DON’T NOD is an independent publisher and developer, based in Paris and Montreal, creating original narrative games in the adventure (Life is Strange, Tell Me Why, Twin Mirror), RPG (Vampyr), and action (Remember Me) genres. The studio is internationally renowned for unique narrative experiences with engaging stories and characters, and has worked with industry leading publishers: Square Enix, Microsoft, Bandai Namco Entertainment, Focus Entertainment, and Capcom. DON’T NOD creates and publishes its own IPs developed in-house, as well as using its knowledge and experience to collaborate with third-party developers whose editorial visions parallel the company’s own.

Step into the studio's immersive and innovative universe at dont-nod.com

Why join us?

• You want to bring your talent to the DON’T NOD Montreal team and work on the new narrative game Lost Records: Bloom & Rage, led by key members of the team behind Life is Strange;
• You want to join a diverse and committed team, both in its culture and in the content of the games it creates;
• You're looking for an environment where you'll be able to interact with all the teams in a simple and efficient manner;
• You'd like to use your animation and mocap processing skills to contribute to an original and meaningful experience based on its characters.

What you'll be doing

Reporting to the Montreal studio’s Animation Director, your role will be to shepherd mocap data from the mocap studio to the animators to create cinematics and in-game animations.

Your mission will be to:

• Retarget, spot check, and process mocap data;
• Create animations for cinematics and in-game systems;
• Maintain and update our data folders and work closely with our Animation Director and animators to make sure they have all the mocap data they need;
• Troubleshoot animations in Motion Builder and Unreal Engine: Identify the issues and collaborate with the people involved in their resolution;
• Assist the Animation Director in mocap shoots;
• In collaboration with our Animation Director and Producer, interact when needed with our external mocap studio partners to maintain and update mocap data;
• Collaborate with our rigging team to share feedback on our motion capture rigs;
• Contribute to the design, integration and validation of the animation elements to be implemented, as well as to modify and maintain the nav/gameplay systems in Unreal.

The must-have skills we're looking for

• A minimum of 3 years' experience in mocap animation;
• Familiarity with Unreal Engine;
• Knowledge of processing and retargeting mocap data;
• Strong animation experience;
• Attention to detail, performance and preserving the motion fidelity;
• A good sense of posing, weight, and timing in your animations;
• Ability to stay focused and effectively manage a large volume of data;
• An interest in narrative games and their ability to convey emotions through their characters;
• A good sense of communication and collaboration;
• Sense of initiative, originality and resourcefulness in problem solving.

What would set you apart?

• Scripting experience, especially Python;
• Knowledge of lipsync generation tools (JALI or Speech Graphics or similar software);
• Experience with raw mocap cleaning (C3D);
• Experience in the setup, daily maintenance and calibration of a Mocap Stage;
• Knowledge of small scale mocap solutions (Rokoko, Xsens, etc.).

At DON’T NOD Montreal, we celebrate diversity and inclusivity within our games as well as our teams. We commit to equal opportunities and non-discrimination in our hiring process. We are respectful of the principles of equal employment opportunities, and that is why we encourage women, people of all sexual orientations and gender identities, First Nations people, people living with a disability, visible minorities, as well as any other person who can contribute to the diversity of our studio to apply for our positions.

We build close-knit teams to encourage a fulfilling work environment for all our employees.

Our teams enjoy a range of benefits, including flexibility, a generous holiday bank, time off, training and career development support, and a personalized Lifestyle spending account.

Additional perks include:

• The possibility of working anywhere in Quebec;
• Insurance and virtual healthcare coverage as of Day 1;
• An annual bank of 40 hours of menstrual leave;
• Partial refund of transport fees (OPUS, BIXI and parking);
• Access to gym and fitness classes as well as a multi-sports field in summer which turns into an ice rink in winter;
• Referral bonus that goes the extra mile;
• RRSPs with the employer's contribution.