About the role
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.
What We Need
Our studio is looking for an experienced Gameplay Animator who has a high quality bar and a passion for replicating authentic sports behaviors. In this role, you will work closely with AI and Animation Engineers, Designers and Producers to implement authentic sports behaviors to build highly polished world – class gameplay for what will be the next massive sports franchise in our industry!
What You Will Do
- Work closely with the gameplay Animation Lead to ensure animation is on-brand, on-time and of professional quality.
- Collaborate with Designers to support the design for animation-based features.
- Provide animation from the ideation stage through to final implementation of features.
- Be an organized individual and support production by staying on top of mocap shot lists and mocap reference.
- Deliver appropriate animations that support the strongest feature possible.
- Collaborate with Engineers and Designers to influence the technical implementation of features.
- Collaborate with the Animation Director to understand, and deliver on, the quality bar for the animations that you create.
- Collaborate with the Design Lead and Engineering team to implement your features in engine.
- Champion animation quality and authenticity within your features, bringing the animation perspective to all decision making.
Who We Think Will Be A Great Fit
- A passion, and understanding of sports games.
- Experience developing and shipping AAA games on Unreal Engine 4 or 5.
- Experience working with on ‘second-to-second’ interactive animation features.
- Player experience focused.
- Open-minded, organized, proactive and collaborative.
- Excellent understanding of human mechanics – specific to sports behaviors.
Beneficial Qualifications
- Passionate about playing and/or watching sports.
- Passion for video games (not just ours).
Compensation and Benefits
- Pay Range: CAD $60,500 to CAD $89,540 per year.
- Base Pay Factors: Market location and individualized factors including job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and other objective business considerations.
- Total Compensation: May include bonus and/or equity awards in addition to a full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits.
- Employment Terms: 'At-will' position; company reserves the right to modify base salary and other compensation or benefit programs at any time.
Additional Information
- Location: Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.
- Working Conditions: Hybrid role requiring office attendance 2 days per week.
- Equal Opportunity: The company is an equal opportunity employer and provides reasonable accommodation for qualified individuals with disabilities.
- Security Notice: 2K Games and its studios never use instant messaging apps or personal email accounts to contact prospective employees; communications only occur via 2K.com accounts.