Principal Animation Programmer
Frontier is an independent video game developer and publisher, crafting immersive gaming experiences with fun gameplay and unparalleled artistic quality. Renowned for its iconic creative management simulation games, Frontier captivates players worldwide with immersive and authentic game worlds. The modern studio is located in the vibrant technology hub of Cambridge (UK). The talented team at Frontier are dedicated to nurturing our existing portfolio and delivering our exciting future roadmap.
We have an exciting opportunity for a dedicated Principal animation programmer to work with our highly talented and experienced animation team. Working in our in-house Cobra engine you will drive the technology that improves how we create and use animations, both in developing tools and processes, and working directly on runtime animation systems for our Cobra game engine.
We have a proud history of great character animation, ranging from heavily stylised to realistic behaviours, across both cinematic sequences and real-time motion. Many of our games also feature mechanical animation and physically-driven responses, presenting many novel challenges beyond established skeletal animation techniques.
Fantastic animation will play a huge part in our future success, with games such as Planet Zoo and Jurassic World Evolution leading the way. Your technical expertise, experience and passion for animation technology will drive the quality at scale that we strive for in all our games.
Responsibilities
- A Technical authority for the animation suite’s design
- Liaising with key stakeholders, particularly in the animation department, to make sure we develop the systems we need and take the best advantage we can of them
- Research and development to move our animation technology forward into the future
- Pro-actively contributing to both the animation programming and cross-discipline teams
- As a senior member of the programming team, you will be expected to support the development of colleagues, including graduates.
- Optimising the animation development processes and runtime game performance.
About You
- Essential
- A proven track record at Senior/Principal level in a similar role.
- Significant C++ experience, as well as extensive software design experience.
- Experience of developing animation systems.
- Excellent analytical and problem solving skills.
- Ability and willingness to develop others through effective mentoring and coaching skills.
- Desirable
- Understanding of animation workflows, techniques and tool chains.
- Expertise in game asset pipelines and animations authoring tools.
- Experience in high fidelity reactive locomotion systems for characters and/or naturalistic animal behaviour.
- An eye for animation principles and detail.
- Experience with profiling and optimisation for console development.
- Track record of animation programming in released AAA games.
- Familiarity with game asset pipelines and animations authoring tools.
- A passion for innovation in animation technology, exploring new concepts and techniques for the discipline
WHAT WE CAN OFFER YOU
You will work with talented and passionate people to support, develop or publish our sophisticated and enduring games, in a creative, collaborative and inclusive environment. We love what we do, and we work hard to provide outstanding experiences for our players.
Wellbeing is a big focus at Frontier, and we are continually evolving how we can support our people. We encourage a healthy work/life balance and provide a range of wellbeing activities, initiatives and sessions to support both mental and physical health.
We offer a competitive salary and benefits package, which includes a success-based annual bonus, share option schemes, life assurance, private family healthcare, flexitime working hours, enhanced maternity/paternity leave, in-house subsidised catering, support with relocation, a Cycle to Work scheme, free bike servicing, and social activities and events.
We strive to create an environment where everyone can fully demonstrate their capability and potential. If you therefore need any reasonable adjustments to support you during the recruitment process, please speak to your Talent Acquisition representative.