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3D Character Rigging Internship Jobs in Manhattan, NY

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3D Character Rigging Internship information

See Manhattan, NY salary details

$12

$21

$32

How much do 3d character rigging internship jobs pay per hour?

As of Aug 22, 2026, the average hourly pay for 3d character rigging internship in Manhattan, NY is $21.84, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $17.79 and $24.66 per hour, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is a 3d character rigging internship?

A 3D Character Rigging Internship is a temporary position where you gain hands-on experience in creating rigs for 3D characters used in animation, games, or VFX. Interns typically work with modeling and animation teams to develop skeletal structures, control systems, and deformations to ensure realistic movement. You will learn to use rigging tools in software like Maya or Blender, work with character pipelines, and troubleshoot technical issues. This internship helps build essential skills in character setup, scripting, and problem-solving while working in a professional studio environment.

What types of projects and tasks can I expect to work on during a 3d character rigging internship?

As a 3D Character Rigging Intern, you can expect to assist with building, adjusting, and testing character rigs that animators use to create lifelike movements. Your daily tasks may involve working closely with animators and modelers to ensure rigs are functional and meet the artistic needs of the project. You might also troubleshoot technical issues in rigging, help with updating rigs based on feedback, and learn how to implement deformation controls and skin weighting. These responsibilities provide valuable hands-on experience that builds a strong foundation for a future career in 3D animation or visual effects.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive in the 3d character rigging internship position, and why are they important?

To thrive as a 3D Character Rigging Intern, you should have foundational skills in 3D modeling, animation principles, and computer graphics, often built through coursework in digital arts, animation, or related fields. Familiarity with industry-standard software such as Autodesk Maya, Blender, or 3ds Max is highly valued, and coursework or certifications in these tools can provide an advantage. Strong problem-solving abilities, attention to detail, and effective communication are key soft skills for collaborating with animation and technical teams. These skills and qualities ensure the technical accuracy and creative flexibility necessary for producing high-quality animated characters in a team-driven environment.

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What cities near Manhattan, NY are hiring for 3D Character Rigging Internship jobs?

Cities near Manhattan, NY with the most 3D Character Rigging Internship job openings:

3D Character Rigging Internship jobs near you
Infographic showing various 3D Character Rigging Internship job openings in Manhattan, NY as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 86% Full Time, and 14% Temporary. Highlights an 66% In-person, and 34% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $45,424 per year, or $21.8 per hour.

Rive Motion Designer and Animator (Contract-to-Hire)

Rilla

New York, NY • On-site

$60 - $100/hr

Contractor

Re-posted 11 days ago

Job description

A Foundational Company
Rilla is on a mission to index the offline world.
Today, we've built the leading sales coaching software for organizations doing sales offline. We have over 1000 customers, including The Home Depot, KKR, Neighborly, and PulteGroup, using our product to enable AI sales coaching across their organization.
We are backed by Google Ventures, Bessemer Ventures, Crew Capital, and Broom Ventures, along with others.
We're an in office team in NYC with builders who operate like high speed reinforcement learners. We obsess over our customers, move at a high velocity, are not afraid of failure, and look to maximize our real-world impact.
If you want to build the products and systems for how billions of conversations in the real world are captured and indexed, Rilla is the place to do it.
The Role
At Rilla, you'll be at the forefront of transforming our product into an experience that feels as intuitive, playful, and rewarding as the best consumer games. You'll design UI animations, build out our character universe, and bring it all to life with bold, innovative motion and art styles.
As part of our Games team, you'll collaborate closely with engineering, product, and design to craft animations that don't just surprise and delight, but actively inspire our customers to hit their goals and celebrate every one of their wins along the way. You are a creative problem solver who will move fast, experiment constantly, and push the boundaries of what a product experience can be to keep it deeply engaging and retentive.
Your primary playground will be our mobile and desktop app. You will also have opportunities to extend Rilla's motion language into our website, marketing creative, and other key brand moments.
This role is perfect for someone obsessed with game mechanics, passionate about creating joyful, immersive product experiences, and ready to thrive in a high-autonomy, high-expectation environment.
What We Value
  • An infinite learner. Someone who is relentless in their curiosity.
  • A customer obsessive. Someone who deeply care about delighting customers and solving real pains, not vanity metrics.
  • A winning attitude. You thrive with extreme accountability, learning as a team, and both giving and receiving rapid feedback.
  • Extreme empathy. Our customers are not tech companies. They live and work in the real world. Empathy is critical to arriving at correct solutions.
  • Unafraid of failure. You take risks. You see failure as an opportunity to learn, grow, and be better the next time. In a weird way, you trick your brain into being excited when you fail, because it means you got a new opportunity to learn more.

What We Require
  • Summary: 2+ years of experience in motion design, interactive media, game development - or a strong portfolio of personal projects showcasing diverse styles and technical excellence.
  • Motion Design: Proficiency in Rive, Lottie, and After Effects, with a strong eye for detail and aptitude in learning new tools and hands-on experience in production-ready animations
  • Character Design: Skilled at bringing characters to life through AI-powered prompting and creative iteration, embracing video generation tools over traditional rigging, lighting, and shader pipelines
  • Technical Collaboration: Experience working with engineers on animation implementation, understanding technical constraints and optimization
  • Sound and Haptic Integration: Knowledge of how motion, sound, and haptic feedback work together to create cohesive user experiences
  • AI-Augmented Workflow: You're well-versed in AI tools and excited to experiment with new software to create compelling animations
  • Impeccable Taste and Brand Intuition: Ability to translate Rilla's dynamic brand energy and art style into a motion design language
  • Passion for Games: An understanding of game design principles and player experience, with a sharp eye for what makes interactions addictive, rewarding, and fun using animations that engage and delight

Nice to have (ordered):
  • Examples of motion design work similar to Duolingo or other consumer game platforms
  • Experience with performance optimization for web and mobile
  • General 3D skills like modeling, texturing, rigging, and animating

Compensation
This role is contract, open to remote, with the ability for full-time conversion to be in-person in NYC. Compensation: $60-$100/hr.

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