Lead Animator – Central Art Team

About Snail Games USA

Snail Games strives to create the new high bar for gameplay experience in online gaming. We have been a global developer and publisher of digital entertainment since 2009 and are committed to pushing the boundaries of the industry.

About the Role

We are seeking a talented and ambitious Animator to join our Central Art team. This role focuses on creating expressive high-quality character and creature animations for both fantasy and science-fiction projects. Youll work directly with our Senior Technical Animator to establish and uphold animation standards across multiple teams produce freehand animations in Unreal Engine 5 and Blender and review work submitted by overseas partners through written and video feedback. The ideal candidate combines artistic instinct with technical fluency and has the range to animate both grounded humanoid performances and imaginative alien creatures.

Job Type: Full-Time

Location: Remote Alaska Arizona California Colorado Connecticut Florida Georgia Illinois Maine Missouri New Jersey Nevada North Carolina Ohio Pennsylvania Texas Washington and Wyoming (Los Angeles area preferred)

Responsibilities

• Lead animation quality and execution across multiple projects aligning with each projects creative direction and gameplay needs.

• Create polished keyframe animations for human creature and alien characters using Blender and Unreal Engine 5.

• Define and maintain animation standards style guides review criteria and best practices in partnership with the Senior Technical Animator.

• Lead animation reviews providing actionable written feedback video critiques and demonstrations to internal teams and overseas partners.

• Mentor animators in performance body mechanics timing and animation polish.

• Collaborate with production and project leads to scope animation work prioritize deliverables identify risks and support achievable schedules.

• Partner with art design and technical teams to ensure animations integrate smoothly into gameplay systems and meet visual and technical requirements.

• Maintain stylistic consistency within each project while supporting a range of realistic and stylized animation approaches.

• Keep animation tasks review notes references and approvals organized in Jira.

Minimum Requirements

• A strong portfolio demonstrating excellent animation fundamentals including weight timing body mechanics expression and appeal.

• Professional video game animation experience including experience leading animation work mentoring artists or owning animation quality for a team or project.

• Proficiency in Blender and Unreal Engine 5 for keyframe animation iteration and polish.

• Ability to create compelling performances for both humanoid characters and creatures with varied anatomy.

• Experience translating creative direction into clear animation targets and actionable feedback.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to guide remote teams and external partners.

• Ability to balance hands-on animation work with reviews mentorship and delivery responsibilities across multiple projects.

• A collaborative organized and proactive approach to solving artistic and production challenges.

Nice to Have

• Experience shipping games in a lead or senior animation role.

• Experience directing external animation partners or distributed teams.

• Understanding of mocap planning workflows and cleanup.

• Knowledge of UE5 Control Rig retargeting Animation Blueprints or animation state machines.

• Experience developing animation pipelines alongside technical animators.

• Familiarity with Chinese cultural or cultivation themes.

Salary Range: $100000 $150000 Annually

Why Join the Snail Games USA Team

• True focus on work/life balance

• Paid company holidays vacation and separate sick leave

• Medical dental vision and Life/LTD

• 401k with company match

Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States. Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

As part of the Companys activities in video game development publishing and short-form video content creation certain projects discussions or creative materials may include themes visuals language or subject matter that some individuals could find mature violent sexual graphic or otherwise sensitive in nature (Mature Content).

Examples may include but are not limited to depictions or descriptions of combat violence adult themes or relationships suggestive or satirical humor or strong language. Employees are expected to engage with such material in a professional and creative context as part of their job duties.