Animator, Cinematics - Unannounced Game

Title: Animator, Cinematics - Unannounced Game | Irvine, CA or Albany, NY

Location: Irvine - Blizzard - Blizzard Way

Job Description:

Full time

job requisition id R0014949

What this Job Entails: 

Team Name:

Requisition ID: R026893

Your Mission

At Blizzard, we craft genre‑defining games and legendary worlds for all to share. Through unparalleled creativity and storytelling, we create immersive universes and iconic characters that are beloved across platforms, borders, backgrounds, and generations – only made possible by building a work environment that nurtures the artistry of game development and unleashes the aspirations of our people.

We are looking for an Animator, Cinematics to help craft a new, unannounced game for Blizzard. As a professional‑level individual contributor, you will create high‑quality in‑game cinematics and narrative gameplay moments using motion capture, performance capture, and hand‑keyed animation. You will collaborate closely with artists, designers, engineers, and narrative partners to bring compelling characters, performances, and story moments to life through animation.

This role is anticipated to be a hybrid work position, with some work on‑site and some work from home. The potential home studio for this role is Irvine, CA.

Responsibilities

Priorities can often change in a fast‑paced environment like ours, so this role includes, but is not limited to, the following responsibilities:

• Create visually compelling in‑game cinematics and scripted narrative events using motion‑capture, performance‑capture, and hand‑keyed animation techniques.
• Implement and validate animations within the game engine to ensure functionality, performance, and visual quality.
• Collaborate with Directors, Writers, Designers, and Engineers to ensure cinematic content aligns with narrative, gameplay, and overall creative vision.
• Participate in reviews, iterate on feedback, and continuously refine animation quality.
• Assist with planning and preparation for motion‑capture and performance‑capture shoots, ensuring characters, sets, and props are properly prepared and validated.

Experience

• 5+ years of experience
• Professional experience creating character or creature animation for games, film, or interactive media.
• Experience working with motion‑capture, performance‑capture, and hand‑keyed animation workflows.
• Experience collaborating within cross‑disciplinary development teams.

Knowledge and Skills

• Strong animation skills using Maya or equivalent 3D animation software.
• Strong facial animation skills and performance‑driven animation sensibilities.
• Solid understanding of cinematic systems and scripted narrative gameplay.
• Understanding of narrative structure and cinematography, including staging, camera, layout, and editing principles.
• Technical understanding of animation implementation in a game engine, including the ability to troubleshoot issues.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to work independently, take direction, and provide constructive feedback.

Key Attributes

• A collaborative, team‑oriented mindset with a passion for storytelling and performance.
• Attention to detail and commitment to high‑quality animation craft.
• Comfort working in a dynamic, iterative development environment.
• A player‑first mindset with enthusiasm for creating memorable narrative moments.

Extra Points

• Experience working on AAA games for major platforms.
• Experience in prototype‑driven or rapid‑iteration environments.
• On‑set experience with motion‑capture or performance‑capture shoots.
• Basic experience with modeling or rigging workflows.

Required Application Materials

• Resume.
• Demo reel or portfolio showcasing cinematic or character animation work.

Your Platform

At Blizzard Entertainment, we pour our hearts and souls into everything we create. Best known for iconic video‑game universes including Warcraft, Overwatch, Diablo, and StarCraft, we’ve been creating genre‑defining games for millions of players around the world for more than 30 years. We’re on a quest: bring our dreams to life and craft the most epic entertainment experiences…ever.

Our World

Best known for iconic video‑game universes including Warcraft®, Overwatch®, Diablo®, and StarCraft®, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com), a division of Activision Blizzard, which was acquired by Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment experiences.

Our ability to build immersive and innovative worlds is only enhanced by diverse teams working in an inclusive environment. We aspire to have a culture where everyone can thrive in order to connect and engage the world through epic entertainment.

The video‑game industry is fast‑paced and will continue to evolve. As such, the duties and responsibilities of this role may be changed as directed by the Company at any time to support business needs.

Rewards

We provide a suite of benefits that promote physical, emotional and financial well-being for ‘Every World’ - we’ve got our employees covered!  Subject to eligibility requirements, the Company offers comprehensive benefits including:

• Medical, dental, vision, health savings account or health reimbursement account, healthcare spending accounts, dependent care spending accounts, life and AD&D insurance, disability insurance;
• 401(k) with Company match, tuition reimbursement, charitable donation matching;
• Paid holidays and vacation, paid sick time, floating holidays, compassion and bereavement leaves, parental leave;
• Mental health & wellbeing programs, fitness programs, free and discounted games, and a variety of other voluntary benefit programs like supplemental life & disability, legal service, ID protection, rental insurance, and others;
• If the Company requires that you move geographic locations for the job, then you may also be eligible for relocation assistance.
• In the U.S., the standard base pay range for this role is $29.81 - $55.14 Hourly. These values reflect the expected base pay range of new hires across all U.S. locations. Ultimately, your specific range and offer will be based on several factors, including relevant experience, performance, and work location. Your Talent Professional can share this role’s range details for your local geography during the hiring process. In addition to a competitive base pay, employees in this role may be eligible for incentive compensation. Incentive compensation is not guaranteed. While we strive to provide competitive offers to successful candidates, new hire compensation is negotiable.