162 Animation Director jobs in the United Kingdom

• Establish and maintain the overall animation style and quality standards for projects.
• Direct and inspire a team of animators, providing clear feedback, mentorship, and artistic guidance.
• Oversee the animation process from pre-visualization and storyboarding through to final polish.
• Collaborate closely with game directors, art directors, and narrative designers to ensure animation aligns with the overall project vision.
• Develop and implement animation pipelines and workflows optimized for remote collaboration.
• Review and approve animation assets, ensuring technical and artistic excellence.
• Troubleshoot animation-related issues and provide creative solutions.
• Stay abreast of industry trends, new technologies, and best practices in animation.
• Conduct performance reviews and contribute to talent development within the animation team.
• Communicate effectively with cross-functional teams in a remote setting.

• Extensive experience (8+ years) in animation, with a significant portion in a lead or directorial role within the games or film industry.
• A strong portfolio showcasing exceptional animation quality and artistic direction.
• Proven ability to lead, mentor, and inspire creative teams.
• Expertise in 3D animation software (e.g., Maya, 3ds Max) and game engines (e.g., Unreal Engine, Unity).
• Deep understanding of animation principles, cinematography, and storytelling.
• Excellent communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills.
• Experience working effectively in a remote production environment.
• Strong understanding of character rigging and technical constraints.
• Ability to provide constructive criticism and foster a positive team dynamic.
• Bachelor's degree in Animation, Fine Arts, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.

• Define and maintain the overall artistic direction and animation style for projects.
• Lead, mentor, and inspire a team of animators, providing clear direction and feedback.
• Oversee the animation pipeline, ensuring efficiency and quality control at every stage.
• Collaborate with directors, producers, and other stakeholders to achieve project objectives.
• Develop and implement animation workflows and best practices.
• Review and approve animation assets, ensuring they meet creative and technical standards.
• Contribute to character design and development processes.
• Troubleshoot animation challenges and provide creative solutions.
• Stay abreast of industry trends and emerging animation technologies.
• Manage animation schedules and deliverables in coordination with production timelines.

• Extensive experience in animation direction or leadership roles.
• A strong portfolio demonstrating exceptional animation skills and artistic vision.
• Proficiency in industry-standard 3D animation software (e.g., Maya, Blender, 3ds Max).
• In-depth knowledge of animation principles, cinematography, and visual storytelling.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills.
• Experience in remote team management and collaboration.
• Ability to provide constructive criticism and foster a positive team environment.
• Bachelor's degree in Animation, Fine Arts, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.

• Lead the animation team in bringing scripts and storyboards to life with compelling character performance and visual storytelling.
• Develop and maintain the overall animation style and aesthetic for assigned projects.
• Direct animators, providing clear feedback and guidance on character performance, timing, and acting.
• Collaborate closely with Directors, Producers, and other creative leads to ensure artistic vision is realized.
• Oversee the animation pipeline, ensuring efficient workflow and timely delivery of assets.
• Conduct animation reviews and provide constructive criticism to maintain quality standards.
• Mentor and guide junior animators, fostering their professional development.
• Interpret directorial notes and translate them into effective animation direction.
• Ensure consistency in character design, performance, and technical execution.
• Contribute creative ideas for character development, scene staging, and visual narrative.
• Stay current with industry trends, techniques, and software in animation.

• Bachelor's degree in Animation, Fine Arts, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• Minimum of 7-10 years of experience in animation, with at least 3-5 years in a directorial or lead role.
• A strong portfolio demonstrating exceptional animation direction and character performance skills.
• In-depth knowledge of 2D or 3D animation principles and software (e.g., Maya, Blender, Toon Boom Harmony).
• Proven ability to lead, motivate, and inspire a team of artists.
• Excellent understanding of visual storytelling, cinematography, and composition.
• Strong communication, interpersonal, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work effectively and collaboratively in a remote setting.
• Experience with various animation pipelines and production workflows.

• Lead, mentor, and inspire a team of animators on various projects.
• Oversee the entire animation production process, ensuring high-quality output.
• Develop and maintain consistent animation styles across different projects.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including art, design, and narrative.
• Conduct animation reviews and provide clear, actionable feedback.
• Troubleshoot and resolve technical and artistic animation issues.
• Define and enforce animation best practices and pipelines.
• Manage animation asset creation and integration.
• Contribute to the artistic vision and direction of projects.
• Stay abreast of the latest animation technologies and trends.

• Proven experience as an Animation Director or Lead Animator in games, film, or related industries.
• Exceptional understanding of animation principles, cinematography, and visual storytelling.
• Proficiency in industry-leading animation software (e.g., Maya, Blender, Unreal Engine).
• Strong leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills.
• Demonstrated ability to manage and motivate a team.
• A strong portfolio showcasing a high level of artistic talent and directing capability.
• Experience with real-time animation pipelines is a plus.
• Bachelor's degree in Animation, Fine Arts, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.

• Establish and maintain the overall animation style and quality for assigned projects, ensuring creative consistency and artistic integrity.
• Lead, mentor, and inspire a team of animators, providing clear direction, constructive feedback, and technical guidance.
• Collaborate closely with directors, story artists, and art directors to translate script and storyboard concepts into compelling animated sequences.
• Oversee the entire animation process, from blocking and polishing to final output, ensuring adherence to schedules and budgets.
• Develop and implement animation pipelines, tools, and workflows to enhance efficiency and quality.
• Conduct regular reviews of animation work, providing insightful feedback to ensure it meets project requirements and creative vision.
• Troubleshoot animation challenges and implement innovative solutions to overcome technical or artistic hurdles.
• Work with technical directors to ensure effective integration of animation assets within the broader production pipeline.
• Communicate animation plans and progress effectively to the wider production team and stakeholders.
• Contribute to the recruitment and training of animation talent.
• Stay abreast of emerging animation technologies and techniques, integrating them where appropriate.
• Champion a positive and collaborative team culture, fostering creativity and professional growth among animators.

• Extensive experience in 3D animation, with a significant portion in a Lead or Director role within the animation or VFX industry.
• A strong portfolio showcasing exceptional animation skills, character performance, and visual storytelling.
• In-depth knowledge of animation principles, software (e.g., Maya, Blender, 3ds Max), and rigging.
• Proven ability to lead and manage creative teams effectively, both on-site and remotely.
• Excellent understanding of cinematography, composition, and visual storytelling.
• Strong communication, interpersonal, and problem-solving skills.
• Experience with performance capture and real-time animation technologies is a plus.
• Familiarity with game engines (e.g., Unreal Engine, Unity) is advantageous.
• Ability to work collaboratively within a distributed team environment.
• A passion for pushing the boundaries of animation and creating memorable characters and performances.
• This is a fully remote position, requiring excellent communication skills, self-discipline, and a robust home setup.

• Provide creative leadership and direction for animation projects, ensuring artistic vision and quality standards are met.
• Guide and inspire a team of animators, riggers, modelers, and VFX artists throughout the production process.
• Collaborate closely with writers, directors, and producers to interpret scripts and develop compelling character performances and visual storytelling.
• Oversee the animation pipeline, establishing efficient workflows and ensuring timely delivery of assets.
• Review animation work in progress, providing constructive feedback and technical guidance.
• Develop and maintain a consistent artistic style and tone across projects.
• Stay abreast of the latest advancements in animation software, tools, and techniques.
• Mentor and develop junior animation staff, fostering a culture of creativity and continuous improvement.
• Troubleshoot technical challenges within the animation pipeline and propose innovative solutions.
• Contribute to the overall artistic development and strategic direction of the studio.

• Define, develop, and champion the animation vision and style for projects.
• Lead, direct, and mentor remote animation teams, providing constructive feedback and artistic guidance.
• Oversee the creation of high-quality character and environmental animations that meet project requirements and artistic goals.
• Collaborate with other department leads (Art, Design, Engineering) to ensure cohesive project development.
• Review animation work, provide clear and actionable feedback, and ensure timely delivery of assets.
• Develop and maintain animation pipelines, tools, and best practices suitable for a remote workforce.
• Troubleshoot animation-related technical challenges and find innovative solutions.
• Contribute to character performance and storytelling through animation.
• Stay current with industry trends, technologies, and animation techniques.
• Foster a positive and productive remote working culture within the animation team.

• Extensive experience in animation direction or lead animation roles within the video game or film industry.
• A strong portfolio demonstrating exceptional animation quality, artistic direction, and leadership.
• Proven ability to direct and inspire remote teams effectively.
• Deep understanding of animation principles, cinematography, and character performance.
• Proficiency in industry-standard animation software (e.g., Maya, 3ds Max, Blender) and game engines (e.g., Unreal Engine, Unity).
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and problem-solving skills.
• Experience with performance capture and facial animation is a plus.
• Bachelor's degree in Animation, Fine Arts, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and meet deadlines.

We want you to #JOINTHEREBELLION!

For 30 years we’ve been creating incredible video games at our multiple studios, but Rebellion is more than just games. We have our own film and mo-cap studio, we create board games, publish books, and through 2000AD, publish comics and graphic novels such as the amazing Judge Dredd.

We are on the lookout for an Animation Director to join our growing development team to make a key impact on multiple projects we have in the works. This includes a strategic shooter game, as well as the opportunity to move onto and work on unannounced titles such as a dark sci-fi shooter and more. Additionally, our brand new original IP, Atomfall - is set for release in 2025.

This role would be a great opportunity for a Lead Animator who is looking to take the next step in their career. You will be working on creating innovating movements and behaviours on exciting unannounced titles. Our dynamic and quickly growing art team is looking for a highly motivated individual to help nurture the team growth and have maximum impact on our games.

We are looking for bold, ambitious, and talented candidates to work on Rebellion games and with trusted industry partners on genre-defining AAA IPs. Join us as we shoot for the stars!

This role is based at our riverside headquarters in Oxford, offering a creative and relaxed atmosphere where teamwork drives our success. 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 Oxford headquarters. However, we understand that flexibility matters, so we’re open to discussing hybrid options based on individual needs.

Responsibilities

• Proactively manage the departments performance and professional development through performance review cycles giving constructive, actionable, relevant feedback
• Lead the Animation department with best practice people management techniques
• Collaborate with Head of Art, Designers, Programmers and Producers to balance creative vision with production realities.
• Create high quality, in game animations to the highest standard in line with the style and demanded by the project
• Verify the quality of animation in the game and make improvements where necessary to fit technical constraints and artistic direction.
• Be an active mentor and role model for the animation team. Work to maintain morale and create an atmosphere of creativity and enthusiasm

Requirements

• Expert knowledge of Motion Capture, Motion builder, Maya, 3DS Max and Character Studio
• Easily able to animate realistic human motion
• Expert knowledge of rigging and skinning
• Able to produce high quality animation in different game engines including Unreal
• Expert knowledge of the video game development process and production pipelines
• Extensive knowledge of best practice people management
• Able to focus on own professional development and able to mentor individuals to develop skills and knowledge

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!

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