Job Description for Principal Animator

Location: Bengaluru, India
Job Type: Full-Time

Role Summary

We are looking for a highly skilled Senior Animator with strong keyframe animation abilities to work on a mobile game. This role involves owning the entire animation vision and quality for the project.

You will create high-level animations, solve complex technical challenges, and work closely with designers, engineers, and artists to ensure characters look expressive, clear, and impactful in motion.

Your Responsibilities

• Manage the full animation pipeline, including rigging, skinning, implementation, and integration inside Unity.
• Deliver polished and optimized animation content for real-time gameplay.
• Produce high-quality, stylized keyframe animations for locomotion (walk/run/sprint), combat, interaction, and gameplay actions.
• Build smooth and natural animation transitions between different states.
• Define and maintain a unified animation style for all characters and assets.

• Ensure all animations match the visual direction of the project.

• Implement and optimize animations inside Unity using animation controllers, state machines, and player configuration tools.
• Work directly with game designers and engineers to support gameplay needs.

• Create, update, and maintain character rigs and skin weights.

  Integrate costumes and new character models so they animate correctly.

Required Skills

Software Expertise

• Maya & MotionBuilder: Advanced skills for creating stylized animations with modern workflows and tools.
• Unity: Strong understanding of animation controllers, state machines, and how animations function in a game engine.

Animation Skills

• Expert-level understanding of key animation principles: posing, timing, weight, spacing, and strong silhouettes.

• Ability to work efficiently with Maya animation layers.

Technical Skills

• Solid experience with rigging and skinning characters.

• Strong problem-solving abilities for animation integration and engine-related issues.

Adaptability

• Openness to using new tools and AI-based animation software such as Cascadeur, Move AI, DeepMotion, etc.

• Ability to adopt new workflows that improve speed and quality.

Please note: This position is for one of Playdawn's clients, and successful candidates will be hired directly by the client, not by Playdawn.

Our client is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. They are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace where all individuals are treated with respect and have equal access to opportunities, regardless of race, color, religion, gender, age, disability, or other protected characteristics. They believe that diversity fuels innovation and creativity, and they strive to create an environment where everyone can thrive and contribute to shared success.