At Virtuos, we harness the latest technologies to make games better and more immersive than ever before. We pride ourselves in constantly pushing the boundaries of possibility since our founding in 2004.
Virtuosi is a team of experts – people who have come together to share their mutual passion for making and playing games. People with the same enthusiasm for exploring new ideas and the constant drive to excel in their field. People who believe in earning success through dedication.
Black Shamrock is a leading game development studio that thrives on creating captivating worlds and immersive gameplay. We are pioneering the future of game development with a AAA project that integrates cutting-edge AI systems and realism into gameplay.
About the Position: We’re seeking a AI Technical Animator to bridge the gap between traditional animation and advanced AI-driven systems. This role is pivotal in architecting runtime animation behaviors, collaborating with AI teams, and assisting in driving the animation integration process across gameplay and systems.
A deep understanding of rigging is essential—not only to collaborate with dedicated riggers, but also to contribute to the design and review of control systems, deformation setups, and the overall character pipeline.
Responsibilities
* Design and maintain scalable, real-time animation systems that integrate with AI behaviors and procedural motion.
* Collaborate closely with AI engineers and gameplay developers to create adaptive, systemic character performances.
* Support rigging workflows, including the design and review of skeletal structures, facial systems, and deformation strategies.
* Build tools (in Python or MEL) that support animation retargeting, pose libraries, motion blending, or state-driven animation logic.
* Prototype and implement motion matching, IK solvers, and procedural animation techniques that support gameplay responsiveness and realism.
* Ensure clean integration and optimization of animation assets in engine (preferably Unreal).
* Help define and enforce animation quality and performance standards across the pipeline.
Qualifications
Need to Have:
* Experience in technical animation on at least one shipped AAA title (or equivalent complex real-time project).
* Expert-level skills in Maya (required) for animation, rig review, and technical workflows.
* Solid scripting experience in Python for automation and tool creation.
* Deep understanding of rigging systems, character setup, and skinning best practices.
* Strong knowledge of animation systems and runtime behaviors (blend trees, IK, state machines, Control Rig, etc.).
* Comfortable in discussions with rigging and animation teams and aligning rigging outputs with gameplay and AI needs.
Nice To Have:
* Experience with MotionBuilder for mocap processing (not required).
* Familiarity with Unreal Engine Control Rig and Sequencer.
* Exposure to motion matching, neural animation systems (e.g., DeepMimic, Phase-Functioned Neural Networks), or procedural animation.
* Background or interest in machine learning, behavior systems, or character AI.
Founded in 2004, Virtuos is one of the largest independent video game development companies. We are headquartered in Singapore with over 4,200 employees across 25 offices in Asia, Europe, and North America.
Black Shamrock was founded in 2016 and acquired by the Virtuos Group in 2017. The studio is Ireland’s largest PC and console game development studio and provides unique opportunities to work on multiple AAA titles.
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