Senior Robot Animator

skildai-careers· Engineering
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📍 San Mateo, CA💰 USD 100K–300K

About this role

Company Overview

At Skild AI, we are building the world's first general purpose robotic intelligence that is robust and adapts to unseen scenarios without failing. We believe massive scale through data-driven machine learning is the key to unlocking these capabilities for the widespread deployment of robots within society. Our team consists of individuals with varying levels of experience and backgrounds, from new graduates to domain experts. Relevant industry experience is important, but ultimately less so than your demonstrated abilities and attitude. We are looking for passionate individuals who are eager to explore uncharted waters and contribute to our innovative projects.

Position Overview

We're looking for a Senior Robot Animator to help bring our robots to life. In this role, you'll work closely with our robotics, simulation, and hardware teams to rig, animate, and refine motion that runs both in simulation and on physical machines, supporting a range of teams and programs across the company. This is an animation-first role focused on the computer graphics side of motion — rigging, keyframe animation, body mechanics, and the editing and retargeting of captured data. Strong candidates pair animation craft with an intuition for what a physical robot can actually execute.

Responsibilities

  • Author robot motion in Maya (or Blender) using keyframe, procedural, and capture-based techniques
  • Work with our robotics engineers to take motion from digital content creation (DCC) to real hardware
  • Choreograph and time performances, including multi-robot sequences and motion cut to music or camera
  • Deliver finished rendered work as well as sequences performed by the machines themselves
  • Build motion libraries and retargeting that support our simulation and machine learning work
  • Partner with our hardware teams on previz and range-of-motion studies that inform design

Preferred Qualifications

  • 5+ years animating professionally in film/VFX, games, or robotics, or equivalent senior-level experience — demo reel required
  • Expert keyframe animation with a strong sense of weight, timing, and body mechanics
  • Rigging experience with mechanical or articulated characters: constraints, IK/FK, joint limits, mechanism-accurate setups
  • Comfortable cleaning, editing, and retargeting motion capture onto non-human skeletons
  • Background working with humanoid or robotic characters in simulation or the real world
  • Familiarity with controls/rigid-body dynamics/simulation is a plus
Base Salary Range
$100,000$300,000 USD

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the salary for the Senior Robot Animator role at skildai-careers?
The listed salary for this Senior Robot Animator position at skildai-careers is USD 100K–300K. This is an full-time role.
Where is the Senior Robot Animator position at skildai-careers located?
This Senior Robot Animator role at skildai-careers is based in San Mateo, CA. The position is listed as on-site or hybrid. Check the full job description or apply directly to confirm the work arrangement.
Which team or department does the Senior Robot Animator at skildai-careers belong to?
This Senior Robot Animator position is part of the Engineering department at skildai-careers. See the full job description for more information about the team structure and responsibilities.
How do I apply for the Senior Robot Animator position at skildai-careers?
Click the "Apply Now" button on this page. You will be redirected to skildai-careers's official application portal hosted on greenhouse where you can submit your application directly.
When was the Senior Robot Animator job at skildai-careers posted?
This Senior Robot Animator position at skildai-careers was posted on Aug 25, 2026. Apply as soon as possible — early applications are often reviewed first.
Senior Robot Animator
skildai-careers · 💰 USD 100K–300K
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