Senior Game Animator - Project-based cooperation

We are looking for a top-tier Senior Game Animator to join our team working on Space Engineers 2, currently in Early Access. You’ll work directly with Game Director Marek Rosa to bring gameplay, character, and cinematic animations to life in our proprietary VRAGE3 engine.

We care deeply about how our game feels — animation is not a second-class citizen here. It’s a critical part of gameplay and immersion.

This role is fully remote or based in our Prague HQ. We offer flexibility, ownership, and the chance to leave your mark on one of the most technically ambitious sandbox engineering games ever made.

Check out our latest gameplay preview: Watch the SE2 trailer

The collaboration is planned for a period of 12 months, with the option to extend it further as the project requires.

Responsibilities:

• Own the full animation pipeline for character gameplay features (e.g. tools like grinder/drill/welder, movement, crouching, jumping, interaction, combat, etc.)

• Create and refine character animation sets for both first-person and third-person views, including transitions, idles, reactive states, and locomotion

• Expand and improve character animation logic and integration — e.g., transitions, state handling, and gameplay responsiveness — in close collaboration with gameplay programmers

• Create character animation content (body and facial) for in-game cutscenes and trailers — production and final assembly will be handled by our video editor

• Prototype lean solutions for our cutscene animation system (we are building this from scratch) — then scale up to support many narrative moments and marketing trailers

• Use our in-house tools — VRAGE Editor for animation authoring and the Replay Tool, which allows recording gameplay sessions as one character and replaying them while playing as another, enabling rich multi-character cutscene production

• Work closely with the Game Director and Art Lead to ensure animation quality, vision alignment, and fast iteration cycles

• Polish and push the boundaries of what’s possible in our custom engine — animation is expected to elevate the game, not just function
  

Note: This role focuses exclusively on humanoid character animations — not on animating vehicles, ships, or other non-character entities.

What’s already built & what you’ll do:

Space Engineers 2 already includes a wide range ofcharacter movement animations:

• Walking, running, jetpack navigation

• Tool use animations (grinder, welder, drill)

• First-person and third-person animations fully implemented
  

Your mission will be to expand and enhance what we have:

• Create water-specific movement animations

• Add new tools and combat animations (weapons, reactions, etc.)

• Improve visual fidelity and timing of current animations to better fit NPC behavior and narrative use

• Help develop full character and facial animation systems for story moments, cutscenes, and trailers
  

You’ll build new content — but also elevate what’s already working to feel smoother, sharper, and more immersive.

Requirements:

• 5+ years of professional experience in the game industry

• Strong experience with animation systems for gameplay characters (not just cinematic or stylized)

• Demonstrated ability to deliver full animation features — from concept to polished in-game result

• Experience with both body and facial character animation

• Able to rig and skin humanoid characters, including basic facial setups (bone-based or blendshapes)

• Not afraid to adjust or create rigs independently when needed — we value generalists who can work without relying on specialists

• Comfortable working with proprietary tools and non-standard pipelines (VRAGE3)

• Able to work independently and collaboratively with programmers and designers to develop features

• Proficient in staging, acting, and technical animation workflows for in-engine scenes

• Fast, pragmatic, and self-driven

• Excellent communication — clear, direct, and solution-oriented
  

What we value:

• High animation quality and feel — movement and responsiveness matter immensely to our experience

• Speed, clarity, and ownership — we expect results, not status updates

• Prototyping mindset — test things quickly, iterate fast, and only polish what works

• Direct communication and execution — no politics, no hiding behind blockers, no red tape

• Generalist mindset — we’re a lean team, and the ability to handle both animation and light rigging is highly valued

What we offer:

• Work on the globally successful and beloved sandbox game brand — Space Engineers — with millions of dedicated players

• Fully remote or HQ-based in Prague (Orangerie – https://oranzerie.cz)

• Unlimited home office

• 5 weeks vacation + unlimited sick days

• Friendly, non-corporate culture

• Incentive system & bonuses

• Company events, breakfasts, workshops, and more

• Dedicated study time

What we’re looking for:

We’re building a lean, execution-driven team for Space Engineers 2. The right animator for this role will:

• Work with our proprietary engine (VRAGE3) and custom animation + cutscene tools

• Animate gameplay features, character movement, facial performance, and trailers — all inside the game engine

• Own end-to-end character animation production: from design to in-game integration and polish

• Prototype and ship animation systems that will be used across the game’s story and sandbox

• Leverage tools like VRAGE Editor and our Replay Tool to build immersive, flexible in-game scenes

• Be autonomous, results-oriented, and proactive — not dependent on hand-holding or long approval chains
  

If you value autonomy, clarity, and creative problem-solving — and you’re excited to help shape the future of Space Engineers — we’d love to hear from you.

Learn more about art at Keen Software House from our Art Lead, Honza Trauške.