What are the responsibilities and job description for the VFX Compositing TD position at LAIKA Studios?
General Summary
The VFX Compositing Technical Director (TD) is responsible for the design and implementation of tools and workflows that address compositing needs. Under the direction of the Digital Pipeline Engineering Sr Manager, this technical role supports the Compositing department in completing complex compositing shot work to achieve the artistic goals and story of the production.
Job Functions
The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
On-site in Hillsboro, OR, and eligible for remote work.
Salary
Salary Is Commensurate With Skills And Experience.
Disclaimer
The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this classification. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required of personnel so classified.
Please review our EMPLOYMENT DISCLAIMER and MATERIALS SUBMISSION AGREEMENT.
The VFX Compositing Technical Director (TD) is responsible for the design and implementation of tools and workflows that address compositing needs. Under the direction of the Digital Pipeline Engineering Sr Manager, this technical role supports the Compositing department in completing complex compositing shot work to achieve the artistic goals and story of the production.
Job Functions
- Work with fellow Pipeline TDs to design, develop, and maintain digital pipeline tools that pertain to compositing including shots, sequences, and procedural systems for convincing imagery combining stage and CG elements.
- Extend Nuke capabilities through custom scripts and plugins to address Compositor and Roto/Paint Artist needs.
- Collaborate with the Digital Pipeline team to develop and integrate tools and APIs, leveraging core domain expertise in one or more DCCs and VFX departments.
- Establish and share workflows, tools, and best practices to support shot production, and participate in look development of shots and sequences by working with artists across disciplines.
- Collaborate and communicate effectively with artists, production management, creative leads, and fellow Pipeline TDs to troubleshoot and achieve the creative and technical goals of a shot.
- Identify areas of industry innovation and help develop and maintain custom tools, templates, scripts, workflows, and documentation for the Compositing team.
- Provide technical guidance for quality control of other artists’ work, as needed.
- Support the Lead Compositor to design, develop, and deliver visually creative and technically sound solutions that address the needs of shots and sequences.
- Support existing tools via bug fixes and version updates.
- 5 years’ experience of compositing tools, digital pipelines and workflows, preferably on feature films.
- Experience in Nuke, Nuke Studio/Hiero, and Photoshop (familiarity with Silhouette, a plus).
- Experience developing custom Nuke toolsets, including Python3 or Nuke NDK.
- Experience with Linux (or other Unix) operating system.
- Knowledge of Blink Script, preferred.
- Understanding of applicable software and platforms including Nuke, Photoshop and Renderman.
- Understand VFX pipeline fundamentals, including shooting, editorial turnovers, modeling, texturing, animation, lighting, rendering, compositing, and DI (Virtual Production experience, a plus).
- Experience with one or more production grade renderers, such as Renderman.
- Expertise with coding and best practices in Python, the Python standard library, and the Nuke Python APIs.
- Experience with Universal Scene Description (USD) APIs and usage, a plus.
The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
- Physical demands: While performing the duties of this job, the employee is required to walk; stand; sit; use hands to operate standard office equipment; reach with hands and arms; balance; stoop; talk or hear both in person and by telephone. The employee must lift and/or move up to 15 pounds. Vision abilities include close vision, distance vision, and the ability to adjust focus.
- Work environment: While performing the duties of this job, the employee works under typical office conditions and is exposed to variable indoor temperatures. The noise level is usually quiet or moderate.
On-site in Hillsboro, OR, and eligible for remote work.
Salary
Salary Is Commensurate With Skills And Experience.
Disclaimer
The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this classification. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required of personnel so classified.
Please review our EMPLOYMENT DISCLAIMER and MATERIALS SUBMISSION AGREEMENT.
