Pipeline Technical Director (TD)

About the role

Western FX Studios is looking for our main Pipeline TD to extend and support our custom pipeline, manage our machines and render farm, provide support to artists, and software.

Our Pipeline TD is the backbone of our visual effects and animation studio.

You will collaborate with all departments to design, develop and maintain artist tools alongside core applications and services used by the Western FX Studios team.

We use Maya, Nuke, Houdini, Substance, Render Man, and have built a suite of tools designed for the specific needs of our reoccurring projects.

We are looking to further extend those tools to automate repetitive tasks in animation, lighting, render, and to further integrate with Shotgun.

As Pipeline TD you will collaborate with your peers, Department Heads, Show Supervisors, and Digital Artists to craft novel tools, techniques, and procedures to realize our vision.

Key Responsibilities:

• Develop pipeline and asset management tools to meet immediate, show-directed production demands.
• Help maintain a wide array of existing workflows and scripts.
• Provide front-line production support across a wide range of disciplines, troubleshoot assets and shots, and help artists with general problem-solving.
• Test and validate tools and techniques.
• Craft innovative workflow tools to facilitate and expedite production.
• Develop comprehensive knowledge of software and systems; contribute to evolving standards and conventions used in production.
• Update documentation for the pipeline and tools to reflect any changes that are made.

There is potential for long-term extensions, and we pay extremely competitive rates.

Preference will be given to BC Residents.

Hiring will commence immediately.

What you'll do:

The ideal applicant will have 3-5 relevant experience in film or television post-production.

You are a Software Engineer first, responsible for improving the overall efficiency and expressiveness of our production pipeline.

The role requires strong technical and communication skills, including a firm understanding of software design, graphics, and production workflows.

They must be a Python expert with experience scripting for Maya, Nuke, and Shotgun, often using PyQT. You can expect to write lots of code, but read even more; we have a moderately sized code-base, part of which is well unit-tested and documented.

We develop for both OS X and Linux.

About you:

• Solid knowledge of CG Animation and Visual Effects.
• Demonstrable production knowledge of Python is required, C/C++ is an asset.
• Working knowledge of high-end 3D software packages such as Maya, including its API and scripting is required.
• Demonstrable knowledge of UNIX/Linux, procedural and object-oriented programming languages. • Experience with character rigging and/or animation is an asset.
• Working knowledge of Shotgun project management system, including its API is an asset.
• Ability to communicate and/or demonstrate ideas clearly and concisely.
• Highly motivated, proactive, solid work ethic and positive attitude.
• Efficient and detail oriented. Ability to deliver assignments on time and meet set objectives.
• Strong problem-solving skills and ability to work collaboratively.