Lead Animation Director / Series Director for Anime Production Studio

Role Overview

We are hiring a Lead Animation Director / Series Director to lead the creation of an original anime IP for an Australia-based company. You will help build a fully remote animation studio from the ground up, set the visual standard for the series, and guide the team from pre-production through final composition and post-production. This role is best suited for a highly skilled animation leader who can direct a distributed creative team with clarity, consistency, and strong visual judgment.

About the Role

As Lead Animation Director / Series Director, you will own the creative and technical direction of the animation pipeline for an original anime-style production. You will work closely with producers, writers, animators, background artists, compositors, and other production team members to turn scripts into visually compelling, emotionally engaging episodes.

We are building for the long term, so this role will help set the creative foundation, production standards, workflows, and team culture from the beginning. Success in this position means maintaining a high visual quality bar, giving clear feedback, keeping production moving, and building scalable systems that allow a remote team to create strong work consistently. To help us identify thoughtful applicants, please write the word "seesaw" in your response to the first screening question on the application page.

What You’ll Do

• Direct the full animation pipeline, from storyboarding and animatics through final composition and post-production.
• Set and maintain the visual quality standard for the entire series.
• Ensure strong character acting, fluid movement, cinematic staging, and consistent art direction across episodes.
• Build, manage, and critique a remote team of key animators, inbetweeners, background artists, compositors, and other production artists.
• Collaborate with producers and writers to translate scripts into compelling visual storytelling.
• Establish efficient workflows for a globally distributed, fully remote animation team.
• Review animation work regularly and provide clear, actionable feedback to maintain quality and production speed.
• Create standards, references, style guides, and processes that allow the team to scale without losing quality.
• Own the creative and technical execution of the animation pipeline from start to finish.
• Help shape the creative foundation, production culture, and long-term standards for an original anime IP.

Must-Haves

• Proven experience as an Animation Director, Episode Director, Series Director, Lead Key Animator, or similar senior role on high-quality 2D animation or anime-style projects.
• Strong portfolio or showreel showing animation direction, storyboarding, visual storytelling, and technical animation ability.
• Deep understanding of professional 2D animation pipelines, from storyboard to final composition.
• Working knowledge of tools such as Clip Studio Paint, TVPaint, Toon Boom Harmony, After Effects, or related production software.
• Solid understanding of anime, manga, webcomics, and webtoons.
• Ability to lead, critique, and organize a fully remote creative team.
• Clear, direct communication and the ability to give useful creative feedback.
• Reliable, consistent, and able to keep production moving.
• Available at least 5 days per week.
• Comfortable working in an output-focused remote production environment.

Nice-to-Haves

• Experience building or scaling an animation team from scratch.
• Experience creating production workflows for remote or globally distributed teams.
• Familiarity with project management tools for creative production.
• Experience with original IP development.
• Working knowledge of AI-assisted creative tools and their practical use in production.
• Experience adapting or working with webtoon, manga, or comic-style storytelling formats.

Why Work With Us

• Fully remote work
• Pay raises and bonuses for strong performance
• Australia-based company with PH-friendly hours. No graveyard shifts!
• Long-term role with full-time potential
• Work with a growing e-commerce brand in a fun anime-inspired industry with a strong niche audience
• Role-specific opportunity: Lead the visual direction, animation standards, and remote production systems for an original anime IP from the ground up.

How to Apply

Apply today if this role fits your experience, creative strengths, and ideal next step. We would love to hear how you can help us build a high-quality original anime series and lead a remote animation team with clarity and consistency