Animation Programmer (All Levels)

At Rockstar Games, we create world-class entertainment experiences.
A career at Rockstar Games is about being part of a team working on some of the most creatively rewarding and ambitious projects to be found in any entertainment medium. You would be welcomed to a dedicated and inclusive environment where you can learn, and collaborate with some of the most talented people in the industry.
Rockstar Toronto is on the lookout for talented Animation Programmers to support the global Animation team. We have multiple full-time permanent positions available from Associate to Senior in the areas of cinematics, gameplay, and procedural animation. The successful applicant will have strong programming skills using C++, an interest in character animation, and a passion for our games.
What We Do

• We develop animation technology, from performance capture through to a sophisticated runtime engine, for massive open world games.
• We support and work closely with gameplay, animation and technical art teams, across multiple projects at different Rockstar studios.
• We are a global team of programmers and researchers who collaborate on pushing the boundaries of character animation on next generation hardware.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate and contribute to the research and development of features related to procedural animation, animation retargeting, motion morphing, and IK, for both bipedal and quadrupedal characters.
• Assist AI and gameplay teams push the boundaries of seamless character interaction across our many contextual gameplay mechanics through in-game animated scenes, dialogue, gestures, and facial animation.
• Work closely with AI, gameplay, and physics code teams as well as animation and technical art teams to deliver features and improve interfaces, functionality, and workflows.
• Enhance, extend, and optimize our cinematic runtime with regards to playback, synchronization, lighting, and scalability.
• Help develop, expand, maintain, and support an extensive runtime animation system, pipeline, and tools.

Qualifications

• Interest in character animation technology, a passion for character-based games, and a good eye for character and animation aesthetics.
• A degree in computer science or related discipline, or equivalent industry experience.

Skills

• 3D math background.
• Good communication skills with the ability to clearly share complex technical information with other programmers, animators, and technical artists.
• Familiarity with common optimization and multi-threading techniques.
• Object oriented design.
• Strong C/C++ programming skills.

PLUSES
Please note that these are desirable skills and are not required to apply for the position.

• Experience developing within a large existing codebase, collaborating or working independently within a large team.
• Knowledge of character animation technology such as blend trees, procedural animation and IK systems, facial animation, streaming and asset management, and scripted control.
• Practical success optimizing or debugging large/complex multithreaded C++ code.
• C# programming skills.
• Entity component system (ECS) architecture pattern.
• Experience creating, extending or working directly with an animation system within a game engine.

How To Apply
Please apply with a resume and cover letter demonstrating how you meet the skills above. If we would like to move forward with your application, a Rockstar recruiter will reach out to you to explain next steps and guide you through the process.
Rockstar is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, and we are committed to hiring, promoting, and compensating employees based on their qualifications and demonstrated ability to perform job responsibilities.
If you’ve got the right skills for the job, we want to hear from you. We encourage applications from all suitable candidates regardless of age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, belief, or race.