Facial Animator

2 days ago

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Steamroller Animation Full time

Facial Animator (FACS)
Location: British Columbia (remote)
Start Date: TBC February/March 2026

About the role

We're seeking a skilled Facial Animator (FACS) to help bring a hyper-realistic virtual performer to life through expressive, emotionally authentic animation. This role focuses on delivering high-fidelity facial performances for a live, musical production—where artistry, technology, and realism meet to create a next-generation entertainment experience. 

***This is a contract position***

What you'll do

  • Create, polish, and integrate feature-quality facial animation that captures nuanced emotion and realism for a hyper-realistic virtual performer singing and dancing live on stage.
  • Collaborate closely with the Animation and Performance teams on advanced FACS-based facial solving, ensuring expressive and lifelike performances across musical and cinematic sequences.
  • Work directly with Animation Directors, Supervisors, and Leads to ensure facial performances blend seamlessly with full-body motion and musical timing.
  • Maintain continuity and emotional clarity in performances that combine body and facial animation.
  • Assist in refining the facial animation pipeline, helping to establish workflows and tools that support both cinematic and live performance environments.
  • Analyze and refine key facial shapes, ensuring accurate anatomical deformation and expressive believability.
  • Troubleshoot facial solving and animation workflow challenges proactively, contributing to creative and technical problem-solving.
  • Attend dailies, rounds, and reviews; actively participate in feedback sessions to elevate animation quality.
  • Communicate effectively with Production, Engineering, and Rigging teams to ensure facial performance integration meets technical and artistic standards.
  • Contribute to animation tests, previs, layout, and shot finalization for musical and performance-based sequences.

Qualifications

  • Minimum of 3 years of production experience in film, games, or real-time performance environments.
  • Proven expertise in FACS-based facial animation, with a deep understanding of facial anatomy and expression.
  • Proficiency in Autodesk Maya; MotionBuilder experience is a plus.
  • Experience with both keyframe and motion capture facial workflows.
  • Proven ability to create cinematic, emotionally rich, and believable facial performances, especially for realistic human characters.
  • Strong understanding of animation principles, timing, and performance.
  • Excellent problem-solving and communication skills with a collaborative, team-focused mindset.
  • Ability to maintain high-quality work under tight production timelines.
  • Passion for character performance and innovation in animation technology.
  • Applicants must be located in British Columbia.

Preferred (but not required) Qualifications:

  • Experience with 4D capture or high-resolution scanned facial assets.
  • Background in live or virtual production settings.
  • Experience mentoring or leading other animators.
  • Demonstrated interest in musical or performance-driven storytelling.
  • Familiarity with Unreal Engine and Sequencer, with the ability to work adaptively inside real-time pipelines.

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