Careers in Animation

By Willy Franzen

Looking for an entry level job or internship in animation? Here's an overview of how to approach the search and a list of companies that might have entry level and internship opportunities that will interest you.

See companies with animation careers or search the latest animation jobs and internships.

Photo Credit: Flickr user dyashman

Every animation you watch, from a full-screen feature to a two-minute clip on Youtube, takes a lot of work to make. The animation itself can be divided into two rough areas: the art and the programming. In both cases, standing out with an outstanding demo reel or portfolio is the best way to get a job in animation.

If the art of animation interests you, then some possible careers include a 2D or 3D animator, a digital cel animator, a character designer, or a mixed media animator, depending on where your animation interests lie. If the programming interests you more, jobs in software development and production–writing the scripts that make the animations animate–would be more up your alley. No matter which side of animation interests you more, knowing a little about the other part of animation will only help you.

While entering a career in entertainment is a popular option, it’s not the only one. Game companies, movie studios, and cartoon channels employ a lot of animators, but simulations and virtual reality are becoming more common, and animations are often used for training as well.

Companies with Entry Level Jobs and Internships in Animation

G2 - G2 is a marketing communications agency that helps its clients sell more. They have offices in NYC, San Francisco, Chicago, and Philadelphia.

See the complete G2 profile

Job Title	Location
Fabrication Technician (Apex, NC)	Apex, NC
student athlete-marketing trainee-merchandising	Bloomington, IL
Restaurant Team Member Crew	Reston, VA
Mechanical Designer	Apex, NC
student athlete-business development-Sporting Industry	Dundee, MI

See all 388 job postings

Industry Weapon - Industry Weapon is a Pittsburgh, PA based company that offers a platform makes controlling digital media simple by centralizing and organizing it.

See the complete Industry Weapon profile

Job Title	Location
Senior Financial Analyst	Auburn, WA
Senior Instructor	Fort Bragg, NC
Senior Business Development Manager - Warfare Solutions (WS)	Washington, DC
C++ Object-oriented Software Programmer (230)	Hanscom AFB, MA
C++ Software Programmer (OOD) (283)	Hanscom AFB, MA

See all 768 job postings

Trailer Park - Trailer Park is a Hollywood, CA based full-service entertainment marketing agency that serves “a broad spectrum of clients."

See the complete Trailer Park profile

Job Title	Location
Construction Superintendent	Redwood City, CA
Zone Gardener (Mineral Springs)	New York, NY
Inventory Control - Purchasing	Portland, ME
Technician Host	Long Island, NY
Administrative Assistant	New York, NY

See all 575 job postings

J. Crew - J. Crew is a New York, NY based apparel retailer that started with a catalog in 1983 and is known for its preppiness, but that may be changing.

See the complete J. Crew profile

Job Title	Location
Civil Construction Senior Estimator	Midland, MI
Restaurant Team Member Crew	Columbus, OH
CNC Lathe Person	Manchester, CT
Loss Prevention Associate - Weekend Shift	Lynchburg, VA
Loss Prevention Supervisor - 2nd Shift	Lynchburg, VA

See all 999 job postings

Edventure More - Edventure More is a San Francisco, CA based non-profit that “inspires the playful pursuit of enrichment for the next generation.”

See the complete Edventure More profile

Job Title	Location
Camp EdTech Animation and Movie Making Instructor - San Francisco	San Francisco, CA
Camp Edmo Animation Instructor (2nd-4th)- Burlingame	Burlingame, CA
Camp EdTech Digital Photo Instructor (5th- 8th) - Moraga	Moraga, CA
Camp Edmo Animation Instructor (2nd-4th)- Mill Valley	California
Field Marketing and Event Team Member	San Francisco Bay Area, CA

See all 61 job postings

Arkadium - Arkadium is a New York, NY based company that develops “casual, mobile, social, and Windows 8 games.”

See the complete Arkadium profile

Job Title	Location
Game Research Assistant	New York, NY
Creative Director	New York, NY
Director of Product Marketing	New York, NY
Games for Windows Production Intern	New York, NY
Business Operations Intern	New York, NY

See all 17 job postings

Tremor Video - Tremor Video is a New York, NY based company that is working hard to increase engagement with video advertising.

See the complete Tremor Video profile

Job Title	Location
Data Scientist	Boston, MA
Physician Assistant-Neuromodulation	Columbus, OH
Social Science Research Assistant	Palo Alto, CA
Director Publisher Development	New York, NY
Talent Acquisition Leader	New York, NY

See all 66 job postings

Z2Live - Z2Live is a Seattle, WA based company that “creates original next-generation, free-to-play, social and multiplayer games for mobile devices.”

See the complete Z2Live profile

Job Title	Location
DevOps Engineer	Seattle, WA

See all 1 job postings

JESS3 - JESS3is a Los Angeles, CA based “creative interactive agency that specializes in the art of data visualization

See the complete JESS3 profile

No current job openings.

TrainSignal - TrainSignal is a Schaumburg, IL based company that helps people improve themselves through video software training, and they're hiring.

See the complete TrainSignal profile

Job Title	Location
Lync Instructor	Schaumburg, IL
SQL Server Instructor	Schaumburg, IL
RedHat Instructor	Schaumburg, IL
Exchange 2013 Instructor	Schaumburg, IL
SharePoint Lead Instructor	Schaumburg, IL

See all 8 job postings

Hill Holliday - If you’re digging Hill Holliday’s portfolio, then you’re in luck, because they also appear to be an awesome place to work.

See the complete Hill Holliday profile

Job Title	Location
Copywriter	New York, NY
Senior Social Media Strategist	Boston, MA
VP Planning Director	Boston, MA
Account Supervisor	New York, NY
Digital Account Supervisor	New York, NY

See all 24 job postings

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia - If you enjoy Martha Stewart and want to work on the media or merchandise side, you definitely need to take a look at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia’s Careers.

See the complete Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia profile

Job Title	Location
Associate Editor	New York, NY
Temporary Assistant Photo Editor (Online/Web/Digital)	New York, NY
Home Editor	New York, NY
Director, Corporate Communications	New York, NY
VP, Merchandising	San Francisco, CA

See all 27 job postings

38 Studios - 38 Studios is “combining the ages-old art of the story with 21st century interactive entertainment" and they're hiring lots of people to help achieve this.

See the complete 38 Studios profile

Job Title	Location
Junior Level Database / .NET Developer ( Chattanooga )	Knoxville, TN
Occupational Therapist Direct Hire: SNF	Lakeland, FL
.NET / SQL Developer	Chattanooga, TN
Broadcasting-Instructor - 140018-E	Macomb, IL
Junior Database / Application Developer ( Chattanooga )	Atlanta, GA

See all 38 job postings

Organic Motion - The technology behind Organic Motion is pretty complex, so you should probably read up on it before considering a job with them.

See the complete Organic Motion profile

Job Title	Location
Technical Recruiting Consultant	New York, NY
Senior Staff Technical Artist	Bend, OR
Sr Staff Technical Animator	Bend, OR
Collection Attorney	San Diego, CA
Global Business Development Leader	Milwaukee, WI

See all 119 job postings

Lucasfilm - Lucasfilm is a dream employer for many, and if you’re not insanely fanatical, you’re probably not going to be a great fit (unless you’re just really good).

See the complete Lucasfilm profile

Job Title	Location
Interactive Designer	Dallas, TX
User Experience Designer	Dallas, TX
Unity/Flash Game Developer	Dallas, TX
Front-End Web Developer	Dallas, TX
Technical Lead - Web Dev	Los Angeles, CA

See all 12 job postings

Watercooler - Watercooler has already raised $9.5 million in venture capital, so they’re certainly in a growth stage. This is also evident when you look at their Jobs page.

See the complete Watercooler profile

Job Title	Location
New York Editorial Web Culture Intern (Summer 2013)	New York, NY
2D Concept Artist	San Francisco, CA
Vfx (Visual Effects) Artist	San Francisco, CA
Senior 3D Animator	San Francisco, CA
Administrative Assistant	Fond du Lac, WI

See all 3 job postings

DreamBox Learning - The founder of Netflix is putting a ton of money and attention into online education, and if you want to join him, check out Jobs at DreamBox Learning.

See the complete DreamBox Learning profile

Job Title	Location
Instructional Technology Coach	Washington, DC
Customer Advocate	Bellevue, WA
Quality Engineer - Server	Bellevue, WA

See all 3 job postings

Firstborn - The currently available jobs at NYC's Firstborn most likely to be suitable for new or recent grads are 3D/Motion Artist and Software Engineer.

See the complete Firstborn profile

Job Title	Location
Someone With Early Childhood Development	Severn, MD
Seeking Child Care	Midland, TX
Someone With Early Childhood Development	Severn, MD
Seeking Child Care	Midland, TX
Software Engineer - Platform	San Francisco, CA

See all 4 job postings

Sportvision - Sportvision is constantly developing new technology to make sports more fun to watch on tv, and they're hiring new grads to help do it.

See the complete Sportvision profile

Job Title	Location
Senior Software Engineer-Applications (C++, OOD, iOS/Android)	Mountain View, CA
Software Engineer -- Applications (C++, OOD, iOS/Android)	Mountain View, CA
Minor League Baseball (MiLB) PFX System Operator (Part-time)	Midland, TX
MLB FieldFX System Operator	Tampa, FL
Software Engineer - Applications	Mountain View, CA

See all 5 job postings

Riot Games - With all of the recent investment, Riot Games is growing its headcount rapidly. Their Jobs page will show you that they have nearly two dozen full-time openings

See the complete Riot Games profile

Job Title	Location
Video Production Specialist	Provo, UT
Lead Community Coordinator (Polish)	Dublin, CA
VP of Global Marketing	Santa Monica, CA
Brand Manager	Santa Monica, CA
Event Coordinator	Santa Monica, CA

See all 238 job postings

Slide - Slide is very clearly growing, and as I mentioned in the opening of this post, they’re hiring a lot of new grads.

See the complete Slide profile

Job Title	Location
Marketing Data Strategist and Account Lead	San Mateo, CA
Scientific Editor	Stamford, CT
Administrative Assistant - Newton	Newton, MA
Graphic Design Internship	Ferndale, NY
Owner Operator Truck Drivers wanted nationwide	Springfield, MA

See all 4,384 job postings

Rockstar Games - It's amazing how many job openings Rockstar Games has, so whether you're an artist, programmer, or marketer, there's probably something for you.

See the complete Rockstar Games profile

Job Title	Location
Lead Game Developer (Unity3D, Tablet)	San Francisco, CA
Staff User Interface Engineer	Mountain View, CA
Sr. Big Data Engineer	Los Angeles, CA
E-Commerce Project Manager	Chandler, AZ
Rockstar Email Marketer	San Francisco, CA

See all 116 job postings

Bungie - I don’t know if it’s because unemployed people buy video games or it’s hard to find people w/ the right skills, but I’m shocked to see Bungie has 21 job openings

See the complete Bungie profile

Job Title	Location
UI Artist-Contract	California
Lead Artist	California
Sr. UI Artist	California
Production Assistant	Bellevue, WA
Senior Graphics Programmer	California

See all 49 job postings

Kaos Studios - If you’re sitting around playing video games instead of diligently job seekeing, then you’re the reason that companies like Kaos Studios are on “a hiring binge”

See the complete Kaos Studios profile

No current job openings.

Blue Sky Studios - Entry level jobs at Blue SKy Studios include Production Assitant, Admin (Production), Temp Animator, Modeler, Character Designer and quite a few more.

See the complete Blue Sky Studios profile

Job Title	Location
Business Appl Prgrmr Sr Stf	Rockville, MD
Graphic Artist	Ballston Spa, NY
Production Assistant (Blue Sky Studios)	Greenwich, CT
Production Assistant	Greenwich, CT
Character Designer (Blue Sky Studios)	Greenwich, CT

See all 26 job postings

Blizzard Entertainment - Even in this down economy, Irvine, CA based Blizzard Entertainment, the company behind World of Warcraft, seems to be on a hiring binge.

See the complete Blizzard Entertainment profile

Job Title	Location
Project Manager	Irvine, CA
Lead Game Designer – Blizzard All-Stars	Irvine, CA
Lead Game Designer – StarCraft II	Irvine, CA
Senior Technical Artist	Irvine, CA
Senior Program Manager, eSports	Irvine, CA

See all 190 job postings

Marvel Enterprises - Are you a superhero whose alter ego is looking for a job? Just for cover, of course, because superheroes don't actually need to work. How about a job at Marvel?

See the complete Marvel Enterprises profile

Job Title	Location
Sr Financial Analyst Ultimates	Glendale, CA
Sr Financial Analyst Ultimates	Glendale, CA
Sr Financial Analyst-Ultimates - Full Time	Glendale, CA
Sr. Technical Support Engineer	Portland, OR
Tier 1 Customer Support	Portland, OR

See all 6 job postings

Pixar - Positions that new grads at Pixar are currently working in include Technical Director Resident, Animator, Software Engineer, Lighting Director, and Layout.

See the complete Pixar profile

Job Title	Location
Administrative Assistant	Emeryville, CA
Toons Editor	Emeryville, CA
Animator	Emeryville, CA
Administrative Assistant	Emeryville, CA
Management Assistant	Emeryville, CA

See all 51 job postings

Armstrong White - Armstrong White has a number of job openings that could presumably be good fits for new grads who love cars and are trying to get into Computer Graphics.

See the complete Armstrong White profile

Job Title	Location
Software Quality Engineer	Austin, TX
Postdoctoral Fellow	Rockville, MD
Scientist 1	Rockville, MD

See all 3 job postings

AngelVision Technologies - AngelVision doesn't identify entry-level opportunities, but it's obvious that they'll hire anyone who is talented and will fit in, regardless of experience.

See the complete AngelVision Technologies profile

No current job openings.

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