Senior Look Development Technical Director

Job Description

This role is considered Hybrid, which means the employee will work 2-3 days onsite at a Company designated location and occasionally from home.

Position Summary

We are looking for a Senior Look Development Technical Director (TD) who reflects the innovative spirit, creative talent, production excellence, collaborative mindset, and passion for great filmmaking that defines ILM. As a Senior Look Development TD, you will be responsible for producing high-quality look dev and shading for our CG Assets, needing only initial direction and guidance from your Supervisor.

At ILM, we believe a good idea is a good idea, regardless of where it comes from! Do you thrive in a creative environment? Do you enjoy sharing knowledge and learning from others? If you love art, technology, and movies, then this might be the role you’re looking for!

ILM strives to be an inclusive environment, and the Look Development (Look Dev) team embraces promising individuals with a variety backgrounds and experiences.

What You’ll Do

• Work closely with Lighting Supervisors, Lookdev Supervisors, and CG Supervisors to determine the best approach to solving CG challenges and developing the final look


• Create efficient rendering setups in order to optimize render farm usage


• Stay on schedule and meet set deadlines while maintaining the highest level of work quality


• Ensure there is ongoing communication with Production and Leads regarding schedules and deadlines


• Help mentor junior artists within the Lighting/Look Dev team


• Create & maintain simple materials using the provided shading templates


• Set up bespoke turntable light rig and shading network when necessary


• Create & maintain custom hero materials and shading networks when necessary


• Perform shot Look Dev tasks


• Work in collaboration with model, texture, and groom artists to get the best possible results


• Build and maintain complex shading networks with artist usability and user-interface support in mind

What We’re Looking For

• Degree and/or professional training in Computer Graphics, with advanced work experience in VFX; experience in Feature Animation is a plus


• Demo reel required; please include a breakdown of responsibilities for each shot in the reel in the edge of the frame


• Exhibit excellent listening and communication skills, able to receive direction and criticism


• Demonstrated ability to help and teach more junior-level artists


• Demonstrates the ability to prioritize tasks, manages time very well, provides everyone with accurate time estimates on shot task completion


• Team-oriented with ability to work independently


• A thorough knowledge of the VFX pipeline from modeling through texturing, grooming, rendering and compositing


• Ability to pick-up new techniques and the ability to learn new software quickly and easily


• It is beneficial to have Katana and Renderman experience, as well as knowledge of Python


• Strong interest in shading technologies


• Proficiency in Linux-based systems


• Good understanding of physically plausible shading techniques


• Understanding of energy conservation principles


• Deep understanding of physically based rendering, shading, and real-world materials

JoinILM

AI & Recruitment

At Disney, we incorporate certain artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support aspects of our recruitment process. Specifically, AI may be used to:

• Recommend potential job opportunities


• Prioritize applications based on job qualifications and role requirements


• Assist in automating scheduling of interviews


• Supplement recruiter notes during interviews


• Personalize communication to improve the recruitment experience

We are committed to ensuring that the use of AI does not introduce bias into our hiring practices. Our AI tools are designed and monitored to promote fairness, consistency, and compliance with applicable equal employment opportunity laws.

Human review is incorporated into every aspect of the recruitment process, from review to hire. AI tools are intended solely to assist and enhance the recruitment process. All final candidate advancement and hiring decisions are made by human recruiters and hiring managers.

The hiring range for this position in Vancouver is C$110,600.00 to C$141,500.00 per year based on a 40-hour work week. The amount of hours scheduled per week may vary based on business needs. The base pay actually offered will take into account internal equity and also may vary depending on the candidate’s geographic region, job‑related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors. A full range of medical, financial, and/or other variable pay or benefits, may be offered dependent on the level and position offered.