Senior Lead - Animation

Established in 2004, OLIVER is the world’s first and only specialist in designing, building, and running bespoke in-house agencies and marketing ecosystems for brands. We partner with over 300 clients in 40+ countries and counting. Our unique model drives creativity and efficiency, allowing us to deliver tailored solutions that resonate deeply with audiences.

As a part of The Brandtech Group, we're at the forefront of leveraging cutting-edge AI technology to revolutionise how we create and deliver work. Our AI solutions enhance efficiency, spark creativity, and drive insightful decision-making, empowering our teams to produce innovative and impactful results.

Role: Senior Lead

Location: London, United Kingdom

About the role:

As part of the continued evolution of our CGI capability at Brandtech / Oliver, we are seeking an experienced and forward-thinking Senior Lead - Animation to strengthen and elevate animation craft while contributing to the development of progressive, scalable CGI systems.

Reporting directly to the Head of CGI, this role sits alongside other Senior Leads within the CGI function and plays a key part in shaping both creative standards and production methodologies across OEM and future client ecosystems.

This is a hands-on leadership role, with the Senior Lead - Animation contributing directly to high-end animation projects while setting the creative benchmark through example.

Alongside animation delivery, the role contributes to how animation integrates into broader production systems - supporting workflow optimisation, tooling improvements, automation initiatives and emerging AI-supported processes. The role also contributes animation discipline insight into structured content frameworks and scalable production systems being developed within the studio.

The Senior Lead - Animation works collaboratively with the CGI Creative Lead to ensure animation intent aligns with overall creative direction, while partnering with technical leadership and the Lead AI Engineer to help shape intelligent, future-ready production methodologies.

This role balances premium craft, team leadership and progressive technical thinking.

As Senior Lead - Animation, you will help define and strengthen the animation discipline within the CGI team.

You will:

• Contribute directly to high-end animation across key projects

• Support the continued development of premium animation craft across cinematics and product storytelling

• Raise baseline quality and realism standards across the team

• Act as a collaborative bridge between Creative Direction and technical execution

• Contribute to workflow design, automation initiatives and pipeline evolution

• Work alongside AI and technical teams to explore next-generation production processes

• Provide structured line management and development support for assigned reports

• Contribute animation discipline insight into scalable content and system frameworks

You will operate as both a senior practitioner and a discipline lead within the CGI structure.

What you will be doing:

• Hands-On Animation Leadership

• Lead and contribute to high-quality animation across cinematics, interactive experiences and product visualisation, modelling best practice through your own work.

• Discipline Development

• Strengthen animation fundamentals across the team, helping to define standards in realism, motion language, camera craft and environmental interaction.

• Collaboration with CGI Creative Lead

• Work closely with the CGI Creative Lead to interpret creative vision and ensure animation execution supports and enhances the overall artistic direction.

• Line Management

• Provide line management to assigned team members, conducting regular one-to-ones, supporting development plans and contributing to performance reviews and appraisals.

• Quality Standards

• Maintain high animation standards through structured reviews and constructive feedback, ensuring consistency across projects.

• Workflow & Process Development

• Contribute to refining and establishing animation workflows that improve efficiency, clarity, scalability and quality control.

• Tooling & Automation

• Support the identification and implementation of development tools, scripting solutions and automation initiatives that enhance production capability.

• AI & Emerging Process Collaboration

• Work in collaboration with the Lead AI Engineer to explore, define and implement emerging AI-supported animation processes, ensuring thoughtful integration within existing pipelines.

• Systems Contribution (e.g. Content Engine)

• Contribute to the development and refinement of structured CGI systems and scalable production frameworks - including initiatives such as Content Engine - ensuring animation discipline insight is embedded within evolving studio methodologies.

• Recruitment & Talent Identification

• Support recruitment where required, including portfolio review, role scoping and participation in interviews to help identify talent aligned with creative, technical and commercial objectives.

• Cross-Disciplinary Integration

• Collaborate with modelling, lighting, compositing, pipeline and production teams to ensure cohesive integration of animation into final outputs.

• Technical & Creative Problem Solving

• Resolve animation and workflow challenges, balancing creative ambition with technical feasibility.

• Innovation & R&D

• Contribute to exploratory initiatives, pitch work and forward-looking development that strengthens the studio’s CGI capability and future readiness.

• Capability Representation

• Contribute animation work that supports case studies, showreel development and external capability positioning.

• Leadership & Culture

• Lead through example, fostering collaboration, transparency, continuous learning and high professional standards within the team.

Req ID: 16738
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Our values shape everything we do:

Be Ambitious to succeed 

Be Imaginative to push the boundaries of what’s possible 

Be Inspirational to do groundbreaking work 

Be always learning and listening to understand 

Be Results-focused  to exceed expectations 

Be actively pro-inclusive and anti-racist across our community, clients and creations 

OLIVER, a part of the Brandtech Group, is an equal opportunity employer committed to creating an inclusive working environment where all employees are encouraged to reach their full potential, and individual differences are valued and respected. All applicants shall be considered for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, neurodivergence, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by local laws. 

 OLIVER has set ambitious environmental goals around sustainability, with science-based emissions reduction targets. Collectively, we work towards our mission, embedding sustainability into every department and through every stage of the project lifecycle.