Description
Summary
At Apple, we strive to make great products that empower people and improve their lives. We are looking for a great Character Behavior Designer to join our diverse team of engineers, artists and designers and help us take character interaction to the next level. This position focuses on the design of a character's responses to people and to its environment, with emphasis on expression, responsiveness, and timing, to push the limits of the next generation of interactive computing.
Description
This role requires a deep understanding of social interaction, technical proficiency in behavior authoring tools, and the ability to work within real-time constraints while maintaining high creative standards. The emphasis is on how expression, animation, and speech combine in performance, with dialogue authored in partnership with writers.
Key Responsibilities
Author complete character interactions, from first pass through final tuning
Drive animation, expression, speech, and timing from contextual input so each response feels intentional
Design interactions that stay believable across a range of social contexts
Collaborate with animators and engineers on the animation each interaction requires
Collaborate on tool design and development with the engineering team
Explore emerging techniques for interactive character behavior
Minimum Qualifications
Experience authoring and tuning NPC or companion character behaviors using tools like behavior trees, state machines, utility systems, or visual scripting
Working knowledge of interactive animation, including idles, reactions, look-ats, and additive layers
Experience with real-time game engines like Unity, Unreal, or others
Understanding of technical constraints in real-time environments
Great at providing and receiving feedback while working in a collaborative, cross-discipline environment
Preferred Qualifications
Background in animation, acting, physical comedy, or improvisation
Familiarity with conversational systems, including latency and failure modes
Solid grasp of the traditional principles of animation and performance
Prototyping, iterating, and evaluation skills
Experience with themed entertainment, animatronics, or interactive installation work
Apple