Electronic Arts

Job Title: Principal Animator (Apex Legends)

Location: Vancouver, BC, Los Angeles, CA or Madison WI

Work Model: Hybrid

Founded in 2010, Respawn was created with the philosophy that when talented people have creative freedom, they’ll make extraordinary games that achieve the unexpected. Respawn Entertainment is the Academy Award-winning studio behind Apex Legends, Titanfall, and Star Wars Jedi titles. Join us to help shape the future of one of the world’s leading live service franchises.

Our Apex team is looking for an experienced Principal Animator who will embrace our philosophy and leverage their expertise to help define the future of animation and player experiences at Respawn. We're picturing someone who will elevate the quality bar across the project, help shape animation direction and pipelines, and create memorable gameplay experiences through exceptional character performance and animation expertise. This is a highly influential individual contributor role that combines world-class animation expertise with cross-discipline leadership. If this sounds like you, we're looking forward to seeing your resume!

What you'll do…

- Reporting to the Animation Director, you will create high-quality animations and help define animation direction across a variety of gameplay and character experiences.

- Serve as a subject matter expert for animation, helping establish best practices, workflows, and animation standards across the project.

- Partner with Animation Leadership to help define the long-term vision for animation quality, pipelines, technologies, gameplay readability, and character performance.

- Implement animations into the project's engine with full ownership of your work, while helping improve implementation workflows, tools, and animation systems.

- Collaborate closely with Design, Tech Animation, Engineering, and other disciplines to solve complex gameplay and production challenges.

- Influence animation direction through mentorship, communication, collaboration, and advocacy for both player experience and animation quality.

- Identify risks and opportunities early, proactively proposing solutions that improve animation quality, production efficiency, and team effectiveness.

- Take animation features and experiences from conceptualization to shipping with minimal direction, driving both creative and technical execution.

Ideally, you will have…

- 10+ years of professional game development experience shipping multiple AAA titles, including experience in a senior, lead, or principal-level animation role.

- Expert-level character animation experience with a strong understanding of body mechanics, performance, timing, and movement across a variety of character types and gameplay experiences.

- Expert knowledge of Maya with extensive experience modifying and enhancing Motion Capture data for gameplay-focused animation.

- Strong experience integrating animations into game engines and working within modern animation state machines, blend systems, and gameplay pipelines.

- Proven experience working closely with Designers, Tech Animators, and Engineers to create compelling gameplay experiences.

- Demonstrated ability to mentor other animators and elevate the overall quality and effectiveness of a team.

- Strong understanding of animation systems, production challenges, and scalable content creation practices with a passion for pushing the boundaries of gameplay animation and creating exceptional player experiences.