Liquid City is a speculative design studio working at the intersection of AI, spatial computing and immersive media. We prototype future interfaces, virtual characters and intelligent environments, combining high-concept worldbuilding with real-time technology.

We’re looking for a freelance Character Animator / Technical Artist to help bring a digital character to life across a series of VR prototypes, developed in Unity for the Meta Quest.

This is a contract role from September - December 2025/January 2026, with potential for future collaboration. This role is remote, open to mid–senior level applicants worldwide.

About the Role

You’ll be responsible for modelling rigging and animating a fully embodied 3D character who can express a range of emotions, reactions, and behaviours in real time. The character will perform actions in a virtual space, engage in conversation with the user, and interact with objects in scene. Think embodied presence, subtle gestures, fluid social interaction — all within a believable, high-fidelity style.

You’ll also support the creative development of realistic shaders and materials for the character, working closely with our art director and prototyping team to define a style that fits our evolving design language.

Responsibilities

• Rig and animate a high-quality humanoid character for real-time use in Unity
• Design and implement facial animation and emotional expression systems
• Animate body language, movement, and object interaction
• Collaborate on realistic shaders and materials for skin, hair, clothing etc.
• Iterate with the design team on character look, feel, and responsiveness
• Optimise for standalone VR performance (Meta Quest)

Requirements

• Strong experience in Unity animation pipelines and real-time character work
• Proficient in rigging and animating facial expressions and body movement
• Experience with shader creation (Shader Graph or HLSL)