{"id":740974,"url":"https://alion.io/job/velanstudios-gameplay-animator-senior","title":"Gameplay Animator (Senior+)","company":{"id":689310,"name":"Velan Studios","domain":"velanstudios.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/velanstudios","size_band":"51-200","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Workable","truth_index":null},"role":"Field & Service","role_family":"Field & Service","seniority":"senior","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"hybrid","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Toronto, Canada"],"countries":["CA"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":85000,"max":120000,"currency":"CAD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":85453},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":null,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"Maya","optional":false},{"name":"Python","optional":false}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-08-12T00:00:00Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-08-12","last_verified_at":"2026-10-25T15:09:14Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":74,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":74},"description":"From dodgeball in the streets to racetracks in your living room, we've always been more interested in asking \"what if?\" than following a roadmap. Whether we're dreaming up a chaotic game of hide & seek in the dark or putting a legendary space fox back in the pilot's seat, that inventor's mindset runs through everything we do. We make games for people who appreciate craft and a little bit of magic. If you're curious, you'll be in good company.\nWe are looking for a Senior Gameplay Animator with the experience and passion to drive our gameplay mechanics to the next level. You’ll play a key role in defining how our characters move, respond and feel, crafting animation that’s both expressive and tightly integrated with gameplay. You should be equally comfortable working in a small, fast-paced prototyping team as you are creating polished, production-quality animation for larger projects. You will be actively collaborating with artists, engineers and designers to develop amazing gameplay feel. And your passion for bringing characters to life should only be matched by your love of diving into engine to bring all your animations together for an unforgettable gameplay experience.\nSenior Gameplay Animator Responsibilities\nHelp define and drive the game’s animation style with expressive, solid body mechanics that makes gameplay feel amazing.\nTake ownership of the full gameplay animation process, from rough prototypes to polished game performances.\nDrive in-engine development with excellent engine competency, including animation systems, state machines and other procedural animation techniques. \nCollaborate with designers and engineers to explore new ideas, solve tricky gameplay challenges, and push what’s possible through animation.\nDocument tools and workflows.\nMentor other animators, offering feedback, guidance, and support.\nChampion animation across the studio - always pushing for clarity, responsiveness, and that breath of life within every press of a button.\nProject Lead role based on project* \nWhat is expected of an Art Lead at Velan Studios?\nLead roles are assigned on a per-project basis and not tied directly to the level of an employee’s position. Leads champion best practices that relate to their area of expertise but also represent all aspects of it in interdisciplinary discussions regarding scope, planning, tools, features and team updates.\nAs the project matures, leads may also be part of hiring and mentoring of any additional artists that might be needed within their field to accomplish project goals in a timely manner and to a high level of quality. Leads may also be expected to help assess their performance and aid in their career development.\nRequirements\n7+ years of professional experience animating for games, with a focus on gameplay.\nA standout demo reel that shows clear body mechanics, timing, and personality. \nExpert in Maya or equivalent 3D animation software.\nHands-on experience working in-engine, with focus on general state machine structures.\nProactive and self-directed, with a good sense of when to explore and when to get things done.\nAble to effectively communicate technical needs and issues to Engineering/Tech Art/Design.\nAbove all, deeply curious and passionate about creating responsive, character forward animation that makes gameplay feel amazing.\nBig Pluses\nExperience leading small animation teams or driving animation direction\nReel should include game or engine captures of your animations in gameplay context.\nFamiliarity with motion matching, procedural animation, or other modern runtime techniques.\nGeneralist skills in modeling, rigging, or related areas.\nA passion for game design and how animation supports player feedback, pacing, and readability\nExperience with motion capture.\nBasic scripting or tool-building experience (Python, MEL, or similar) to streamline workflows or prototype ideas.\nThis is a hybrid or onsite position. Hybrid is 3 days a week in studio. Our studios are located in Troy, NY and Toronto, ON.\nThe salary for this position is typically within the range specified below* per year. Please note that the actual base pay may vary based on factors such as your qualifications, skills, experience, and other relevant considerations. In addition to your salary, our comprehensive compensation package includes various perks, such as potential annual bonuses (though they are not guaranteed), health, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance, a retirement savings plan, paid holidays, and flexible time-off benefits.\nCanada Salary Ranges\nSenior: $85,000. - $120,000. CAD\nSpecialist: $110,000.-$150,000. CAD\nVelan Studios is dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace, so if you are excited about a role but your experience doesn’t align perfectly, we encourage you to submit a General Application. Velan Studios is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to inclusion, diversity, and providing a workplace free from discrimination and harassment. We seek to create a work culture that matches the diversity of our players.","description_format":"text","description_chars":5068,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":null,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":null,"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":["Annual bonuses","Retirement plans"],"hiring_locations":[{"name":"Canada","iso":"CA","kind":"country"}],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["PC Games","Game Development"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-09-11T12:41:59Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":{"score":16,"band":"cold","label":"Long shot","p_open":1,"p_active":0.563,"p_room":0.28,"age_days":74,"expected_fill_days":36,"reasons":["conf:1","urgency","win:tail","crowd:"],"computed_at":"2026-10-25T05:49:26Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":85453,"is_top_pay":false},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/velanstudios-gameplay-animator-senior","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/velanstudios-gameplay-animator-senior.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-25T16:25:32Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":23591,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-10-26T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":689310},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=689310"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fvelanstudios-gameplay-animator-senior"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fvelanstudios-gameplay-animator-senior"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fvelanstudios-gameplay-animator-senior"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/velanstudios-gameplay-animator-senior\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fvelanstudios-gameplay-animator-senior"}]}