Cinematic Animation Lead

CD PROJEKT RED is looking for a Cinematic Animation Lead for Witcher 4 — the first game in a new Witcher series saga — to help bring our ambitious vision of this open-world RPG to life and raise the bar for narrative-driven experiences.

This role focuses on driving the quality, consistency, and emotional depth of cinematic animation across the project. You’ll lead a team of animators in delivering compelling character performances, cinematic scenes, and animation content that shape the player’s journey in this new chapter of The Witcher.

Working closely with Narrative, Cinematic Design, and other cross-functional teams, you’ll ensure performances remain authentic to the tone of the Witcher universe while continuously refining workflows and empowering your team to achieve the highest creative and technical standards.

Daily responsibilities

• Work closely with the Animation Director and the design and production teams to deliver consistent, engaging, and player-friendly cinematic animations for the game.
• Collaborate with content teams, directors, and producers to define project scope and estimate team capacity for creating original animation designs.
• Oversee the creation of unique animation design materials by managing the cinematic animation team’s backlog and effectively prioritizing tasks.
• Maintain and improve animation design pipelines to ensure proper review processes, clear standards, and consistent quality across the project.
• Collaborate with other disciplines to achieve project goals and contribute to the creation of innovative content.
• Stay up to date with industry best practices and actively share knowledge with the team.
• Ensure clear and transparent communication both within the team and across departments.
• Provide regular progress updates and presentations to stakeholders.
• Proactively identify and resolve production blockers.
• Lead and mentor the Cinematic Animation Team, including fostering a collaborative and supportive environment, conducting regular 1:1s to provide guidance and support in developing original cinematic animation designs, and overseeing recruitment, onboarding, and performance management.