Virtual Art Department - Technical DirectorAt Weta FX we celebrate our diversity and believe in creating an environment where all our crew feel welcomed, respected, supported and appreciated. We define ourselves by the quality of our work, and we're striving to build a workplace experience that's second to none. Here at Weta FX we value open minds and encourage our crew to be themselves.
The Virtual Art Department (VAD) consists of a tight-knit team of generalists responsible for creating performant, real-time proxy models and shading for the Mocap and Animation departments, derived from hero models, on-set data and concept art. This role is embedded in the department, providing front line support for artists. Reporting to the Head of Department and Department Manager, The VAD TD interacts with a variety of technical stakeholders and is responsible for support and development of department pipeline tooling.
We seek a self-motivated, proactive, team player with proven production experience. The ideal candidate is adept at balancing long-term development objectives, while also providing responsive solutions to immediate issues. Excellent time management skills and collaboration with Artists, Leads, Department Managment, and Assets RND stakeholders is required to achieve organizational objectives.
Responsibilities: Maintain the department's tools and provide mocap stage supportDiagnose and troubleshoot critical show issues reported by VAD artistsEffectively triage issues, directing them to the appropriate project space or technical stakeholderDetermine appropriate solutions or workarounds to facilitate timely delivery of task & project milestonesInvestigate and assist in the development of new tools and workflowsEngage with crew daily and host weekly internal department meeting with VAD Leads and "tech librarians"Represent VAD during facility-wide technical meetings and speak on behalf of the department at Asset realm RND meetingsMentor and assist VAD artists in their investigations, provide escalation support and assistanceProvide accurate bid and scope assessment of technical initiatives to department management, assist in sprint planning
Proactively communicate known issues to crew via established communication methodsCreate and maintain confluence documentation and gitlab merge requestsComfortable working in a collaborative development environmentWork effectively under pressure to produce results with quick turnaround in a fast-paced production environmentRequired Experience: 1-3 years providing pipeline support and development for VFX/gaming industry via Python in a Linux environmentExperience developing tools for industry standard DCCs (ie Maya, Mari, Photoshop, Substance Painter/Designer, Unreal Engine)Debugging and profiling real-time rendering platformsTroubleshooting & refactoring existing code, navigating repositoriesFamiliar with asset modelling and texturing workflows typical of film and video gamesFamiliar with Atlassian Jira and ConfluencePreferred Experience: Experience with modern OpenGL and Vulkan and techniques (ie GPU-Driven Rendering, ray-tracing and bindless rendering)In-depth knowledge of past and current real-time rendering techniquesExperience with real-time motion capture systemsProficient in C++, understanding of foundations of physically based shading modelFamiliarity with character rigging and deformationFamiliarity or interest in machine learning models (ie PyTorch / TensorFlow)We aim to provide a discrimination-free experience, beginning from the moment you apply for a role with us. If there is anything we can do to make the recruitment process easier, please let us know at ******.
This role is local, on-site at our Wellington, New Zealand headquarters If this sounds like you, we can't wait to hear from you!
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