Lead Character TD (Max & the Midknights)

For over 30 years, the Nickelodeon Animation Studio continues to be one of the largest producers of television animation in the world, reflecting all kids today. Based in Burbank, Calif., with offices in New York, the Studio, designed by our artists and for our artists, is home to the world's greatest creative talents. Our campus of creativity houses top-notch talent, storytellers, artists, production teams, voice actors, cartoon experts and more. At Nickelodeon, we are always looking to recruit dedicated craftspeople to help bring groundbreaking new ideas to life and that starts with you! We are leading the way in animated content for TV series, TV movies, shorts and theatrical features. Some of our new upcoming original animated series include, Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years, Rugrats, Middlemost Post, Star Trek: Prodigy, Big Nate and Santiago of the Seas, among others. Our content development teams are creator-driven, our work culture is collaborative, our mentorship of new talent is second to none, and we are committed to hiring inclusively to reflect authenticity in the diverse stories we want to tell. Join us!

Summary:
The Lead Character Technical Director for Max and the Midknights will recommend new directions and technologies for the project and develop new tools and rigs used by in‐house artists and production teams.
Tools and rigs are developed to be flexible and work on multiple shows (existing and future shows), integrate with existing tools and systems, and be able to be sent to vendor studios.
The Lead Character Technical Director will work alongside the Nickelodeon Character Supervisor and MAX CG Supervisor to develop tools for the pipeline and meet their needs. The Lead Character Technical Director will communicate all designs, plans, and approaches for new tools to the members of the Research and Development team.
Responsibilities also include working with vendor studios to plan, direct, and supervise development of tools and rigs built by the vendor for the vendor studio. Responsibilities:
Character set-up, rigging, weighting, and skinning.
Script new tools and implement new techniques.
Extend and maintain existing tools.
Attend review sessions with the teams to gather feedback on tools usage, bugs, and feature requests.
Review and give notes on rigs from vendor studio.
Create and enforce hierarchy and pipeline solutions. Qualifications:
The ideal candidate should be knowledgeable in the rigging process, pipeline, and be able to develop tools and systems to assist the character team.
Open-mindedness to non-traditional solutions is essential.
Ability to work well in a team, take feedback in a respectful manner, and work collaboratively with other TDs.
In depth knowledge of IK and FK systems is required.
Great aesthetic eye for skin weights is a must.
Must have experience using Maya to build complex rigs and tool sets.
Must have experience building FBX rigs and tools for Unreal Engine pipelines.

Proficiency in Python. Additional Qualifications:
A minimum of 2-4 years of industry experience in film, broadcast, and/or games.
Proficiency in C++

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Weekly Hiring Salary Range: $1970.4 - 2100.0.

The hiring salary range for this position applies to New York City, California, Colorado, Washington state, and most other geographies. Starting pay for the successful applicant depends on a variety of job-related factors, including but not limited to geographic location, market demands, experience, training, and education. The benefits available for this position include medical, dental, vision, 401(k) plan, life insurance coverage, disability benefits, tuition assistance program and PTO or, if applicable, as otherwise dictated by the appropriate Collective Bargaining Agreement.

https://www.paramount.com/careers/benefits

Paramount is an equal opportunity employer (EOE) including disability/vet.

At Paramount, the spirit of inclusion feeds into everything that we do, on-screen and off. From the programming and movies we create to employee benefits/programs and social impact outreach initiatives, we believe that opportunity, access, resources and rewards should be available to and for the benefit of all. Paramount is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, creed, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship status, marital status, disability, gender identity, gender expression, and Veteran status.

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