... animation Bonus if you have used mocap and understand the mocap workflow at a studio. Bonus for ... small indie studio: close-knit, with high ownership and flexibility. We also believe in the ...
... animation Bonus if you have used mocap and understand the mocap workflow at a studio. Bonus for ... small indie studio: close-knit, with high ownership and flexibility. We also believe in the ...
... animation Bonus if you have used mocap and understand the mocap workflow at a studio. Bonus for ... small indie studio: close-knit, with high ownership and flexibility. We also believe in the ...
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... animation Bonus if you have used mocap and understand the mocap workflow at a studio. Bonus for ... small indie studio: close-knit, with high ownership and flexibility. We also believe in the ...
You'llwork directly with studios, VFX houses, and creative leadership to take Firefly Foundry from ... Itshipsa coordinated stack of image, video, animation, and 3D generation models that need to work ...
You'llwork directly with studios, VFX houses, and creative leadership to take Firefly Foundry from ... Itshipsa coordinated stack of image, video, animation, and 3D generation models that need to work ...
You'llwork directly with studios, VFX houses, and creative leadership to take Firefly Foundry from ... Itshipsa coordinated stack of image, video, animation, and 3D generation models that need to work ...
You'llwork directly with studios, VFX houses, and creative leadership to take Firefly Foundry from ... Itshipsa coordinated stack of image, video, animation, and 3D generation models that need to work ...
You'llwork directly with studios, VFX houses, and creative leadership to take Firefly Foundry from ... Itshipsa coordinated stack of image, video, animation, and 3D generation models that need to work ...
You'llwork directly with studios, VFX houses, and creative leadership to take Firefly Foundry from ... Itshipsa coordinated stack of image, video, animation, and 3D generation models that need to work ...
You'llwork directly with studios, VFX houses, and creative leadership to take Firefly Foundry from ... Itshipsa coordinated stack of image, video, animation, and 3D generation models that need to work ...
You'llwork directly with studios, VFX houses, and creative leadership to take Firefly Foundry from ... Itshipsa coordinated stack of image, video, animation, and 3D generation models that need to work ...
Staff AI VFX Engineer
Los Angeles, CA · On-site
You'll work directly with studios, VFX houses, and creative leadership to take Firefly Foundry from ... It ships a coordinated stack of image, video, animation, and 3D generation models that need to work ...
Staff AI VFX Engineer
Los Angeles, CA · On-site
You'll work directly with studios, VFX houses, and creative leadership to take Firefly Foundry from ... It ships a coordinated stack of image, video, animation, and 3D generation models that need to work ...
Indie Animation Studio information
See salary details
$11K - $25.7K
0% of jobs
$25.7K - $40.4K
0% of jobs
$40.4K - $55K
0% of jobs
$55K - $69.7K
0% of jobs
$69.7K - $84.4K
0% of jobs
$84.4K - $99.1K
0% of jobs
$99.1K - $113.8K
0% of jobs
$113.8K - $128.5K
0% of jobs
$128.5K - $143.1K
0% of jobs
$143.1K - $157.8K
0% of jobs
$161.5K is the 25th percentile. Wages below this are outliers.
$157.8K - $172.5K
100% of jobs
$11K
$172.5K
How much do indie animation studio jobs pay per year?
As of Aug 6, 2026, the average yearly pay for indie animation studio in the United States is $171,000.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $171,000.00 and $171,000.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.
What are some common challenges faced by teams working at an indie animation studio?
Indie Animation Studios often work with smaller budgets and limited resources compared to major production houses, which can create unique challenges around scheduling, staffing, and acquiring high-end equipment. Team members typically wear multiple hats, contributing to various aspects of production such as storyboarding, character design, and post-production editing. Close collaboration and adaptability are essential, as changes in creative direction or client feedback may come up frequently during a project. Despite these challenges, working at an indie studio offers a high level of creative freedom and the opportunity to contribute meaningfully to every stage of the animation process.
What is an indie animation studio?
An indie animation studio job involves working in a smaller, independent company that creates animated content outside of major studios. Roles can vary from animators and storyboard artists to writers, producers, and voice actors. These positions often require wearing multiple hats due to smaller team sizes, fostering creative flexibility and hands-on experience. Indie studios typically work on short films, web series, indie games, or feature films with unique storytelling and artistic styles. Collaboration, adaptability, and passion for animation are key qualities for success in this environment.
How to get into indie animation studio?
To get into an indie animation studio, build a strong portfolio showcasing your animation skills using software like Adobe After Effects or Toon Boom. Gaining experience through internships, personal projects, or freelance work, along with understanding storytelling and character design, can improve your chances of being hired.
What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive in an indie animation studio?
To thrive as an Indie Animation Studio, you need strong skills in animation principles, visual storytelling, and creative direction, often supported by experience in animation software and a portfolio of completed projects. Proficiency with tools like Adobe Creative Suite, Toon Boom, Blender, or similar industry-standard applications is essential, and relevant certifications in animation or digital arts can be advantageous. Excellent project management, teamwork, and communication skills help in collaborating with artists, writers, and voice actors while meeting client or audience expectations. These abilities are crucial for producing high-quality animation projects on limited budgets and tight deadlines often encountered in the indie animation industry.
More about Indie Animation Studio jobs
What are the most commonly searched types of Indie Animation Studio jobs? The most popular types of Indie Animation Studio jobs are:
What states have the most Indie Animation Studio jobs? States with the most job openings for Indie Animation Studio jobs include:
What job categories do people searching Indie Animation Studio jobs look for? The top searched job categories for Indie Animation Studio jobs are:
Job description
tl;dr: We're building a 3D first-person adventure game where an AI companion is the core of the game. Think MiSide with LLMs, but truly integrated with gameplay, not just a RP chatbot.
About Us
Here at Spellbrush, we're passionate about making a good anime game.
We also happen to be the world's leading generative AI studio-we're the team behind niji・journey.
Our mission is simple: use AI to bring characters to life and push the boundaries of narrative-driven games.
What We're Building
We've developed an in-house LLM storytelling system that blends AI, story, and gameplay-going far beyond shallow "chat-only" experiences.
The result is an AI companion who cooperates with you in puzzles, remembers across worlds, and changes how each chapter unfolds.
We're looking for a strong Unity engineer who loves 3D story-driven games. You'll join our lead Unity dev, who has spent the past 5 years building interactive anime avatars, to grow our working prototype into a full game.
In-game screenshots (development build)
About The Role
You will join a small but extremely talented team to define a new kind of video game experience. You'll work alongside top otaku minds in the industry, including the creator of Warudo and Cytoid, a Google Deepmind veteran behind Project Astra, and top-tier AI researchers.
As an early member of this team, you will have significant artistic and research freedom to shape what could become the next-generation LLM-driven storytelling experience.
Why You'll Love Working With Us
Impact and Ownership: As an early team member, you'll have the opportunity to push the boundaries of what's possible at the intersection of the AI, anime, and video game industry.
A World-Class Team: You'll work directly with some of the best AI researchers and engineers in the world in a small, mighty, and fast-paced team.
Culture: We are seeking individuals who ideally are fans of anime and the anime aesthetic. We believe in the unmatched speed of in-person collaboration.
International Opportunities: We have primary research offices in downtown Akihabara, Tokyo, and San Francisco. Visa sponsorships are available for qualified candidates.
You may be a good fit if:
You love anime and the anime aesthetic
We are literally building an anime game, so this is a requirement!
You have independently developed a 3D narrative game in Unity
Bonus points if the game is first-person.
You're good at 3D character animation
Bonus if you have used mocap and understand the mocap workflow at a studio. Bonus for having your assets on the Unity store.
You're excited about the potential of Generative AI
You'll also be working closely along some of the best AI researchers in the world. Part of working with our team may involve looking at our latest research results, and figuring out how to best apply it into our game. You will be at the literal cutting edge of what is possible with machine learning, art, and games. Having experience working with LLMs is a plus.
You're comfortable working on small, fast-paced teams
Working here will feel very much like a small indie studio: close-knit, with high ownership and flexibility.
We also believe in the unmatched speed of in-person teams, and prefer on-site collaboration in either our primary research office in Tokyo (downtown Akihabara) or San Francisco. Visa sponsorships are available.
About Us
Here at Spellbrush, we're passionate about making a good anime game.
We also happen to be the world's leading generative AI studio-we're the team behind niji・journey.
Our mission is simple: use AI to bring characters to life and push the boundaries of narrative-driven games.
What We're Building
We've developed an in-house LLM storytelling system that blends AI, story, and gameplay-going far beyond shallow "chat-only" experiences.
The result is an AI companion who cooperates with you in puzzles, remembers across worlds, and changes how each chapter unfolds.
We're looking for a strong Unity engineer who loves 3D story-driven games. You'll join our lead Unity dev, who has spent the past 5 years building interactive anime avatars, to grow our working prototype into a full game.
In-game screenshots (development build)
About The Role
You will join a small but extremely talented team to define a new kind of video game experience. You'll work alongside top otaku minds in the industry, including the creator of Warudo and Cytoid, a Google Deepmind veteran behind Project Astra, and top-tier AI researchers.
As an early member of this team, you will have significant artistic and research freedom to shape what could become the next-generation LLM-driven storytelling experience.
Why You'll Love Working With Us
Impact and Ownership: As an early team member, you'll have the opportunity to push the boundaries of what's possible at the intersection of the AI, anime, and video game industry.
A World-Class Team: You'll work directly with some of the best AI researchers and engineers in the world in a small, mighty, and fast-paced team.
Culture: We are seeking individuals who ideally are fans of anime and the anime aesthetic. We believe in the unmatched speed of in-person collaboration.
International Opportunities: We have primary research offices in downtown Akihabara, Tokyo, and San Francisco. Visa sponsorships are available for qualified candidates.
You may be a good fit if:
You love anime and the anime aesthetic
We are literally building an anime game, so this is a requirement!
You have independently developed a 3D narrative game in Unity
Bonus points if the game is first-person.
You're good at 3D character animation
Bonus if you have used mocap and understand the mocap workflow at a studio. Bonus for having your assets on the Unity store.
You're excited about the potential of Generative AI
You'll also be working closely along some of the best AI researchers in the world. Part of working with our team may involve looking at our latest research results, and figuring out how to best apply it into our game. You will be at the literal cutting edge of what is possible with machine learning, art, and games. Having experience working with LLMs is a plus.
You're comfortable working on small, fast-paced teams
Working here will feel very much like a small indie studio: close-knit, with high ownership and flexibility.
We also believe in the unmatched speed of in-person teams, and prefer on-site collaboration in either our primary research office in Tokyo (downtown Akihabara) or San Francisco. Visa sponsorships are available.
About Spellbrush
Sourced by ZipRecruiter
Industry
Software development
Company size
1 - 10 Employees
Headquarters location
San Francisco, CA, US
Year founded
2018