Animation Trainee

Skydance Media is hiring an Animation Trainee for its studio in Madrid, Spain. This role sits within the character animation department, where trainees work through structured assignments that build foundational skills in body mechanics, posing, and performance for feature film animation. It suits students in their final year of an animation or related degree program who are ready to make the move from academic work into a real production environment.

About the Role

The Animation Trainee position is part of Skydance Animation’s formal internship program, designed to introduce emerging animators to the workflow and culture of a working animation studio. Day to day, you will be working directly under a tutor’s guidance, applying feedback to animation assignments that reflect the standards and protocols of the studio’s feature film pipeline. This is a paid, on-site role running a minimum of three months at 35 hours per week, Monday through Friday.

Key Responsibilities

• Complete animation assignments across progressive levels of difficulty under the direct supervision of an assigned studio tutor.
• Apply artistic and technical feedback to develop a working understanding of appeal, posing, and entertainment value in character animation.
• Build foundational skills in body mechanics as they apply to feature animation production standards.
• Learn and follow the studio’s internal production workflows, naming conventions, and departmental protocols.
• Engage with Skydance Media’s internship program, which includes networking sessions with studio leadership and skills development outside the animation department.

What You Bring

• Current enrollment in the final year of an Associate, Bachelor’s, or Master’s program at an accredited institution in animation or a closely related field.
• Availability to commit to a minimum three-month, full-time on-site schedule in Madrid.
• A high level of English, both written and spoken, is required; Spanish language skills are a plus.
• Strong critical thinking, attention to detail, and the ability to manage multiple assignments within a structured animation studio environment.
• Genuine interest in character animation and the technology that supports feature film production pipelines.

Why This Role

Skydance Animation is building a feature animation slate from its Madrid studio, giving trainees exposure to a production environment with real creative ambitions rather than a peripheral internship experience. The program is structured to give candidates transferable skills and direct access to senior figures in the studio, which is rare at this career stage.

Apply now for the Animation Trainee position at Skydance Media and take your first step into professional feature animation production.