--- title: 'Lead Animator at 2K' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/lead-animator-2k-montreal-j19t3h6d97jn' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-14' --- # Lead Animator at 2K - **Company:** 2K - **Location:** Montréal, Canada - **Posted:** 2026-08-19 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-14 - **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/2k/jobs/7888166003 ## Job description As a Lead Gameplay Animator at Cloud Chamber, you will join our talented development team to help shape the character performance and movement systems of our project. In this role, you’ll collaborate with a passionate group of game developers to craft high-end player characters and AI animations that support responsive, immersive gameplay—bringing the richly imagined world of BioShock to life. What You’ll Do: - Manage, support, and mentor a team of animators in developing high-end gameplay and AI animations, conducting regular 1:1s, annual evaluations, and setting clear, actionable goals. - Partner with the Animation Director and leadership to establish the animation vision, evangelize studio values, and shape a positive and inclusive team culture. - Develop and refine animation pipelines, workflows, and tools, setting up onboarding, Unreal Engine 5 training, and motion capture planning. - Deliver exceptional hand-key animations and edit motion capture data for first-person and third-person characters, taking on animation tasks as time permits. - Collaborate with Production on milestone roadmaps, sprint planning, and task delegation while addressing blocking issues and participating in hiring efforts. - Take an active role in the animation leadership circle by sharing your voice and best practices to help guide the team's culture, as well as updating the group on new or outstanding issues What We’ll Do Together: At Cloud Chamber, we are champions of high standards, pushing for progress and embracing change. We will work closely and constructively across design, art, engineering, animation, and audio teams to realize our creative ambitions. Together, we will stay current on technological advancements and identify solutions to overcome developmental obstacles to deliver a world-class AAA experience. Skills & Experiences: - Shipped multiple AAA titles as a Lead, Team Lead, or Senior Animator ideally utilizing Unreal Engine. - Deep knowledge of gameplay and AI animation systems, animation graph/data integration, motion capture pipelines, and rigging/prototyping processes. - Strong practical skill in hand-key facial animation (such as FaceFX) alongside high proficiency in animating human bipeds, organic forms, quadrupeds, and mechanical objects. - Exceptional understanding of traditional animation principles, human anatomy, caricature, form, gesture, and silhouette as applied to real-time interactive gameplay. Who You Are: - A reliable, positive force multiplier, actively seeking opportunities to integrate work across disciplines and contribute to a healthy, supportive team environment. - A solid communicator with excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex ideas clearly, package information for diverse audiences, and deliver difficult feedback with empathy and professionalism. - Experienced in working in cross-disciplinary teams with strong communication skills. - Persistent and self-motivated with a proactive mindset. - Able to maintain effectiveness and quality under pressure, ambiguity, and fast-changing priorities. - An active listener able to build and maintain trust-based relationships across all levels of the organization, understand differing perspectives, and navigate organizational complexity with tact and emotional intelligence. - Highly open to feedback and direction, possessing a desire to learn new skills, and capable of producing quick, quality revisions based on new insights or constraints. - A strong ownership of tasks, striving to drive work forward autonomously while maintaining a critical eye for detail and organization, ensuring high standards of quality. - Dedicated to upholding Cloud Chamber's core values, contributing to a positive and respectful company culture while striving for excellence in all endeavors. Who We Are: At Cloud Chamber we strive to make BioShock games that move people: evocative, immersive, and meaningful experiences that stay with you long after you’ve rolled credits. Great games are born from great collaborations, supported by a culture that brings out the best in our teams. We work openly, learn through play, take ownership, push ourselves to be better, and deliver for our players. For candidates located in Quebec: This position requires professional proficiency in both French and English. Proficiency in English is required to collaborate with our U.S. teams and international partners, as well as to handle specialized technical documentation (reading, writing, and communication). As an equal opportunity employer, we are committed to ensuring that qualified individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, perform their essential job functions, and receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us if you need reasonable accommodation. Please note that 2K Games and its studios never use instant messaging apps or personal email accounts to contact prospective employees or conduct interviews. When emailing prospective employees, we only use 2K.com accounts. ## About 2K ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: 2K is a major video game publisher and developer, best known for iconic franchises like *NBA 2K*, *Borderlands*, *Civilization*, *BioShock*, *Mafia*, *WWE 2K*, and *XCOM*. - **Entity Type**: Private subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive (public parent company, NASDAQ: TTWO) - **Headquarters**: Novato, California, USA (with global offices across the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Australia) - **Founded**: January 25, 2005 (as a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive) - **Founders**: Founded as a corporate entity by Take-Two Interactive; key early leaders included Christoph Hartmann (former President). Current President is David Ismailer. ## Core Business - **Primary industry/industries**: Video game development and publishing (AAA, sports, and strategy games) - **Target customers**: B2C (consumers/gamers globally across PC, console, and mobile platforms) - **Mission or purpose statement**: "We enable all gamers to build, connect, escape and dream big!" (from their official values page) ## Products & Services - **NBA 2K Series**: Flagship basketball simulation franchise, released annually across console and PC. - **Borderlands Series**: Acclaimed first-person shooter looter-shooter franchise. - **Civilization Series**: Legendary turn-based strategy series (developed by Firaxis Games, a 2K studio). - **BioShock Series**: Critically acclaimed narrative-driven first-person shooter series. - **Mafia Series**: Open-world crime drama franchise. - **WWE 2K Series**: Professional wrestling simulation franchise. - **XCOM Series**: Tactical strategy franchise. - **PGA Tour 2K Series**: Golf simulation franchise. - **Top Spin Series**: Tennis simulation franchise (revived in 2024). - **2K Foundations**: Social impact program that builds community and youth engagement programs, including refurbishing basketball courts globally. ## Market Standing - **Valuation/Market Cap**: 2K is a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive. Take-Two's market cap is approximately **$30+ billion** (as of mid-2025), with 2K being one of its two core publishing labels alongside Rockstar Games. - **Key Metric**: 2K is a private subsidiary; exact revenue is not disclosed separately. However, Take-Two Interactive’s total net revenue for fiscal year 2024 was approximately **$5.6 billion**, with 2K contributing a significant portion. The company employs approximately **4,000 people**. - **Notable Investors/Partners**: Parent company is Take-Two Interactive. Key development studio partners include Visual Concepts (NBA 2K), Firaxis Games (Civilization), Gearbox Software (Borderlands), and Hangar 13 (Mafia). - **Growth Signals**: 2K has been actively expanding its development network, including the acquisition of Gearbox Software in 2024. The company continues to launch major franchise entries and invest in new IP. It has a growing presence in mobile gaming and live-service models. ## Competitive Advantages - **Iconic IP Portfolio**: Owns some of the most valuable and long-running franchises in gaming (*NBA 2K*, *Borderlands*, *Civilization*, *BioShock*). - **Massive Global Reach**: Games sell tens of millions of copies annually across all major platforms. - **Strong Parent Backing**: As a core label of Take-Two, 2K has significant financial resources for marketing, development, and acquisitions. - **Diverse Studio Network**: Operates a wide range of internal studios with specialized expertise (sports, strategy, action, RPG). - **2K Foundations**: A unique social impact program that builds brand goodwill and community engagement. ## Strategic Focus - **Franchise Expansion**: Continuing to grow its flagship franchises with annual releases, new entries, and expanded content. - **Live Service & Engagement**: Deepening post-launch engagement through in-game events, battle passes, and microtransactions (especially in *NBA 2K*). - **Mobile & New Platforms**: Expanding into mobile gaming and new platforms. - **Studio Investment**: Acquiring and investing in top-tier development talent (e.g., Gearbox). - **Technology & AI**: Investing in R&D for game engines, AI, and data science to improve game quality and player experiences (evidenced by job postings for AI R&D, data science, and Unreal Engine roles). ## Why Work Here - **Work on Iconic Franchises**: Opportunity to contribute to some of the most beloved and best-selling game series in the world. - **Culture**: Described as a blend of "NYC roots with a Northern California vibe," with a focus on being direct, open, and friendly. The company emphasizes "Come As You Are" and "Give a ^%$*" as core values. - **Remote/Hybrid/Office Policy**: 2K has a hybrid work model. Many roles are listed with specific locations (Novato, Los Angeles, Montreal, Bengaluru, etc.), but some positions offer remote flexibility. - **Notable Perks**: Located in a unique headquarters (converted airplane hangars in Novato, CA) near hiking, biking trails, and wine country. The company also runs a motion capture studio in Petaluma, CA. - **Engineering Culture**: Strong emphasis on technical innovation, with dedicated teams for AI R&D, Core Tech/Tools, Data Science, and Online Services. Many job postings focus on Unreal Engine, data engineering, and systems architecture. - **Social Impact**: Employees can participate in 2K Foundations, which refurbishes basketball courts and builds community spaces globally. ## Sources 1. [2k.com/careers/](https://2k.com/careers/) 2. [2k.com/about/](https://2k.com/about/) 3. [job-boards.greenhouse.io/2k](http://job-boards.greenhouse.io/2k) 4. [en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2K_(company)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2K_(company)) ## Other roles at 2K - [Player Connections Paid Media Specialist](https://feeny.ai/job/player-connections-paid-media-specialist-2k-novato-california-5kyp7h96bkjn) — Novato California, United States - [Localization Specialist, German](https://feeny.ai/job/localization-specialist-german-2k-madrid-87x8es8sqqpn) — Madrid, Spain - [Localization Specialist, Castilian Spanish](https://feeny.ai/job/localization-specialist-castilian-spanish-2k-madrid-5152q6excay9) — Madrid, Spain - [Analyste en assurance qualité linguistique (LQA) espagnol latino-américain / LQA Analyst, Spanish Latin American](https://feeny.ai/job/analyste-en-assurance-qualite-linguistique-lqa-espagnol-latino-americain-lqa-vcwetss9rbx6) — Montréal, Canada - [Localization Coordinator Arabic](https://feeny.ai/job/localization-coordinator-arabic-2k-montreal-h6cvgz5msd9t) — Montréal, Canada - [LQA Analyst, Brazilian Portuguese](https://feeny.ai/job/lqa-analyst-brazilian-portuguese-2k-montreal-p1pe75d3gyga) — Montréal, Canada - [Director, Program Management, Business Operations - Horizon](https://feeny.ai/job/director-program-management-business-operations-horizon-2k-los-angeles-z5drxcevft4h) — Los Angeles California, United States - [Lead Producer](https://feeny.ai/job/lead-producer-2k-san-mateo-california-0xz1xcbgverv) — San Mateo California, United States - [Manager, Product Marketing](https://feeny.ai/job/manager-product-marketing-2k-london-england-xnbwknbpv1hx) — London England, United Kingdom - [LQA Analyst, Arabic](https://feeny.ai/job/lqa-analyst-arabic-2k-madrid-ssxxj77fewrx) — Madrid, Spain