Animator (Apex Legends)

Description & Requirements

Electronic Arts creates next-level entertainment experiences that inspire players and fans around the world. Here, everyone is part of the story. Part of a community that connects across the globe. A place where creativity thrives, new perspectives are invited, and ideas matter. A team where everyone makes play happen.

Electronic Arts creates next-level entertainment experiences that inspire players and fans around the world. Here, everyone is part of the story. A place where creativity thrives, new perspectives are invited, and ideas matter. A team where everyone makes play happen.

The Opportunity

Respawn Entertainment is seeking an Animator to join the Apex Legends team, focusing on gameplay and Enemy AI animation. In this role, you will create dynamic, responsive animations that bring AI-driven characters, creatures, and gameplay encounters to life. Your work will directly influence how players experience combat, traversal, and interactions, delivering gameplay that feels intuitive, readable, and impactful.

Working closely with Design, Engineering, Technical Animation, AI, and Art, you will develop animation systems that support engaging gameplay while ensuring enemy behaviors communicate clearly and enhance the overall player experience.

Responsibilities

• Create high-quality gameplay animations for AI-controlled characters, enemies, creatures, bosses, and interactive gameplay systems.

• Develop animation sets that support a wide range of AI behaviors, including combat, navigation, traversal, reactions, abilities, and environmental interactions.

• Partner closely with AI Engineers, Gameplay Engineers, Designers, and Technical Animators to build responsive animation systems that support gameplay goals.

• Ensure enemy animations clearly communicate intent, timing, attack windows, and gameplay readability to players.

• Collaborate with VFX, Audio, and Art teams to create immersive and believable gameplay encounters.

• Iterate on animations based on playtesting, gameplay balancing, and player feedback.

• Troubleshoot animation implementation issues while maintaining high visual quality and runtime performance.

Qualifications

• 3 + years of professional animation experience in AAA game development.

• Experience creating gameplay animations for AI-driven characters, enemies, NPCs, or creatures on shipped titles.

• Strong understanding of gameplay animation principles, including responsiveness, anticipation, readability, and player feedback.

• Experience collaborating with AI, Gameplay, and Engineering teams throughout development.

• Strong proficiency with Maya or similar professional animation tools.

• Experience implementing animation within modern game engines.

• Solid understanding of animation state machines, blend spaces, locomotion systems, IK/FK workflows, and gameplay integration.

• Excellent communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills.

Nice to Have

• Experience developing animation for multiplayer action games or live service titles.

• Experience with procedural animation systems and runtime animation techniques.

• Motion capture editing and cleanup experience.

• Familiarity with Unreal Engine, Frostbite, or proprietary game engines.

• Experience animating non-human characters, creatures, or highly stylized movement systems.

• Passion for action games, competitive shooters, and creating memorable gameplay moments.

What You’ll Bring

• A passion for creating gameplay-first animation that enhances both player experience and game feel.

• Strong artistic judgment combined with a deep understanding of technical gameplay systems.

• The ability to balance animation quality with gameplay responsiveness and clarity.

• A collaborative mindset and enthusiasm for solving complex gameplay challenges across disciplines.

• A commitment to delivering polished, engaging experiences that make every encounter feel dynamic and rewarding.

Pay Transparency - North America

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

The ranges listed below are what EA in good faith expects to pay applicants for this role in these locations at the time of this posting. If you reside in a different location, a recruiter will advise on the applicable range and benefits. Pay offered will be determined based on a number of relevant business and candidate factors (e.g. education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, or business needs).

PAY RANGES

• British Columbia (depending on location e.g. Vancouver vs. Victoria) *$92,900 - $129,200 CAD

• California (depending on location e.g. Los Angeles vs. San Francisco) *$104,400 - $157,400 USD

Pay is just one part of the overall compensation at EA.

In the US, we offer a package of benefits including paid time off (3 weeks per year to start), 80 hours per year of sick time, 16 paid company holidays per year, 10 weeks paid time off to bond with baby, medical/dental/vision insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, and 401(k) to regular full-time employees. Certain roles may also be eligible for bonus and other incentive programs.

For Canada, we offer a package of benefits including vacation (3 weeks per year to start), 10 days per year of sick time, paid top-up to EI/QPIP benefits up to 100% of base salary when you welcome a new child (12 weeks for maternity, and 4 weeks for parental/adoption leave), extended health/dental/vision coverage, life insurance, disability insurance, retirement plan to regular full-time employees. Certain roles may also be eligible for bonus and other incentive programs.

---

---

About Electronic Arts

We’re proud to have an extensive portfolio of games and experiences, locations around the world, and opportunities across EA. We value adaptability, resilience, creativity, and curiosity. From leadership that brings out your potential, to creating space for learning and experimenting, we empower you to do great work and pursue opportunities for growth.

We adopt a holistic approach to our benefits programs, emphasizing physical, emotional, financial, career, and community wellness to support a balanced life. Our packages are tailored to meet local needs and may include healthcare coverage, mental well-being support, retirement savings, paid time off, family leaves, complimentary games, and more. We nurture environments where our teams can always bring their best to what they do.

Electronic Arts is an equal opportunity employer. All employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, genetic information, religion, disability, medical condition, pregnancy, marital status, family status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We will also consider employment qualified applicants with criminal records in accordance with applicable law. EA also makes workplace accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities as required by applicable law.