Animation Artist II - Valorant, Premium Content

As a member of the Animation team, you bring champions to life through classic animation principles and body mechanics. You will create high quality animations for a diverse and rapidly growing universe, including bipeds, quadrupeds, and creatures. A great reel will showcase a strong foundation in the principles of animation, including weight, anticipation, and impact. Also working to expand our current content pipeline, you will collaborate with designers and artists to develop and iterate on new and existing pipelines. Your craft expertise will breathe life into iconic and beloved characters for players.

As a member of the Valorant Animation team, you will bring premium content to life through best-in-class first-person animation, partnering closely with artists, designers, and engineers to create high-quality weapon and first-person experiences that enhance the look, feel, and satisfaction of Valorant’s premium skins. With a strong foundation in animation principles and a keen eye for polish, you’ll craft responsive, impactful animations that are unmistakably Valorant, balancing visual flair with gameplay clarity while delivering content that delights players and meets the highest standards of quality and performance.

Responsibilities:

Create high-quality first-person animations for Valorant premium content, including weapon animations, equips, reloads, firing, inspects, and other skin-driven features
Collaborate closely with the Premium Content art team to deliver cohesive, polished skin experiences
Review animations with your team to receive and provide artistic and technical feedback.
Iterate on animation assets based on gameplay needs, artistic direction, and player experience goals.
Work with internal developers in ideating and troubleshooting animations.

Required Qualifications:

3+ years of experience creating high quality animations in gaming

Working Knowledge of Maya or similar 3D animation software
Understand body mechanics, acting, posing and storytelling techniques
Solid understanding of animation principles including timing, weight, posing, motion, and readability
Experience collaborating in cross-disciplinary teams
Clear communication skills and openness to feedback

Desired Qualifications:

Strong experience with first-person animation, preferably in a shooter or action game
Familiarity with stylized animation and art direction
Formal animation training or equivalent professional experience
Familiarity with rigging workflows and the ability to diagnose and resolve technical animation issues in a real-time pipeline

For this role, you'll find success through craft expertise and a collaborative spirit that prioritizes the delight of players. We will look at your past studies and experience, but for this role, we also look for dedicated people with a personal relationship with games. If you embody player empathy and care about players' experiences, this is the role for you!

Our Perks:

Riot focuses on work/life balance, shown by our open paid time off policy and other perks such as flexible work schedules. We offer medical, dental, and life insurance, parental leave for you, your spouse/domestic partner, and children, and a 401k with company match. Check out our benefits pages for more information.

At Riot Games, we put players first. That mission drives every decision in our quest to create games and experiences that make it better to be a player. Whether you’re working directly on a new player-facing experience or you’re supporting the company as a whole, everyone at Riot is part of our mission. And just like in our games, we’re better when we work together. Our goal is to create collaborative teams where you are empowered to bring your unique perspective everyday. If that sounds like the kind of place you want to work, we’re looking forward to your application.

It’s our policy to provide equal employment opportunity for all applicants and members of Riot Games, Inc. Riot Games makes reasonable accommodations for handicapped and disabled Rioters and does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, handicap, veteran status, marital status, criminal history, or any other category protected by applicable federal and state law. We consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with applicable federal, state and local law, including the California Fair Chance Act, the City of Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, and the Washington Fair Chance Act.

Per the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, the following core duties may create a basis for disqualifying candidates with relevant criminal histories:

Safeguarding confidential and sensitive Company data
Communication with others, including Rioters and third parties such as vendors, and/or players, including minors
Accessing Company assets, secure digital systems, and networks
Ensuring a safe interactive environment for players and other Rioters

These duties are directly related to essential operations, safety, trust, and compliance obligations within our organization. Please note that job duties may evolve based on business needs and additional responsibilities may be assigned as necessary to maintain operational efficiency and security.