Senior Animation Artist – Unpublished R&D Product

Riot Games was established in 2006 by entrepreneurial gamers who believe that player-focused game development can result in great games. In 2009, Riot released its debut title League of Legends to critical and player acclaim. As the most played video game in the world, over 100 million play every month. Players form the foundation of our community and it’s for them that we continue to evolve and improve the League of Legends experience.

We’re looking for humble but ambitious, razor-sharp professionals who can teach us a thing or two. We promise to return the favor. Like us, you take play seriously; you’re passionate about games. We embrace those who see things differently, aren’t afraid to experiment, and who have a healthy disregard for constraints.

That’s where you come in.

Animation Artists create high-quality character and creature animations that bring life and personality to interactive experiences. They apply principles of motion, performance, and timing to deliver responsive and expressive animation systems. Animation Artists collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to ensure animations support gameplay, readability, and emotional resonance for players.

As an Senior Animation Artist on the Unpublished R&D Product, you will bring characters to life through expressive and responsive animation systems. You will contribute to player-facing animation from early ideation through final quality, helping define animation style and ensuring movement aligns with gameplay needs. You will collaborate closely with cross-functional partners to deliver cohesive and engaging animation experiences. You will report into the Art Director of the team.

Responsibilities:

• Create high-quality, gameplay-driven animation assets that meet a high bar for responsiveness, clarity, and visual polish
• Own and support player-facing animation systems, ensuring they function reliably and meet gameplay needs
• Implement animations in-engine, including state machines, blending, and runtime behaviors
• Collaborate with design, engineering, and technical art to ensure animations integrate effectively into gameplay
• Identify and troubleshoot animation bugs, edge cases, and pipeline issues, contributing to solutions
• Contribute to team animation quality through feedback, critiques, and collaboration
• Support improvements to animation workflows, tools, and pipelines
• Ensure animation timing and motion align with gameplay intent and player expectations

Required Qualifications:

• 8+ years of professional experience in game or entertainment animation
• Expert-level proficiency in Maya
• Experience working with Unreal Engine
• Strong understanding of body mechanics, timing, weight, and animation principles
• Experience contributing to at least one shipped project
• Ability to collaborate across disciplines in a production environment
• Strong problem-solving skills in both artistic and technical contexts
• Familiar with the League of Legends IP and art style.
• Proficiency in Mandarin Chinese

Desired Qualifications:

• Proficiency in English
• Experience collaborating on player-facing systems with design partners
• Background in cinematic or pre-visualization workflows
• Familiarity with animation state machines and runtime systems
• Experience improving pipelines or workflows

For this role, you’ll find success through craft expertise, a collaborative spirit, and decision-making that prioritizes the delight of players. We will be looking at your past studies, experience, and your personal relationship with games. If you embody player empathy and care about the experiences of players, this could be the role for you!

As a part of the application process, you will be expected to provide a portfolio or demo reel of their work and may be asked to complete an art test.