inhousefyi
← Back to listings

Senior Gameplay Animation Software Engineer

2KBurnaby, British Columbia, Canada · Posted 1 month ago
Full-time
Apply now

Description

Who We Are

Founded in 2023, Small Axe Studios is 2K’s newest stand-alone studio, built to push the boundaries of game development and bring 2K’s next groundbreaking sports franchise to life. Headquartered in Burnaby, we are assembling a world-class team of visionaries, builders, and passionate gamers who thrive on creative collaboration, technical excellence, and bold ideas. At Small Axe Studios, we believe big things start with sharp focus—and we’re crafting an exceptional, player-first experience from the ground up. If you’re ready to tackle unique challenges, leave your mark on a brand-new IP, and help shape the future of interactive sports entertainment, we want you on our team!

What We Need

We are looking for a Senior Gameplay Engineer to contribute to the development of new animation features and gameplay mechanics at our new studio. In this role, you will be working closely with Animators, Design and Production to develop nuanced and sophisticated animation behaviors that authentically replicate the beautiful, continuous flow of modern field sports. You will help build the foundation, then iterate and innovate upon it to polish world-class, pitch-perfect gameplay for what will be the next massive sports franchise in our industry.

What You Will Do

  • Collaborate closely with gameplay engineers / designers to identify and develop new gameplay features

  • Feature owner of key animation-driven gameplay mechanics, including complex locomotion, physical duels, and intricate foot-to-object interactions

  • Support requests and features for content creation tools and animation review, helping translate authentic athlete physics, momentum, and sudden changes of direction into interactive systems

  • Assist engineers in making the best use of existing and new animation features

  • Keep up to date with the latest industry work and implement these techniques

  • Write and maintain robust and performant code

  • Optimize code and debug animation issues as they arise

What Will Make You A Great Fit

  • Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or a related field (or equivalent work experience)

  • Excellent 3D math and linear algebra skills

  • Solid familiarity and experience with C++

  • 3+ years of proven experience working with animation or gameplay systems

  • Implementation experience in one or more of the following areas: inverse kinematics techniques, procedural animation techniques, keyframe animation and forward kinematics

  • Ability to explain technical topics to people of varying levels of expertise

  • An eye for detail in creating dynamic, authentic, and responsive character animation

  • A deep love for video games (not just ours!) and a passion for sports culture, tracking everything from tactical team formations to what happens from the opening whistle to the final second of extra time

Beneficial Qualifications

  • Experience developing and shipping AAA games on Unreal Engine 4 and 5

  • Master’s/PhD in a related field with a focus on animation related topics

  • Familiarity with Python and/or C#

The pay range for this position in British Columbia at the start of employment is expected to be between $96,400 and $142,660 per year. However, base pay offered is based on market location, and may vary further depending on individualized factors for job candidates, such as job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and other objective business considerations.

Subject to those same considerations, the total compensation package for this position may also include other elements, including a bonus and/or equity awards and eligibility to participate in our 401(K) plan and Employee Stock Purchase Program.

Regular, full-time employees are also eligible for a range of benefits at the Company, including: medical, dental, vision, and basic life insurance coverage; 14 paid holidays per calendar year; paid vacation time per calendar year (ranging from 15 to 25 days) or eligibility to participate in the Company’s discretionary time off program; up to 10 paid sick days per calendar year; paid parental and compassionate leave; wellbeing programs for mental health and other wellness support; family planning support through Maven; commuter benefits; and reimbursements for fitness-related expenses.

Please note that 2K Games and its studios never uses instant messaging apps or personal email accounts to contact prospective employees or conduct interviews and when emailing, only use 2K.com accounts.

Similar jobs

2KBurnaby, British Columbia, Canada

Who We Are Founded in 2023, 2K Sports Lab is the newest stand alone studio at 2K looking to push game development boundaries to bring 2K's next groundbreaking sports franchise to life. We're building a world-class team a…

Full-time
2KBurnaby, British Columbia, Canada

Who We Are Founded in 2023, Small Axe Studios is 2K’s newest stand-alone studio, built to push the boundaries of game development and bring 2K’s next groundbreaking sports franchise to life. Headquartered in Burnaby, we…

Full-time
2KBurnaby, British Columbia, Canada

Who We Are Founded in 2023, Small Axe Studios is 2K’s newest stand-alone studio, built to push the boundaries of game development and bring 2K’s next groundbreaking sports franchise to life. Headquartered in Burnaby, we…

Full-time
2KBurnaby, British Columbia, Canada

Who We Are Founded in 2023, Small Axe Studios is 2K’s newest stand-alone studio, built to push the boundaries of game development and bring 2K’s next groundbreaking sports franchise to life. Headquartered in Burnaby, we…

Full-time
2KBurnaby, British Columbia, Canada

Who We Are Founded in 2023, Small Axe Studios is 2K’s newest stand-alone studio, built to push the boundaries of game development and bring 2K’s next groundbreaking sports franchise to life. Headquartered in Burnaby, we…

Full-time
2KBurnaby, British Columbia, Canada

Small Axe Who We Are Founded in 2023, Small Axe is the newest stand alone studio at 2K looking to push game development boundaries to bring 2K's next groundbreaking sports franchise to life. We're building a world-class…

Full-time
2KBurnaby, British Columbia, Canada

Who We Are Founded in 2023, Small Axe Studios is 2K’s newest stand-alone studio, built to push the boundaries of game development and bring 2K’s next groundbreaking sports franchise to life. Headquartered in Burnaby, we…

Full-time
2KBurnaby, British Columbia, Canada

Who We Are Founded in 2023, Small Axe Studios is 2K’s newest stand-alone studio, built to push the boundaries of game development and bring 2K’s next groundbreaking sports franchise to life. Headquartered in Burnaby, we…

Full-time
2KBurnaby, British Columbia, Canada

Who We Are Founded in 2023, 2K Sports Lab is the newest stand alone studio at 2K looking to push game development boundaries to bring 2K's next groundbreaking sports franchise to life. We're building a world-class team a…

Full-time
2KBurnaby, British Columbia, Canada

Who We Are Founded in 2023, Small Axe Studios is 2K’s newest stand-alone studio, built to push the boundaries of game development and bring 2K’s next groundbreaking sports franchise to life. Headquartered in Burnaby, we…

Full-time
Hangar 13Brighton, England, United Kingdom

Est. 80,000 GBP

Job Title Senior Gameplay & Animation Engineer Department Engineering Location(s) Brighton (preferred), Brno, Prague Reports To Lead engineer Job Type (Permanent, fixed term, internship) Permanent Who We Are Home to…

Full-time
2KBrighton, England, United Kingdom

Est. 80,000 GBP

Job Title Senior Gameplay & Animation Engineer Department Engineering Location(s) Brighton (preferred), Brno, Prague Reports To Lead engineer Job Type (Permanent, fixed term, internship) Permanent Who We Are Home to…

Full-time
2KNovato, California, United States

Est. 282,360 USD

Who We Are At 2K, we build some of the most iconic and culture-shaping video games in entertainment. In 2023, Small Axe Studios, formally known as 2K Sports Lab, was created as our newest stand-alone studio in Burnaby wi…

Full-time
2KBrighton, England, United Kingdom

Est. 80,000 GBP

Job Title Senior Animation Engineer Department Engineering Location(s) Brighton (preferred), Brno, Prague Reports To Lead engineer Job Type Permanent Job Summary As a Senior Animation Engineer you will set a high bar for…

Full-time
Hangar 13Brighton, England, United Kingdom

Est. 80,000 GBP

Job Title Senior Animation Engineer Department Engineering Location(s) Brighton (preferred), Brno, Prague Reports To Lead engineer Job Type Permanent Job Summary As a Senior Animation Engineer you will set a high bar for…

Full-time
2KBrighton, England, United Kingdom

Est. 80,000 GBP

Job Title Principal Technical Animator (Gameplay) Department Technical Art Location(s) Brighton, Prague, Brno Reports To Associate Director Technical Animation Job Type (Permanent, fixed term, internship) Permanent Job S…

Full-time
Hangar 13Brighton, England, United Kingdom

Est. 80,000 GBP

Job Title Principal Technical Animator (Gameplay) Department Technical Art Location(s) Brighton, Prague, Brno Reports To Associate Director Technical Animation Job Type (Permanent, fixed term, internship) Permanent Job S…

Full-time
2KNovato, California, United States

Est. 135,045 USD

#LI-Onsite Who We Are: 2K is headquartered in Novato, California and is a wholly owned label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO). Founded in 2005, 2K Games is a global video game company, publishing tit…

Full-time
Producer27 days ago
2KBurnaby, British Columbia, Canada

Who We Are Founded in 2023, 2K Sports Lab is the newest stand alone studio at 2K looking to push game development boundaries to bring 2K's next groundbreaking sports franchise to life. We're building a world-class team a…

Full-time
Lead Animator2 months ago
2KSan Mateo, California, United States

Est. 152,580 USD

Who We are: We are a diverse team of developers driven by a passion for our art, united by our core values and inspired by a culture of inclusivity to build amazing games that thrill players everywhere. We pursue growth…

Full-time
Lead Animator7 days ago
2KNovato, California, United States

Est. 152,780 USD

As a Lead Gameplay Animator at Cloud Chamber, you will join our talented development team to help shape the character performance and movement systems of our project. In this role, you’ll collaborate with a passionate gr…

Full-time
2KLos Angeles, California, United States

Est. 282,360 USD

Who We Are Founded in 2005, 2K Games is a global video game company, publishing titles developed by some of the most influential game development studios in the world. Our studios are responsible for developing 2K’s port…

Full-time
2KRemote

Est. 152,500 USD

At Visual Concepts, we believe great games are made by diverse and empowered teams with a shared passion for play. As one of the world’s top game development studios, we have shipped over 100 multi-sku titles to critical…

Full-timeRemote
2KMontréal, Quebec, Canada

Gestionnaire en ingénierie - Services d'ingénierie Qui nous sommes Fondée en 2005, 2K Games est une entreprise mondiale de jeux vidéo à rayonnement international, éditant des titres développés par certains des studios le…

Full-time
2KMontréal, Quebec, Canada

Gestionnaire en ingénierie - Produits et outils Qui nous sommes Fondée en 2005, 2K Games est une entreprise mondiale de jeux vidéo à rayonnement international, éditant des titres développés par certains des studios les p…

Full-time
2KBurnaby, British Columbia, Canada

Who We Are Founded in 2023, Small Axe Studios is 2K’s newest stand-alone studio, built to push the boundaries of game development and bring 2K’s next groundbreaking sports franchise to life. Headquartered in Burnaby, we…

Full-time
2KLondon, England, United Kingdom

Est. 85,000 GBP

Who We AreAt 2K, we build some of the most iconic and culture-shaping video games in entertainment. In 2023, we expanded our publishing arm across 2K Sports Lab, our latest stand-alone studio that is shaping an ambitious…

Full-time
Lead Animator7 days ago
2KMontréal, Quebec, Canada

As a Lead Gameplay Animator at Cloud Chamber, you will join our talented development team to help shape the character performance and movement systems of our project. In this role, you’ll collaborate with a passionate gr…

Full-time
2KBangalore, Karnataka, India

Who We Are 2K is headquartered in Novato, California and is a wholly owned label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO). Founded in 2005, 2K Games is a global video game company, publishing titles develope…

Full-time
2KNovato, California, United States

Est. 156,950 USD

Who We Are At 2K, we create some of the most iconic and culture-shaping video games in entertainment, including NBA® 2K, one of the top-selling franchises in the world, and legendary titles like BioShock®, Borderlands®,…

Full-time