Pipeline Technical Director

Job Description

ILM is currently hiring Pipeline Technical Director at all levels and often in multiple locations. You may not see your specific career level advertised online, through the process you and your recruiter will work together to find the right role that combines your unique experience and career goals.

We are hiring across all levels for this discipline

Your role?

The Pipeline TD is responsible for developing and maintaining software tools, providing front-line support to artists, and general troubleshooting of the CG pipeline in a fast-paced, feature film visual effects production environment. The primary focus is ensuring artist efficiency. The Pipeline TD receives day-to-day direction and priorities from ILM's show CG Supervisor; reports to R&D supervisor for technical and career guidance.

What will you be doing?
Develop pipeline and asset management tools to meet immediate, show-directed production demands, ensuring facility-wide consistency as directed by show and technical supervisors. 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. Monitor email requests, package up problems and redirect to appropriate engineering team.
Test and validate tools and techniques in production. Work closely with engineering teams in testing, and releasing new and modified software systems.
Act as an on-call resource for show production staff.
Collaborate effectively with artists, production supervisors, and technical staff across ILM studios in San Francisco, Vancouver, London and Sydney.
When not crewed to shows, serve on software teams working on projects that improve the efficiency of asset setup, caching, and shot-data handoff between artists across the entire pipeline.
Take direction from show supervisors to determine day-to-day and hour-to-hour priorities.
Work primarily on tools of moderate complexity, requiring general understanding of the larger pipeline.
Provide front-line support and gather information about artist problems and obstacles; resolve complex user errors; connect artists with deeper problems to appropriate technical support.
Develop broad knowledge of software, systems, and standards and conventions used in production.
Update documentation for the pipeline and tools to reflect any changes that are made.

To be a contributing member of this team, you will have a mix of these skills:
Bachelor's degree or equivalent in Computer Science or a related technical field.
Demonstrated experience developing and maintaining tools for use in computer graphics.
At least 2 years production experience in visual effects for film, commercials or television.
Proficiency in Linux
Strong Python scripting required
Experience in one or more of Maya, Nuke, Houdini, Mari, Katana, RenderMan, Unreal Engine or similar.
Ability to communicate cross-discipline and provide innovative solutions to pipeline issues.
Detail oriented and strong self-sufficient in trouble shooting.

JoinILM

This position is with ILM (Australia) Pty. Ltd., which is part of a business we call Industrial Light & Magic.

Jobcode: Reference SBJ-ree1m0-13-59-33-77-42 in your application.