Outsourcing Support Animator (Apex Legends)

Electronic Arts · Vancouver - Great Northern Way, Canada · Posted 2026-07-14 · Full Time

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.

Founded in 2010 by the original creators of the Call of Duty Franchise, Respawn was created with the philosophy that when talented people have creative freedom, they'll make extraordinary games that achieve the unexpected. From our roots as an indie studio to joining the expansive roster of studios at Electronic Arts, this remains our guiding principle. We truly love what we do and want to share our passion with players worldwide. Our shipped titles include critically acclaimed multi-platform games Apex Legends, Titanfall, Titanfall 2, Star Wars™ Jedi: Fallen Order, Star Wars™ Jedi: Survivor and Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond. Join us for the opportunity to create groundbreaking games with some of the best developer talent in the industry.

You can learn more about our studio and values at respawn.com/studio.

Respawn Entertainment is seeking an Outsourcing Support Animator to support Apex Legends. This hybrid role sits at the intersection of external development, hands-on gameplay animation, and production coordination.

You will coordinate with internal and external animation partners delivering animation content while ensuring daily feedback, internal approvals to ensure that assets and experiences are aligned with Apex’s quality bar and gameplay expectations. In addition, you will be responsible for hands-on implementation, and integration of external content.

What You’ll Do…

External Vendor Leadership & Daily Feedback

Own day-to-day communication with external animation vendors
Provide clear, structured, and actionable feedback aligned with Apex animation direction
Partner with Animation Leadership to define briefs, reference packages, and quality targets
Track vendor deliverables across sprints and milestones
Manage revision cycles and approval tracking
Identify quality, scope, or schedule risks and escalate proactively

Internal Alignment & Approval Management

Drive internal review and approval processes for outsourced animation
Ensure Animation Leads, Design, Tech Animation, and Engineering are aligned before content lock
Interface closely with Production to maintain schedules, priorities, and milestone targets
Provide visibility into vendor progress, risks, and forecasted delivery timelines
Help balance roadmap priorities with vendor capacity

Gameplay Animation & Mocap Collaboration

Block and prototype animations to establish timing and gameplay intent when needed
Assist in coordinating motion capture sessions and reference assets
Provide performance notes and help shape capture objectives
Review vendor work in-engine to ensure gameplay clarity, responsiveness, and performance standards
Execute targeted polish passes on high-priority content as needed

Implementation, Integration & Pipeline Health

Export, ingestion, and validation of animation assets in-engine
Ensure naming conventions, rig compatibility, and version control standards are upheld
Coordinate with Tech Animation and Engineering to resolve integration issues
Maintain and update animation briefs, documentation, and tracking systems
Contribute to process improvements that scale Apex’s external development pipeline

Ideally, You Have…

5+ years of game animation experience, including external development collaboration
Shipped at least one AAA title (FPS or action preferred)
Experience managing or directly leading outsourced animation partners
Strong understanding of mocap workflows and gameplay animation systems
Experience partnering closely with Production to maintain schedule integrity
Familiarity with SOW creation, scope planning, and milestone tracking
Knowledge of Maya, MotionBuilder and engine integration workflows
Experience working within Jira or similar production tracking tools
Experience in a live-service development environment

Why This Role Matters…

Apex Legends operates on a fast-paced live-service cadence with high gameplay readability standards. This role ensures external animation support scales effectively while maintaining Respawn’s quality bar, schedule discipline, and cross-team alignment.
You will act as the connective tissue between external partners, internal animation teams, and production, ensuring outsourced content integrates seamlessly into the game.

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 equity.

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 equity.

About Electronic Arts

Apply on studio site →