At Side, we partner with some of the world's leading developers and publishers to solve complex production challenges and help bring exceptional games to life. From concept through live operations, our co-development teams work as trusted extensions of our clients' studios, contributing expertise across design, engineering, art, audio, QA, and production.
We're looking for a **Cinematic Technical Animator** to help bring dynamic, narrative-driven experiences to life through animation, scripting, and cinematic systems. This is a highly multidisciplinary role for someone who can move comfortably between animation, visual scripting, and storytelling while working hands-on in Unreal Engine every day.
This is a **3-month 1099 contract** supporting a narrative-driven first-person game project.
**Requirements**
**What you will do:**
Cinematic & Narrative Systems
* Design and build scalable pipelines, tools, and systems for cinematic and narrative content, enabling creative teams to work efficiently with minimal engineering support.
* Build and implement cinematic content using Level Sequences, Animation Montages, Animation Blueprints, and Blueprint scripting.
* Help establish workflows that support both gameplay and cinematic storytelling.
Animation & In-Engine Implementation
* Implement character animation directly in Unreal Engine, including runtime animation control and integration.
* Use visual scripting and animation systems to improve character performance, emotional fidelity, timing, and storytelling impact.
* Troubleshoot and debug animation and cinematic issues directly in-engine, identifying practical solutions without relying heavily on engineering.
Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration
* Partner closely with animation, narrative design, audio, lighting, and other creative teams to create cohesive cinematic experiences.
* Balance technical requirements with storytelling, pacing, and presentation goals.
* Optimize cinematic systems for performance, reliability, and scalability while supporting ongoing creative iteration.
**What we are looking for:**
* 2+ years of game development experience with recent hands-on implementation experience.
* Strong Unreal Engine 4 experience, particularly with Blueprints, visual scripting, animation systems, and cinematic workflows.
* A multidisciplinary background such as Technical Art/Technical Animation with strong animation experience, or Design with strong art/animation experience.
* Hands-on experience implementing animation in-engine, including Animation Blueprints, Montages, Level Sequences, and character animation integration.
* Strong understanding of narrative timing, pacing, and cinematic storytelling.
* Strong investigative, debugging, and problem-solving skills with the ability to diagnose issues independently.
* Experience contributing to at least one shipped game, ideally one recognized for strong narrative or mission design.
* Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively across multiple disciplines.
* Passion for narrative-driven first-person shooters.
**Nice to Haves:**
* Experience developing cinematic or narrative pipelines and tools.
* Experience with runtime character control and complex animation systems.
* Experience optimizing cinematic systems for performance and long-term scalability.
* Strong understanding of how animation, audio, lighting, and narrative systems work together to create dramatic moments.
**Benefits**
* Competitive Salary.
* Dynamic, multicultural and fun environment.
* You will be working for the world's leading provider of game services.
* We empower our people and offer regular progression opportunities to ensure our employees flourish.
**About Side**
*Side (formerly PTW) is a global video game development and services provider, offering technical and creative solutions to many of the largest developers and studios around the world. Founded in 2009 and drawing on 30+ years' experience from our parent company in Japan, Side has since grown to become a global force with 20 studios in 14 countries across North America, Europe, South America, and Asia.*
*Our industry-leading services include game development, art production, audio production, quality assurance, localization, localization QA, player support, community management, and datasets.*
*Experience our side of life. For more information, visit*[***www.side.inc***](https://www.side.inc/)
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