Animator Intern

Who We Are: Zynga is a global leader in interactive entertainment with a mission to connect the world through games and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO). With massive global reach in more than 175 countries and regions, the combined diverse portfolio of popular game franchises has been downloaded more than 6 billion times on mobile, including Star Wars™: Hunters, CSR Racing™, Dragon City, Empires & Puzzles™, FarmVille™, Golf Rival™, Hair Challenge™, Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells™, High Heels!™, Merge Dragons!™, Merge Magic!™, Monster Legends, Toon Blast™, Top Eleven, Toy Blast™, Two Dots, Words With Friends™, and Zynga Poker™.Founded in 2007, Zynga is headquartered in California with locations in North America, Europe, and Asia. For more information, visit www.zynga.com or follow Zynga on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or the Zynga blog We are seeking a creative and motivated Animator Intern to join our dynamic game art team. This is an opportunity to contribute to high-quality game animation while learning and working closely with experienced artists, animators, designers and technical artists. What you will do - Create and support high-quality 3D animations for characters, creatures, props and gameplay elements under the guidance of senior animators. · Work across 3D animation workflows using 3ds Max, Maya, Spine and Unity. · Create, refine and integrate animations into Unity and support animation setup, rigs and prefabs. · Work with character and prop rigs, keyframe animation, timing, posing and animation principles. · Support 2D/2.5D animation requirements in Spine where needed. · Collaborate with artists, designers, technical artists and engineers to deliver animation assets for games. · Explore AI-assisted workflows for animation ideation, reference generation, asset preparation and creative experimentation. · Learn and follow game art pipelines, naming conventions, optimization practices and production workflows. · Take feedback positively and iterate on animation work to meet quality and gameplay requirements. What we require - Strong foundation in 3D animation principles, including timing, spacing, posing, weight and anticipation. · Hands-on expertise/familiarity with 3ds Max and Maya for 3D animation. · Strong working knowledge of Unity for animation integration and game-engine workflows. · Working knowledge of Spine for 2D/2.5D animation workflows. · Good understanding of character animation, rigging and keyframe-based workflows. · Photoshop skills for basic asset preparation and supporting animation workflows. · Basic understanding of VFX, particles, cameras and animation-related effects in Unity. · Familiarity with game art pipelines and mobile game development. · Interest in animation, concept art or visual storytelling, and passion for games and interactive storytelling. · Experience with Autodesk 3ds Max / Maya / Spine & After Effects. · Please include your animation portfolio/reel in the application. 3D animation, Unity, Spine or AI-assisted creative work samples are encouraged. It will be great if you also have: · Experience experimenting with generative AI tools for image, video, animation or creative ideation. · Exposure to AI tools or AI-assisted creative workflows, with an interest in exploring how AI can improve animation workflows. · Ability to collaborate effectively, learn quickly and work within a game production environment. · Strong visual communication, observation and problem-solving skills. What We Offer: - Mentorship from industry experts with years of experience in Engineering and Game Development - Opportunities to contribute to live projects that impact millions of players worldwide. - Catered breakfast, lunch and evening snacks - Well stocked pantry - Frequent employee events - Casual dress every single day - Work with cool people and impact millions of daily players! NOTE - The opening is only for students graduating in 2027. The internship period is for 9 months and will be starting immediately. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer, which means we are committed to creating and celebrating diverse thoughts, cultures, and backgrounds throughout our organization. Employment with us is based on substantive ability, objective qualifications, and work ethic – not an individual’s race, creed, color, religion, sex or gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin or ancestry, alienage or citizenship status, physical or mental disability, pregnancy, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, status as a victim of domestic violence or sex offenses, reproductive health decision, or any other characteristics protected by applicable law. As an equal opportunity employer, we are committed to providing the necessary support and accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities, health conditions, or impairments (subject to any local qualifying requirements) to ensure their full participation in the job application or interview process. Please contact us at [email protected] to request any accommodations or for support related to your application for an open position. Please be aware that Zynga does not conduct job interviews or make job offers over third-party messaging apps such as Telegram, WhatsApp, or others. Zynga also does not engage in any financial exchanges during the recruitment or onboarding process, and will never ask a candidate for their personal or financial information over an app or other unofficial chat channel. Any attempt to do so may be the result of a scamp or phishing attack, and you should not engage. Zynga’s in-house recruitment team will only contact individuals through their official Company email addresses (i.e., via a zynga.com, take2games.com, naturalmotion.com, smallgiantgames.com, themavens.com, gram.gs email domain).