Creative Assembly is looking for a Principal Animator to join our talented team in Sofia and play a pivotal role in shaping animation across our acclaimed Total War series. This is a unique opportunity for a highly skilled and experienced animator with a strong sense of ownership, creative vision, and technical depth to make a real impact on a multi-award-winning franchise. You will work closely with cross-discipline teams and lead animation initiatives, pushing both visual fidelity and gameplay responsiveness across a wide range of human and creature animations. We offer a flexible hybrid working model that allows for both in-studio collaboration and remote work within Bulgaria.  Key Responsibilities As a Principal Animator, you will: 

• Define and drive the quality and consistency of animation across the project, setting visual and technical benchmarks. 

• Lead by example with high-quality hands-on animation work, from Maya to engine implementation. 

• Collaborate with design, programming, and cinematic teams to ensure animations feel responsive, polished, and purposeful in-game. 

• Mentor and guide other animators, helping shape their growth and ensuring high team standards – both inhouse and external 

• Provide input on tools and pipeline improvements, working closely with technical animation and engineering to streamline workflows. 

• Identify animation-related risks and propose creative, efficient solutions. 

• Interpret creative direction and adapt animations where reference is limited or unavailable. 

 Knowledge, Skills, and Experience Essential: 

• Proven experience in a senior or principal animation role within game development. 

• Excellent keyframe animation skills, including both human and non-human/creature movement. 

• Deep understanding of animation systems, pipelines, and their integration into gameplay. 

• Strong problem-solving ability and technical curiosity, especially in optimizing animation workflows. 

• Experience working with real-time game engines and implementing gameplay animations. 

• Demonstrated leadership qualities – including mentoring, cross-discipline collaboration, and feedback culture. 

• Excellent communication skills, proactive mindset, and collaborative spirit. 

• Fluent English 

Desirable: 

• Experience working on large-scale strategy or action titles. 

• Strong understanding of gameplay animation systems and node-based editors. 

• Motion Capture direction and cleanup experience. 

• Familiarity with tools such as MotionBuilder and proprietary animation pipelines. 

• A passion for the Total War franchise or strategy games in general. 

 Please note:  
A portfolio/showreel demonstrating your animation work is required for this role. Applications without a reel will not be considered. About Creative Assembly
Creative Assembly crafts deep and detailed games that last, entertaining millions of players across the globe for decades.
 
We are all game makers and we care deeply about the experiences we create. We empower our teams to make significant contributions to our games, supported by skills development and growth opportunities.
 
We are located in Horsham, UK and Sofia, Bulgaria.
We offer many benefits to support you and your family including:

• We offer many benefits to support you and your family including:
• Additional medical and dental health insurance for you, your partner and kids, life in-surance, and free health care screening
• Additional holiday allowance plus full studio closure over the Christmas and New Year period, as all Bulgarian Bank holidays
• Annual discretionary studio bonus
• Defined career development pathways and personalised training support including; SEGA Dev Day, internal masterclasses, prestigious creative workshops, on-site training with renowned specialists and global conference attendance
• Wellbeing support with an employee assistance programme
• Free games and merchandise plus access to our extensive games library
• Free breakfast every day - toast, cereals, yoghurts, fresh fruit, soft drinks and more in our fully stocked kitchen
• Office massages
• Studio parties for you and your family; such as our Summer and Christmas parties, Children’s day party, wrap parties for game releases

 
We are an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, religion or belief.
 Note to Recruitment Agencies: SEGA Europe Limited and our studios do not accept unsolicited candidate introductions from unauthorised third parties. For the avoidance of doubt, SEGA Europe is not liable for any fees, compensation or any other costs associated with the introduction of a candidate or recruitment services unless and until an agreement has been duly executed. Further details can be found here.