Description
Reports to: CG Supervisor/Pipeline Supervisor/Head
of Production Technology
Position
Description:
A Technical Director (TD) provides critical
support to a production's artists, team leads and supervisors. A TD will design, develop, implement and
maintain new tools and processes for a particular project or department. As
well, during production a TD will troubleshoot and resolve technical issues as
needed to keep production moving forward. Additionally, a TD may be tasked with
shot production work when needed and where the shot work appropriately matches
the skill set of the TD.
Principal Duties and Responsibilities:
·
Research,
design and develop production pipeline tools, workflows and processes in
support of stereoscopic CG animated feature films in addition to any other
ongoing studio projects.
·
Design
new systems, maintain existing tools, and support both artists and engineers in
their production tasks.
·
Interface
with other technical Leads in order to collect requirements and architect
solutions for tool and library implementations that meet production needs.
·
Assist
animators and artists in troubleshooting production issues in asset creation
and shot production across the entire production pipeline, and help resolve those
issues with data or tools fixes as required.
·
Support
and work with multiple departments, including Modeling, Rigging, Surfacing, Layout,
Animation, CFX, Lighting, VFX, Stereo and R&D.
·
Work
closely with other Technical Directors, Creative Supervisors, and the IT and Production
Engineering teams to maintain and further the production pipeline.
·
Ensure
that all software development follows studio policies and guidelines,
aggressively maintain software documentation, and assist in the training and
mentoring of other TDs.
·
Work
effectively in a dynamic and collaborative team environment.
·
Effectively
understand and debug the existing toolset.
Requirements:
·
Experience
working with and building tools for Maya, Houdini or any other production
modeling, animation or effects software; also, exposure to Yeti or another fur
and hair system is a plus.
·
Strong
programming skills, including proficiency in Python, PyQt, MEL, and Linux shell
scripting; C++ or C is also valuable.
·
Production
experience in computer animation, visual effects or game development.
·
Strong
R&D experience in artist tool development and toolset integration within
existing or new pipelines; a proficiency in mathematics is a definite asset.
·
Experience
with Nuke, Fusion or other compositing software.
·
Experience
with Renderman, 3Delight or other Renderman compliant
renderers.
·
Experience
with Tractor, Deadline, Qube or other render farm management software.
·
Experience
with software version control systems like Mercurial, SVN, Git or other similar
structures.
·
Ability
to establish priorities, work independently or within a group, and work with
minimal supervision.
·
Exceptional
communication skills in dealing with both technical and artistic groups and
individuals.
·
Exceptional
trouble-shooting and problem solving skills.
Education:
·
B.S.
or M.S. in Computer Science, Engineering (or equivalent) is preferred.
Other Desired
Skills:
·
A strong combined technical and creative background with in-depth
knowledge of current 2D and 3D computer graphics techniques as they are used in
the feature film and media production industries.
·
A professional history of collaboration on projects with teams of varied
sizes and disciplines.
·
RI filtering experience with Renderman compliant renderers.
·
UI development experience with PyQt or wxPython.