Company: Firelight Animation Studio

  At Firelight Animation Studio, we believe that unforgettable storytelling is anchored in exceptional character performances. We are an innovative digital production house dedicated to pushing the boundaries of stylized 3D animation, visual effects, and long-form narrative content. Our pipeline is built on a foundation of creative collaboration, technical excellence, and an uncompromising commitment to artistic quality. As Firelight Animation Studio prepare to launch production on our highly anticipated upcoming Christmas Commercial Spot, we are also simultaneously laying the groundwork for an ambitious, original Intellectual Property (IP) that will define the future creative roadmap of our studio. The foundational pillars of this universe are built around two central, highly expressive protagonists: Ricky and Max. To bring these characters to life with the fidelity, charm, and nuanced performance they deserve, Firelight Animation Studio is issuing an immediate call for a visionary, technically elite Senior Character Rigger. This is a high-impact, business-critical role designed for a seasoned professional who thrives at the intersection of technical art and character performance, transforming static character sculpts into living, breathing digital actors. Job Overview : Senior Character Rigger Project Details Information Company Firelight Animation Studio Project Type Christmas Commercial & Original IP Development Target Characters “Ricky” and “Max” Core Software Autodesk Maya Application Channel info@firelightanimation.com Role Overview & Core Purpose : Senior Character Rigger As a Senior Character Rigger at Firelight Animation Studio, your primary mandate will be to architect, build, and optimize the complete deformation and control systems for our primary assets, Ricky and Max. This role requires an advanced understanding of anatomical mechanics, stylized design principles, and production-hardened pipeline integration. You will not simply be placing joints; you will be creating the literal vocabulary of movement for our characters. The ideal candidate possesses an intuitive understanding of the emotional needs of an animator, balanced with the rigorous, clean logic required by a technical director. You will ensure that our animation team can effortlessly achieve extreme, squash-and-stretch comic timing alongside subtle, deeply emotional facial micro-expressions without encountering technical friction or mechanical limitations. Scope of Work & Key Responsibilities as Senior Character Rigger Your day-to-day operations will span across high-level asset development, cross-departmental collaboration, and technical troubleshooting. Your core responsibilities include: Character Rig Construction & Architecture The Ricky & Max Assets: Design, author, and implement robust, production-ready character rigs for our two main characters inside Autodesk Maya, ensuring they meet the precise visual and performance metrics of the project. Deformation & Anatomy: Achieve elite-tier organic deformations, managing complex tissue behaviors, clean skin weighting, and joint placements that preserve volume across extreme ranges of motion. Stylized Dynamics: Implement custom deformation systems (such as bendy limbs, advanced squash-and-stretch controls, and volume-preserving curves) tailored specifically to a high-end stylized aesthetic. Advanced Facial & Expression Rigging Facial Frameworks: Develop highly expressive, nuanced facial rigging systems capable of conveying a massive spectrum of holiday-themed emotions, ranging from broad, cartoony joy to delicate, quiet sentimentality. Blendshape Integration: Work with sophisticated blendshape pipelines, incorporating corrective shapes, PSD (Pose-Space Deformation), and anatomical drivers to resolve complex intersections around the eyes, brows, and mouth areas. Pipeline Integration & Animation Support User-Centric Control Schemes: Build clean, intuitive, and highly responsive UI pickers and viewport control rigs that maximize animator efficiency and minimize cognitive load. Performance Optimization: Ensure all rigs run at optimal framerates within the Maya viewport, allowing animators to work in real-time without experiencing system lag or viewport stuttering. Technical Asset Delivery: Maintain meticulous organization of scene files, node hierarchies, naming conventions, and studio scripting standards to ensure seamless upstream and downstream asset transfers.     Candidate Requirements & Qualifications Firelight Animation Studio is seeking a seasoned industry veteran who can step into this role immediately without requiring foundational training. Candidates will be evaluated on the following criteria: Required Professional Experience Senior-Level Tenure: A proven track record of working in a senior capacity within feature animation, high-end commercial production, episodic television, or AAA cinematic gaming pipelines. Portfolio Excellence: A comprehensive, high-quality rigging reel demonstrating production-proven character setups, meticulous skin-weighting breakdowns, advanced facial controls, and clean mechanical execution. Technical & Software Skillsets Maya Specialization: Absolute, unquestioned mastery of Autodesk Maya. The entire animation and asset pipeline for this project is anchored inside Maya; comprehensive knowledge of its core rigging tools, deformers, utility nodes, and graph architecture is mandatory. Anatomical & Kinetic Literacy: A profound understanding of both realistic human/animal anatomy and stylized animation mechanics, enabling you to translate artistic concepts into functional, organic digital joint structures. Cross-Department Communication: The ability to speak the distinct languages of modeling, animation, and technical direction fluently, facilitating rapid problem-solving and proactive asset optimization. Availability & Logistics Immediate Availability: This is an immediate call to action. We need a professional who has the bandwidth to onboard and begin production asset development as soon as possible. Remote/Hybrid Agility: Must possess a reliable, high-speed internet connection and a secure home workstation capable of handling complex 3D scenes and secure asset pipelines.   Cross-Departmental Collaboration At Firelight Animation Studio, we reject the concept of isolated production silos. As a Senior Character Rigger, you will serve as a vital connective bridge across our core creative departments: ┌──────────────────────────────┐ │ Character Design │ │ (Concept & Modeling) │ └──────────────┬───────────────┘ │ ▼ ┌────────────────┐┌──────────────────────────────┐┌────────────────┐ │ Animation Team ├►│ Senior Character Rigger │◄┤Technical Direct│ │ (User Testing) ││ (Ricky & Max) ││ (Data/Pipeline)│ └────────────────┘└──────────────┬───────────────┘└────────────────┘ │ ▼ ┌──────────────────────────────┐ │ Production Ready Asset │ └──────────────────────────────┘     With Character Designers & Modelers: You will consult early in the asset phase, reviewing topology, edge-flow, and neutral T- or A-poses to ensure that models are optimized for clean deformation before the rigging phase begins. With the Animation Team: You will partner closely with the lead animators to understand their specific performance requirements, gathering feedback through iterative rig testing, and modifying control layouts to accommodate their creative workflows. With Technical Direction (TD): You will collaborate with our software and pipeline engineers to ensure your rigging methodologies align with the studio’s broader automation tools, export scripts, and rendering pipelines.     Project Timeline & Interview … Read more