Lead Creature Animator


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Guerrilla is looking for a Lead Creature Animator who is passionate about bringing machines to life through expressive, high-quality keyframe animation. In this role, you will lead a team responsible for crafting the iconic movement and combat behaviors of the mechanical creatures that inhabit our world. From agile scout-class machines to massive combat units, your work will be at the heart of our gameplay experience—delivering responsive, believable, and memorable performances that players interact with directly. If you thrive on challenge, love leading teams, and are obsessed with mechanical motion, this role is for you.

The Animation Team

At Guerrilla, the Animation team is a highly collaborative and creative group that focuses on crafting the lifelike motion of all characters and machines that populate our games. Our animators work closely with design, engineering, and AI to ensure that every machine movement—from patrol to attack—is both mechanically convincing and gameplay-relevant. We specialize in hand-keyed animation that emphasizes clarity, timing, and player feedback, and we’re always pushing for innovation in motion language and behavioral design.

What You Will Do

 As Lead Creature Animator, you will:

  • Lead and mentor a team of animators focused on machine animation
  • Define the animation style and motion language, together with the Animation Director for a variety of machine types, ensuring consistent quality and visual identity across the game
  • Create high-quality keyframe animations for gameplay, with a strong emphasis on weight, timing, physicality, and responsiveness
  • Collaborate closely with Game Design, AI, and Tech Animation teams to integrate machine animations into behavior trees, animation systems, and gameplay loops
  • Drive prototyping and iteration of new machine behaviors, combat patterns, and traversal mechanics
  • Ensure animations are not only visually compelling but also clearly communicate gameplay intent and feedback to the player
  • Participate in animation planning and reviews, helping the team stay on track and meet production goals
  • Contribute to the development and improvement of animation tools and workflows within the engine

Who You Are

We’re looking for someone who:

  • Has proven experience in game development as an Animator and Lead (5+ Animation and 2+ as Lead), with a strong focus on gameplay animation for non-humanoid entities
  • Has a deep understanding of animation principles, particularly as applied to mechanical characters, quadrupeds, and complex, multi-limbed designs
  • Possesses strong keyframe animation skills and a portfolio that demonstrates high-quality machine or creature movement
  • Is confident leading teams and providing constructive feedback to other animators
  • Is experienced with game engines and runtime animation systems, including blend trees, state machines, and behavior integration
  • Thrives in a multidisciplinary environment and communicates effectively with design, engineering, and tech animation
  • Is proactive, detail-oriented, and passionate about machine movement and animation-driven gameplay

Plusses

  • Experience animating mechanical creatures or robots in a combat-driven game
  • Knowledge of AI behavior systems and how animation integrates with them
  • Familiarity with Maya and in-engine animation tools such as Unreal’s Blueprints, state machine systems, or similar proprietary game engine technologies
  • Experience working on multi-player games, open-world or action-adventure games

Interested?

If you're excited to be part of a cutting-edge, creative project, and possess the skills and experience we're looking for, we’d love to hear from you! Please apply with your CV, a cover letter, and a link to your reel showcasing your best and most recent relevant work.

Please note: This position is based in our studio, and we offer relocation and immigration support for the right candidate. 

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Frequently asked questions

 

Q: Does Guerrilla offer remote positions?

A: Unless stated otherwise, our vacancies are based on-site, in our studio in Amsterdam. For qualified candidates, we offer visa, permit, relocation and immigration support. Depending on role, we do offer hybrid work models allowing our employees to work from home one or more days per week.

Q: I don't have any work examples. Can I still apply for a job?
A: It's essential that you can prove to us that you have the necessary skills for the job. Rushing into an application without supplying the required materials won't leave a good impression. In general, it's a good idea to put together an excellent portfolio before you start applying for jobs.  

Q: I have no experience in the games industry. Can I still get a job with you?
A: Games industry experience is certainly a bonus, but it's not always necessary. It's important to put together an excellent portfolio that demonstrates your skills and your understanding of the game development process.  

Q: I applied for a job with you, but I haven’t heard back. What happens now?
A: We aim to respond to all applications within three weeks. Due to the volume of requests, this sometimes takes a little longer. If you have not heard from us within three weeks, your application was most likely unsuccessful.  

Q: How can I arrange a job interview with you?
A: We receive so many applications that we are only able to arrange interviews with the most suitable candidates. It's important that your application stands out from the crowd. Go ahead, impress us!  

Q: I'm considering working at Guerrilla in the future. Is it possible for me to come for a tour of the studio?
A: Because of the confidential nature of the projects that we are working on, we cannot allow visitors into the studio. The most impressive job applicants will be invited for an interview, and will have an opportunity to visit some of the development areas.  

 

Q: I'm a university student looking for a company that can help me with a (master) thesis assignment. Can we arrange a meeting to look at the different possibilities?
A:We like to help out with university level assignments when we can! However, due to time constraints and deadlines this isn't always possible. Please send a brief e-mail outlining the aims of your assignment and what input you would need from us. We'll let you know if we are able to help you.  

Q: I'm a high school student and I have to do a school assignment on media and entertainment. Can I make an appointment for an interview with one of your employees to discuss this?
A: Due to the sheer number of requests we receive, we regret that we are unable to participate in interviews with school students.  

Q: I have a great idea for a game. How can I submit it to you?
A: All of our game concepts are developed by our internal designers, in conjunction with our publishers. It is company policy not to accept game concepts from third parties.  

Q: I'm still in school and I want to get a job in games in the future. What kind of education and skills do I need to achieve this goal? Can you provide me with information on the schools that teach this discipline?
A: The skills required to work in the games industry are very broad, as there are many areas in which you can work. In development there are roles in art, animation, programming, design, and project management. Other industry roles include sales, marketing, PR, and testing. The most important thing is to get an education in subjects that you enjoy and that you are good at. Your career adviser should be able to give you guidance as to which careers are suitable for an individual with your particular skills.  

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