About the position
ILM builds interactive experiences for Virtual and Augmented Reality and other emerging platforms. Our mission is to tell stories in new ways that leverage real-time graphics on ultra high-end hardware. We combine techniques from film VFX production with techniques from the video game industry to produce real-time experiences of the highest fidelity. We are looking for a real-time Creature Supervisor to supervise a team of exceptional artists by both personally setting the bar in terms of skill-level, and managing artists’ performance. This role is responsible for establishing the techniques and processes that bridge the gap between experienced artists/animators and programmers through ownership of the character/prop animation pipeline and implementation of tools to efficiently facilitate the creation of animated assets. This role is considered Hybrid, which means the employee will work 2-3 days onsite at our San Francisco office and occasionally from home.
Responsibilities
• Lead a team of real-time Creature Technical Directors (“Creature TDs”) in creating and supporting a complete character pipeline to accomplish ILM’s mission.
• Develop and hone the team’s skills to continuously raise the quality bar.
• Set the discipline’s standard for artistic and technical excellence, efficiency and performance by creating exemplary work that meets project requirements, and providing training and guidance to direct reports.
• Work closely with artistic directors, cross-functional peers and product owners to achieve the artistic vision of the director(s) and deliver the highest quality characters possible.
• Oversee the optimization of animated assets to achieve optimal scene performance in the 3D engine.
• Collaborate with tools engineers to develop appropriate art pipelines, scripts, and plug-ins necessary to ensure the high productivity of the animators and artists.
• When the development of systems is required, contribute to the visual prototyping of tools, as well as R&D with systems programmers.
• Work with Producers in the planning stages of proposed projects to advise on the scope of the work and resource requirements, and make recommendations accordingly.
• Work with production to provide task estimates, track progress, and solve production issues that arise.
• Establish best practices and workflow for the discipline, and partner with other discipline supervisors to establish cross-functional workflow with other disciplines.
• Through continuing hands-on work on projects, maintain deep knowledge and user experience on workflow and tools.
• Innovate discipline workflow and keep up to date on new tools/applications/trends in the industry.
• Collaborate with Talent Managers to inform talent planning, provide guidance on casting assignments, and offer feedback to support artist growth, skill development, and career goals.
• Partner with Talent Management and Recruiting on staffing needs and contribute to the evaluation of potential third-party production partners, working with new vendors to define and implement effective workflows.
• Set the cultural tone & reinforce positive behavior within your group.
• Work with studio leadership to define and continually refine and shape the team culture.
• Define the discipline’s ‘Lead Artist’ project role per project.
• Help project leads solve scope, workflow, etc. issues throughout the project as needed.
• Speak on behalf of the discipline in technology development discussions to ensure that new development aligns with the discipline’s strategy and workflow.
Requirements
• Undergraduate or graduate degree in game development, digital art, computer graphics, game design, or related field or equivalent experience.
• Minimum of 10 years experience in game development as a Character Technical Artist (or equivalent) and a minimum of 3 shipped/released AAA titles as a Lead artist.
• Expertise in Maya rigging techniques and experience with being responsible for supporting animation workflows and developing character pipelines and tools on a AAA product.
• Experience leading and mentoring artists and helping them develop and grow their skills.
• Artistic eye with advanced understanding of the creation & integration of 3D art & animation.
• Advanced working knowledge of all the DCC standard software (Maya, 3Ds Max, ZBrush, Photoshop, Substance Tools) and end-to-end content creation pipeline.
• Excellent technical knowledge and familiarity with AAA game engines, particularly Unreal Engine.
• Experience in tools and pipeline engineering utilizing Python, PySide/PyQt, and Maya API/Mel scripting.
• Experience with source control via Perforce or equivalent.
• Collaborative, team-player attitude: open & receptive to new ideas, constructive criticism, artistic direction and changes.
• Experience leading artists to meet deadlines and mentoring artists to help them develop and grow their skills.
• Strategic and analytical thinker with exceptional execution and problem-solving capabilities
• Excellent communication skills, especially with regards to illustrating technical processes.
• Experience in and passion for real-time graphics and content creation for emerging platforms (XR, etc.)
• Portfolio that demonstrates professional tech art experience in the following areas: programming, tools and pipeline building, content management and optimization, character modeling, rigging, and animation.
Nice-to-haves
• Computer Science Degree or equivalent experience programming in C# or C++
• People-management experience
• Experience managing outsourced work.
• A portfolio / reel submission - including a detailed breakdown of your work in each section - is required with all applications.
Apply Now
Apply Now