Clockwork Acorn is working on an unannounced action game and is looking for a skilled 2D Animator to help us make it and hopefully many more in the future!. We are a small fully-remote South African indie game dev studio striving to create timeless games with chunky design while being a force for good in the world.

In this role you will be joining forces with our artists to bring our characters and game worlds to life through expressive, fluid animations. As part of our team, you’ll focus primarily on breathing movement and personality into our art, from character performances to environmental effects, while also contributing to other visual needs when your skills can help solve creative challenges at Clockwork Acorn.

What we’re looking for

• Skilled 2D Animator and excited to join a growing team.
• At least 1 year of working experience, ideally in games or interactive media.
• Adept at working in a remote team.
• Strong ability to self-manage and consistently deliver good work to schedule.
• Based in South Africa.
• Excited by our vision, and the idea of adding your efforts to it.
• Bonuses (not required)
  • You like making games, prototyping, and taking part in game jams.
  • Experience working in Unity and its art and animation tools.
  • Skilled at illustration and art fundamentals.
  • Other useful skills like writing, audio, programming, …
• Diverse candidates are especially encouraged to apply!

What we’re offering

• Be an integral part of making our own interesting games.
• Work with a passionate, caring, professional team.
• Plenty of opportunities to learn and grow on the job.
• Start date: 1 July 2025, or as soon as you’re available.
• Flexible position, ideally looking for a full-time team member, but also open to great contractors who can do this work.
• Pay: R25,000 – R60,000 per month depending on your experience and needs.
• Profit share scheme (details still TBD).
• Remote work from anywhere in South Africa.
• Flexi-hours with no crunch.
• Permissive personal and sick leave policy.

About us

Clockwork Acorn is a South African game studio that strives to be a force for good in the world. We’ve been making games since 2014 and we want you to be part of writing our next chapter! Our vision is:

• Make timeless games with chunky design
  • Systemically interesting and thought-provoking design
  • Games that don’t age
• Be a great place to work
  • Fully remote work with flexi-hours
  • Safe, anti-racist, feminist, LGBTQ+ friendly space
  • Diverse team
  • No crunch
• Be impactful on the South African game industry and beyond

You can learn more about how we like to do things by looking at our team handbook.

Our hiring process

Applications that pass our initial screening will have up to three interviews with different team members. Shortlisted candidates might be asked to do a short unpaid test (of no more than a few hours), or a longer paid test. We hope to wrap up the process for all candidates and make a final selection soon after applications close, but that might be delayed if we receive a lot of new applications near the end.

Interested?

Please fill in the short form linked below and submit your CV/resume, portfolio and supporting documents. This listing will be open until 23:59 SAST on 17 June 2025, so make sure to apply before then! We don’t use any AI systems to parse or classify your submission, and we ask that you extend us the same courtesy when answering our questionnaire and going through our hiring process.

We are a small team and read every application in detail, and while we will try to get back to you as soon as possible, it may take us some time if we receive many applications.

Don’t meet every requirement listed in this job description? Do you think your experience level is not yet where it needs to be? Studies show that women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they believe they meet every single qualification. Clockwork Acorn wants to maintain a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplace. If you’re interested in this position but your past experience doesn’t line up perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we want you to apply anyway.