CD PROJEKT RED is looking for a Cinematic Animation Lead for Witcher 4 — the first game in a new Witcher series saga — to help bring our ambitious vision of this open-world RPG to life and raise the bar for narrative-driven experiences.
Daily responsibilities:
- Work closely with the Animation Director and the design and production teams to deliver consistent, engaging, and player-friendly cinematic animations for the game.
- Collaborate with content teams, directors, and producers to define project scope and estimate team capacity for creating original animation designs.
- Oversee the creation of unique animation design materials by managing the cinematic animation team’s backlog and effectively prioritizing tasks.
- Maintain and improve animation design pipelines to ensure proper review processes, clear standards, and consistent quality across the project.
- Collaborate with other disciplines to achieve project goals and contribute to the creation of innovative content.
- Stay up to date with industry best practices and actively share knowledge with the team.
- Ensure clear and transparent communication both within the team and across departments.
- Provide regular progress updates and presentations to stakeholders.
- Proactively identify and resolve production blockers.
- Lead and mentor the Cinematic Animation Team, including fostering a collaborative and supportive environment, conducting regular 1:1s to provide guidance and support in developing original cinematic animation designs, and overseeing recruitment, onboarding, and performance management.
Qualifications:
- 8+ years of experience in animation within game development, including at least 4 years in a managerial role, with proven leadership on a shipped AAA narrative-driven title focused on storytelling.
- Deep understanding of performance, storytelling, and cinematography in an interactive medium, with a strong reel demonstrating leadership or hands-on contribution to emotionally powerful cinematic performances.
- Expertise in Unreal Engine and professional experience with Motion Builder or Maya.
- Hands-on experience developing or refining cinematic animation and mocap workflows and pipelines, improving tools and processes in collaboration with other teams.
- A proactive approach to identifying and resolving production blockers.
- Experience in leading and mentoring teams, with a focus on empowering individuals, fostering ownership, and building an environment of trust and collaboration.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to clearly articulate creative intent and complex concepts across disciplines and organizational levels, collaborate effectively with diverse stakeholders, and support alignment through detailed project documentation.
- Passion for animation design and the ability to effectively share knowledge with other team members.
