At Steamroller Animation, we are a creative and welcoming team, dedicated to pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in animation. We foster a culture where artists can grow, collaborate, and contribute to the coolest, most innovative projects in entertainment. We’d love to hear from you if you are passionate about your craft and looking for a supportive atmosphere!
The Opportunity: Facial Animator (FACS)
We are seeking a highly skilled Facial Animator with expertise in FACS (Facial Action Coding System) to play a critical role in a live musical production. This is a unique opportunity to create emotionally authentic and expressive facial animation for a hyper-realistic virtual performer, uniting artistry, technology, and realism for a next-generation entertainment experience.
Detail
Information
Position Type
Contract
Location
Remote (Must be located in British Columbia)
Start Date
TBC February/March 2026
Key Responsibilities (What You’ll Do)
Focus Area
Core Tasks
Facial Animation
Create, polish, and integrate feature-quality facial animation that captures nuanced emotion and realism for a hyper-realistic performer singing and dancing live on stage.
FACS & Solving
Collaborate closely on advanced FACS-based facial solving, ensuring expressive and lifelike performances across musical and cinematic sequences.
Integration
Work with Directors and Leads to ensure facial performances blend seamlessly with full-body motion and musical timing, maintaining continuity and emotional clarity.
Pipeline & Workflow
Assist in refining the facial animation pipeline, helping to establish workflows and tools that support both cinematic and live performance environments.
Technical Polish
Analyze and refine key facial shapes, ensuring accurate anatomical deformation and expressive believability. Troubleshoot facial solving and animation workflow challenges proactively.
Collaboration
Attend dailies and reviews, actively participating in feedback sessions. Communicate effectively with Production, Engineering, and Rigging teams.
Qualifications & Expertise
Required Qualifications
Category
Details
Experience
Minimum of 3 years of production experience in film, games, or real-time performance environments.
Facial Expertise
Proven expertise in FACS-based facial animation, with a deep understanding of facial anatomy and expression.
Performance
Proven ability to create cinematic, emotionally rich, and believable facial performances, especially for realistic human characters.
Software
Proficiency in Autodesk Maya. Experience with both keyframe and motion capture facial workflows.
Artistry
Strong understanding of animation principles, timing, and performance.
Attributes
Excellent problem-solving and communication skills; ability to maintain high-quality work under tight production timelines.
Location
Applicants must be located in British Columbia.
Preferred (But Not Required) Qualifications
Qualification
Advantage
Capture Technology
Experience with 4D capture or high-resolution scanned facial assets.
Production Setting
Background in live or virtual production settings.
