DreamWorks Feature - Department TD

DreamWorks Animation is looking for more adventurous dreamers who shoot for the moon. We tell stories about the journeys our unconventional heroes take to make dreams come true. As a growth-minded studio, we pride ourselves on being one of the world's leading producers of high-quality, award-winning, animated films and series, reaching consumers around the globe. We push to feel more, laugh more, and build immersive new worlds.

DreamWorks creates a diverse array of original content in a variety of formats, delivering compelling stories with unique characters. We place tremendous value on the experiences our talent brings to the table from their own non-traditional paths to success. We believe in frequent communication and that transparency and trust yield the best work. We are a community of artists, technologists, innovators, and creators, who are passionate about animation and also happen to love eating lunch together. 

Comcast NBCUniversal has announced its intent to create a new publicly traded company ('Versant') comprised of most of NBCUniversal's cable television networks, including USA Network, CNBC, MSNBC, Oxygen, E!, SYFY and Golf Channel along with complementary digital assets Fandango, Rotten Tomatoes, GolfNow, GolfPass, and SportsEngine. The well-capitalized company will have significant scale as a pure-play set of assets anchored by leading news, sports and entertainment content. The spin-off is expected to be completed during 2025.

A Department Technical Director provides critical support to a show's artists and department heads. A Department TD will design, develop, deploy, and document new tools and processes for a particular show, project or department.

If you are part of the fandom and believe teamwork makes the dream work, join us in #livingthedream and #doingyourdreamwork! 

“What would you say you do here?”

• Support production critical software, infrastructure and workflows. For example, services-based infrastructure, production management software, pipeline software, DCCs; fur, cloth, particle effects, animation, and rendering workflows.

• Gain and demonstrate a working knowledge of studio coding standards, policies, and best practices. Use these skills to engineer robust and strategic software solutions.

• Build validation tests to ensure software quality.

• Stay abreast of existing and new third party technology to inform technical decision-making.

• Triage artist and production issues.

• Extend and improve the existing pipeline through support and development of existing software and procedures

• Contribute to novel software integrations.

• Gain a working knowledge of proprietary and/or industry-standard DCCs (e.g. Premo, Moonray, Maya, Houdini, Unreal, Nuke)

• Gain a working knowledge of the artist's workflow, toolsets and processes.

• Propose, develop, communicate and implement change management plans.

• Maintain a constructive attitude when faced with unexpected challenges.

• Develop and support custom solutions for feature animation.

• Complete assigned tasks on time or proactively communicate obstacles and timeline changes.

• Continually evaluate the pipeline and find new ways to streamline production processes.

• Communicate with artists to identify production facing problems.

• Clearly and concisely document software and approaches to solving recurring problems.

• Deconstruct production issues/requests and direct component tasks to appropriate departments.

• Constructively give and take in feedback and work towards addressing it.

• Collaborate with TDs and department leadership when resolving production issues.

• Act as a production/department representative when collaborating with cross disciplinary teams.

• Assist in training and mentoring of new Technical Directors.

• Be a model representative of the TD department.

“What do I need to have in order to do this job?”

• Software development experience using common or domain-specific programming/scripting languages, e.g., Python, C++, Javascript, HScript, MEL, TCL

• Strong programming skills including Object Oriented Programming.

• Working knowledge of computer graphics fundamentals.

• Production experience in computer animation, visual effects, or game industry.

• Working knowledge of proprietary and/or industry-standard DCCs, such as Premo, Moonray, Maya, Houdini, Unreal, Nuke

• Ability to work independently or within a group.

• Ability to establish and shift priorities in collaboration with Supervising TDs.

• Ability to recognize blocking obstacles and seek help

“What can I offer?”

• Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field.

• Proficiency in Python.

• Experience with writing tools or plugins for computer graphics applications.

• Experience with tool integration into existing or new pipelines.

Hybrid: This position has been designated as hybrid, generally contributing from the office a minimum of three days per week.

Salary Range: $78,312 - $100,000

As part of our selection process, external candidates may be required to attend an in-person interview with an NBCUniversal employee at one of our locations prior to a hiring decision. NBCUniversal's policy is to provide equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, gender identity or expression, age, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, veteran status, membership in the uniformed services, genetic information, or any other basis protected by applicable law.

NBCUniversal will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories, or arrest or conviction records, in a manner consistent with relevant legal requirements, including the City of Los Angeles' Fair Chance Initiative For Hiring Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the California Fair Chance Act, where applicable.

If you are a qualified individual with a disability or a disabled veteran and require support throughout the application and/or recruitment process as a result of your disability, you have the right to request a reasonable accommodation. You can submit your request to [email protected].