Senior Technical Director

Skydance offers a dynamic, inclusive, and ever-evolving culture where innovative ideas are welcomed, and growth fostered. The partnership between unique creativity and technological advancements are demonstrated within each pillar of the company. At the heart of it all is a commitment to boldly entertaining and relevant storytelling.

While all Animation studios look to hire people who are creative and hard-working, Skydance Animation is specifically looking for pioneers who seek to push the limits of what the world’s most collaborative art form can achieve, and to give those pioneers the space and the resources to build a new studio that’s doing something different.

As a Senior Technical Director you will develop and support innovative tools for our production teams to efficiently create the animated films at Skydance. The goal of these efforts is to implement solutions that off-the-shelf software could not otherwise provide while maximizing productivity with the high-quality standard set by the company. The scope of the developments may be from a simple Python script to a larger development involving complex algorithms.

Responsibilities

• Embeds within the productions to closely collaborate and support the artists and production management.
• Partners with artists and other engineers to iterate, debug, document, and refine tools and processes for feature film production.
• Acts as the first support line to solve day-to-day problems artists may encounter.
• Reports to the TD Supervisor on the status of technical development projects, tool performance, production operations and support statuses.
• Continually examines production’s user experiences, satisfaction, and level of understanding to identify areas of improvement to the production pipelines.
• Keeps up on current artistic methodologies and on technology trends and tools that best suit the production and the company in the development of a stronger creative and technical environment.
• Works together with the team, providing them with support, guidance and instruction in areas that contribute towards their artistic and professional growth.
• Follows the Supervisor’s and Lead's guidance.
• Has strong project management skills; being self-motivated, organized, resourceful and prudent, supported with excellent communication skills.
• Works together within the TD team, sharing ideas, support, guidance and instruction to the more junior members of the team.

Requirements

• 5+ years in VFX or animation industries.
• 3+ years in the animation industry.
• BS degree in Computer Science, similar technical field of study, or equivalent practical experience
• Deep understanding of the 3D animated film production pipelines, and workflows (artistic and technical).
• Expert in Python.
• Experience building tools for the following software: Maya, Houdini, and Nuke.
• Experience in Linux and Windows operating systems.
• Experience in C++ is a plus.
• Experience working with version control systems (Git).
• Experience with Renderman and Arnold is a plus.
• Ability to document digital processes and Technical Solutions.
• Practical knowledge in continuous delivery and agile methodologies.
• Applies innovative processes and techniques by bringing new ideas or solutions.
• High English level desirable.
• Spanish desirable.