Pixar Undergraduate Program (PUP) - Summer 2025

The Pixar Undergraduate Program (PUP) is an education packed, 12-week classroom-based course, taught by our Technical Directors (TDs).* At the beginning of the program, you will learn and complete individual projects focused on various technical aspects of our animation pipeline including modeling, set dressing, shading, characters, layout (camera & staging), lighting, and effects. This all culminates in the final month where you’ll implement your learnings in a group project and have a chance for elective individual exploration projects. You’ll have training and access to Pixar’s software and assets! The goal of the PUP Program is to reach those who are passionate about the intersection of art and technology and expose them to the technical animation pipeline at Pixar. We are looking for potential PUPs who have a hunger for knowledge and initiative to push technical and artistic boundaries! Are you eager to learn (and try!) how artists at Pixar create and collaborate across the technical pipeline?

Qualifications:

• Your demo reel/portfolio demonstrates some combination of:
  • Visual excellence. This may be through 3D digital art (Maya, Blender etc.), game design, live-action filmmaking, illustration, etc.
  • Technical excellence. This may be through coding projects (Python, C++ etc.), game development, computer graphics, writing plugins, etc.
  • Projects which show visual or technical innovation or experimentation are a plus
• You are an excellent communicator and collaborator. This may be demonstrated by clear presentation of your work, breakdowns and tutorials, teamwork and/or teaching experiences, etc.
• You are interested in exploring different career options as a Technical Director at an animation studio
• You already possess the legal right to work in the United States
• This is a full-time position. You must be available to work on-site Mon 6.2.25 - Fri 8.22.25
• You already possess the legal right to work in the United States

 * What is a Technical Director (TD)? TDs, also known as technical artists, are filmmakers who use and customize 3D animation software to tackle the visual and technical challenges faced in producing the imagery of Pixar's films. TDs can be anything from highly technical software tool developers to digital sculptors, to anywhere in between. 

Eligibility:

Traditional Academic Paths:

• You are a sophomore or junior pursuing a bachelor’s degree in computer science, computer graphics, digital art, art or a related field and will be returning to school after the internship

Less Traditional Professional Paths:

• Career Transition: Those with a minimum of 5 years post-college graduation and whose professional experiences in a work/academic environment differ vastly from animation, VFX, gaming, and other computer graphics-focused industries
• Armed Forces: Those who have served in the armed forces and are in a retraining program
• Home Schooled: Those who are self-taught via an alternative educational path

Visa Sponsorship:

• Unfortunately, we cannot sponsor student/intern visas at this time.

Submission Process and Application Materials (Please Read Carefully):

• Attach a single PDF file containing your resume and a cover letter
• Provide a link to your online demo reel or portfolio in the "Demo Reel” section of the application; without this, you are not eligible for the internship. If it has a password, please be sure to include an accurate password. Please note: social media pages are not an acceptable format for a demo reel or portfolio. On group projects, please specify your contribution (i.e. “responsible for shading of teapot”). We will disregard group projects where your responsibilities are unclear. 
• In submitting your application, you are agreeing to the terms of our Submission Release Form. Without this, we are unable to consider your application

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Sunday, February 2, 2025

The pay rate for this internship in Emeryville is $22.00 per hour.