Job description
DreamForge Animation Studio seeks a Senior Animator to lead high-impact animation work in a fast-paced, collaborative environment in Los Angeles.
As a Senior Animator, you will shape character performance, timing, and motion for animated features or television series. You will mentor junior artists, contribute to the animation pipeline, and ensure all sequences meet technical and stylistic standards.
Required tools include Toon Boom Harmony, Autodesk Maya, or Blender. A strong reel demonstrating acting, timing, and acting choices is essential.
Responsibility
- Lead and supervise the animation process across assigned projects, ensuring high-quality, consistent character performances.
- Block, refine, and polish animation using feedback from directors and leads.
- Collaborate with directors, storyboard artists, and riggers to realize the creative vision.
- Develop and maintain animation rigs and workflows to improve efficiency and reusability.
- Mentor junior animators, provide clear feedback, and contribute to team growth.
- Review passes for pacing, timing, spacing, weight, and exaggeration to maintain style guide adherence.
- Ensure delivery of production-ready assets that comply with technical specs and pipelines.
- Contribute to shot planning, timing charts, and performance notes to guide the team.
Qualification
- Bachelor's degree in Animation, Fine Arts, or related field, or equivalent professional experience.
- 5+ years of professional animation experience in film, television, or games.
- Proficiency with Toon Boom Harmony and Maya or Blender; strong understanding of rigging and deformation.
- Strong storytelling sense with exceptional timing, acting, and anticipation skills.
- Impressive portfolio showing character animation, acting, and scene work.
- Experience with color, lighting, and compositing is a plus.
- Familiarity with production pipelines, asset management, and version control systems (Perforce, Git).
- Excellent communication, collaboration, and mentorship abilities.