Asset Technical Director (PH)

Lucasfilm Animation Ltd., the creators of the Emmy award-winning animation series “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” and the highly successful animation series “Star Wars Rebels,” “Star Wars Resistance,” “Star Wars: The Bad Batch,” “Tales of the Jedi” and “Tales of the Empire” are looking for a Asset Technical Director who reflects the innovative spirit, creative talent, production excellence, collaborative mindset and passion for great filmmaking that defines Lucasfilm Ltd.

This role requires the employee will work onsite in our San Francisco office and occasionally from home.

The Asset Technical Director will use their knowledge of industry standard asset development tools and techniques to support the department’s efforts in creating high quality and performant assets that reflect the technical and aesthetic standards of the department.

The successful candidate will use expertise in Python and Maya Mel scripting to help automate workflows in Maya, manage technical asset issues including color management and publishing, and be able to troubleshoot complex asset problems. In addition, they will assist the department with optimizing source files for the Story team, develop advanced story rigs, and ensure quality and adherence to standards for vendor-produced assets.

What You’ll Do

Asset Department Support

• Develop a full and complete understanding of current asset build specifications, including the institutional knowledge and the history of asset development at LAL, to ensure consistency and adherence to established standards.

• Utilize knowledge of LAL asset build strategies and specifications to make significant contributions to discussions regarding the asset pipeline, driving improvements and ensuring best practices are followed.

• Review assets produced by vendors to ensure they meet aesthetic and technical expectations and produce documentation, imagery and supporting text to communicate asset quality issues that require remediation during the asset build process.

• Provide direction to asset teams to ensure assets are built according to expectations and standards of the show and department.

• Collaborate with department leads to assist in innovative and novel initiatives, including proprietary rendering tools, custom shader development, general workflow tasks, and other efforts aimed at enhancing asset production efficiency and quality.

• Leverage expertise to participate in discussions with overseas asset teams on asset development issues, facilitating communication and collaboration across different locations.

• Prepare demo or reference files to instruct vendors on asset build techniques and processes.

• Collaborate with supervisors, directors and producers regarding asset related issues.

• Other tasks as directed by department leads or production.

Asset Pipeline Support

• Proficient in Python and experienced in Maya scripting such as MEL, cmds, and PyMEL. Able to script tools that automate and enhance asset workflows within Maya, including UI interface updates, basic QC checks, and the development of workflow tools.

• Manage mid-level technical asset issues, such as proper implementation of color management workflows, asset publishing tasks, asset build strategies, and related responsibilities to ensure smooth asset development.

• Investigate and provide detailed diagnoses on complex asset issues, including troubleshooting shading networks, resolving problematic asset transfers, addressing asset render problems, and managing other technical challenges affecting production.

• Participate in discussions regarding cross-studio issues affecting asset production, such as color management, asset specifications, and other technical considerations to ensure alignment and consistency across teams.

Story Team Support

• Assists the department in optimization and structuring of Maya source files received from the vendor so they can be delivered to the Story team for use in ZViz. Manage, support, create and troubleshoot the use of story assets by the Story Department team.

• Develop and oversee advanced story rigs for use in the show. Provide detailed feedback on how updates and modifications to story rigs will affect downstream stakeholders.

• Responsible for creating and maintaining proper SG and OBJ files for use by the Story team from the files sourced from Design and outside vendors.

• Aid in ensuring parity between assets used in Story and those being built by the vendors.

What We’re Looking For

• Bachelor’s degree in related Art and Design field including Architecture, Industrial Design, Digital Media or equivalent.

• 5-7 years in animation, visual effects or video game production with emphasis on creation of 3D models for CG animation.

Required Skills / Competencies:

• Demonstrated proficiency in Maya and strong understanding of standard CG asset building methodologies.

• Solid modeling, texturing and rigging experience.

• Proficiency in Linux.

• Experience with industry standard 3D and animation software/tools.

• Strong sense of asset development, aesthetics and functionality.

• Proven experience working in an established production pipeline.

• Detail oriented and strong self-sufficient troubleshooter.

• Able to create detailed documentation explaining issues related to asset quality.
   

Preferred Skills / Competencies:

• Working knowledge of Microsoft Word and Excel.

• Good communication skills, able to communicate in a professional and friendly manner with co-workers.

• Self-starter, energetic, and able to prioritize workload.

• Team player that strives to maximize team and department performance.

• Detail oriented, highly organized and able to handle a variety of tasks in an efficient manner.

The hiring range for this position in San Francisco is $70,500-$94,400 per year. 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 bonus and/or long-term incentive units may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to the full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the level and position offered.