll be providing players with unforgettable shared experiences in games loved by millions worldwide. Our pirate adventure Sea of Thieves, launched in 2018, is still going strong - and alongside that we’re busy creating our next magical world, Everwild, announced in 2019 to a global audience.

We strive to make Rare an amazing place to work, embracing a culture of respect and building a supportive environment for our developers. Our custom-built Twycross studio is situated in the beautiful English countryside, surrounded by woodland and wildlife, with plenty of room for us to grow. Studio benefits are catered to making life easier for staff, including flexible working, a bonus scheme, an industry-leading pension package, private healthcare, mental health initiatives and free events for employees and their families.

By joining Rare, you’ll be joining one of the finest studios in the industry with support from the wider Xbox Game Studios network. We’re always on the lookout for exceptional people who can bring their expertise and unique thinking to help make our team even stronger!

Role Purpose

We have an exciting opportunity for a Senior Animation Programmer working with the central technology group focusing on enabling the Everwild game team. We are seeking an individual who can take up a key role in character and creature creation, working closely with animators, gameplay, and core tech. teams, to help bring our unique and iconic creatures to life.

You would be working with big believers in high-quality engineering, who aim for fast iteration with robust methods. We embrace modern development practices such as continuous delivery, automated testing, code reviews, pair programming and agile methods.

As part of our team, we will encourage you to explore and grow your skills, whether through engineering discussions, hosting one of our in-house workshops or signing up to be part of our Engineering Process Group to help steer how we build games in the future.

If the above sounds like something you are interested in, keep reading...

Responsibilities

• Work closely with animators on character creation to bring them from concept through to delivery providing engineering support, capabilities and tooling to achieve visual and performance targets
• Handle a full range of animation technology such as character movement, player interaction, multi-character interactions, tools and multiplayer gameplay.
• Own collaboration between animation and AI teams, influencing direction of both teams to achieve Everwild’s visual and experiential targets
• Profile, optimise and maintain new and existing animation systems to deliver a living and breathing world at scale.
• Be keen to push the boundaries of what has been achieved in animation to bring our characters to life.
• Be part of Rare’s culture; be inquisitive, try things out, break stuff and help people be even better.
  

Qualifications

REQUIRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

• At least two years of professional games experience or equivalent experience that would put you at this level.
• Excellent communication skills and keenness for empowering others.
• Recent professional experience of developing in C++.
• Practical experience in an animation engineering role, familiarity with standard approaches in real-time animation and an enthusiasm for the subject.
• Experience working with Unreal Engine 4
  

Desirable Experience

• Experience of working with Unreal Engine 4 in an animation or AI capacity
• A solid grounding in Computer Science theory and C++ development.
• Experience of working with multiplayer architectures.
• Experience working in or with AI engineering domain
  

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances.

Benefits/perks listed below may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Microsoft and the country where you work.

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