Lead Animator

We want you to #JOINTHEREBELLION!  

For 30 years we’ve been independently developing and publishing incredible video games at our multiple studios founded by Jason & Chris Kingsley, but Rebellion is more than just games. We have our own film studio, we create board games, publish books, and through 2000AD, publish comics and graphic novels such as the amazing Judge Dredd.

We’re hiring a Lead Animator to help shape an unannounced title and to be part of a major new project built by a seasoned team known for outstanding shooters.

This exciting opportunity can be based out of any of our studios in Oxford, Warwick or Runcorn, offering flexibility, collaboration, and the chance to work with a world-class team! We can provide a relocation package, including moving assistance, temporary accommodation, and full support to ensure a smooth transition to your new environment.

We believe in the power of face-to-face collaboration and encourage working from our studios or Oxford headquarters. However, we understand that flexibility matters, so we’re open to discussing hybrid options based on individual needs.

Responsibilities:

• Lead and mentor a team of animators, setting benchmarks and best-practice workflows for creature and character, viewport animation.
• Working with the creature and viewport animators, balancing creative goals with production realities and gameplay needs.
• Collaborate with Art, Design, Programming, Tech Animation to integrate animation seamlessly into game engines and PBR pipelines.
• Create high-quality, in-game animations that meet style guides and technical constraints; review and give actionable feedback.
• Working with production, helping to make sure the project has the correct visibility and that all work is tracked and meets the project needs.

Requirements

• A strong understanding of creature and viewport motions (locomotion, combat, behaviours), using the core principles of animation.
• Mastery of industry tools such as Maya and Blender, plus solid knowledge of game-engine animation systems.
• Previous experience with motion capture pipelines: planning, directing, cleaning, fixing, and polishing data to a shippable standard is a plus.
• Strong collaboration with art direction, tech anim, and code to help guide the animators to produce shippable content.
• Solid understanding of data structures and production pipelines; able to diagnose and resolve animation/technical issues efficiently.
• Proven leadership experience: delegating tasks, mentoring animators, and maintaining team morale and performance.
• Clear communicator who can present direction, reviews, and status to stakeholders and external partners.

Benefits

We offer an extensive benefits package to our team including:

• 22 days holidays + Christmas closure (typically 4 days) & Bank holidays (increasing with service at 5 years – one day each year until you reach 31 days)
• Private Medical Insurance, healthcare cash plan, including dental and Vision
• Life Assurance, Income Protection & Critical Illness Cover
• Enhanced Family Leave
• Interest Free, Tax-Free loans
• Enhanced Pension Scheme
• EAP a range of Mental Health and Wellbeing Support
• Plus loads more… including a wide range of discounts, freebies, and social events!

Right to Work Statement

This role is only open to applicants who have the permanent right to work in the UK. We are unable to provide or take over visa sponsorship, either now or in the future. Applicants must therefore be able to demonstrate their ongoing eligibility to work in the UK without the need for employer sponsorship.

Life at Our Oxford HQ

Our riverside headquarters in Oxford places you a short walk away from the city centre. Renowned for its rich historical backdrop and esteemed educational institutions, Oxford offers a unique blend of tradition and modernity, with its beautiful architecture and green spaces.

Oxford also boasts excellent transport links, making it easy to navigate both the city and the wider country. The city’s train station, just a short walk from our studio, offers frequent services to London, as well as direct routes to major cities like Birmingham, Manchester, and Reading and we also offer free parking at the studio.

Our open-plan office promotes teamwork and innovation, with regular interaction with senior management and other departments, alongside access to free hot drinks, a handy tuck shop onsite and a range of local pubs, cafes and dining options nearby helping make every workday enjoyable!

Inside Rebellion

Whichever team you join at Rebellion we are proud of our open, friendly, and creative atmosphere. We love what we do, and we have fun doing it! As a big indie developer, we have complete creative freedom over our titles which allows us to work on a massive variety of projects across all the major platforms.

Find out more about us here

Our size, stability, and the variety of in-house expertise across multiple industries, makes Rebellion completely unique! We work in our own way, and we celebrate that as the key to our success. We foster an inclusive culture where you are encouraged to be yourself, to express your creativity and your talent. We are people focused and will support you in every way to can be the best at what you do. We recognise the importance of enjoying what you do and having a healthy work-life balance. We offer a friendly, creative, and relaxed working atmosphere, with sensibly managed projects and a wide variety of benefits and development opportunities for all our teams to ensure you are fully supported with your physical and Mental Well-being.

We are actively recruiting for a diverse team and continue to add to our culture of growth and inclusion. Rebellion encourages innovation in all areas, and we look forward to hearing how you can help us to be better. We encourage all demographics of culture, gender, ethnicity, neurodiversity and beyond, because a representative team makes better products.

If you are interested in working at Rebellion, but this role doesn’t sound quite like you, we’re recruiting for a range of positions across the studio and we’re always happy to receive speculative applications via our website. Visit our Careers website to view all our live vacancies: Rebellion: Careers

#LI-Hybrid