Technical Animator / Rigger

Company Description Lightfold Games · Atlanta, GA

Lightfold is a creator-first entertainment studio bringing fans and creators together to build original worlds across animation, comics, games, and more. We believe great stories come from giving talented people the freedom, ownership, and support to do their best work, then inviting audiences to come along for the ride.

Now, we’re building Lightfold Games.

Come in on the ground floor, we're hiring to bring our 3D game development and asset production in-house and create a team that can help define not only this game, but what Lightfold Games becomes.

These are hybrid positions based in Atlanta, GA (Old Fourth Ward), with health benefits. We’re looking for collaborative, ambitious people who want the rare opportunity to get in early, help establish how a new studio works, and build something from the beginning.

Our first game: building a co-op horde shooter with a stylized look tied to a 2D cartoon. We're hiring the full founding team at once, 11 roles in parallel, so we can move all 3D asset production in-house.

Art · $60,000-$80,000 · Full-time · Health insurance

Role Description Our horde-shooter combat needs a large library of animation states across players and monster variants. We're hiring two Technical Animators/Riggers to build the skeletal and animation pipeline that supports it.

This is a full-time Technical Animator / Rigger role based in Atlanta, GA, with a hybrid work arrangement that allows some work from home. The Technical Animator / Rigger will design, build, and maintain character and creature rigs for animation across animation, comics-related media, and games. Day-to-day responsibilities include creating and refining deformation setups, integrating motion capture data into production pipelines, and collaborating with animators, designers, and engineers to ensure rigs are intuitive, performant, and visually appealing. The role also involves scripting tools and workflows to streamline rigging and animation processes, troubleshooting technical issues, and documenting best practices for the team. The person in this role will work closely with project leads to support storytelling goals while meeting production timelines and quality standards.

Details

• Build skeletal rigs and skin weighting for players and monster variants
• Develop locomotion cycles and get them working cleanly in-engine
• Support heavy animation-state needs: running, strafing, spraying, aiming, hit reactions, deaths
• Work closely with Character Artists on rig-friendly topology

Must Have Qualifications:

• Strong rigging and skinning experience (Maya or equivalent)
• Experience with in-engine animation pipelines (Unreal Engine preferred)
• Comfortable supporting a large roster of animated variants

Qualifications

• Strong rigging skills for characters and creatures, with experience in deformation, skinning, and facial rig setups.
• Hands-on experience with motion capture data, including cleanup, retargeting, and integration into rigs and animation pipelines.
• Proficiency in animation fundamentals and technical animation workflows for film, TV, or game-ready assets.
• Scripting or tool development skills (e.g., Python, MEL, or similar) to automate rigging and animation tasks and enhance pipeline efficiency.
• Understanding of video game production workflows and real-time engines (e.g., Unreal Engine, Unity) and their constraints on rigs and animation.
• Experience with industry-standard 3D software (such as Maya, Blender, or equivalent) for rigging and animation.
• Strong problem-solving abilities, attention to detail, and comfort working in a collaborative, cross-disciplinary environment.
• Ability to work on-site in Atlanta, GA in a hybrid capacity, with effective communication and self-management for remote tasks.
• Relevant education or equivalent professional experience in animation, game development, computer graphics, or a related field.