About the role
- Provide front-line technical support to lighting artists across VFX and Feature Animation productions, helping to diagnose and resolve rendering and lighting issues efficiently.
- Troubleshoot lighting scenes, render setups, and DCC configurations to unblock artists and ensure productions remain on schedule.
- Assist in the creation of technically robust production assets, including light rigs, scene templates, and custom tools and UIs for use across shows.
- Help identify and resolve inefficiencies in lighting and rendering workflows, working with Render Supervisors to implement improvements.
- Act as a clear point of communication between technical developers and non-technical artists, translating issues and solutions accurately between both audiences.
- Contribute to the development and maintenance of automated unit and integration tests for renderers and rendering toolsets, helping to ensure stability across pipeline updates.
- Support the maintenance and expansion of DNEG's renderer test suite, which profiles performance, tracks quality improvements, and identifies regressions across renderer versions.
- Assist in the profiling and benchmarking of rendering processes, contributing data and observations to help improve render farm throughput and efficiency.
- Help implement and maintain render pipeline tooling, including diagnostic utilities, monitoring scripts, and workflow automation.
- Provide structured feedback on software releases from R&D, Core Services, and vendor partners (Pixar, SideFX) that affect lighting and rendering workflows.
- Support exploratory work around ML/AI-based rendering technologies — such as denoising and upscaling — in collaboration with Brahma AI's Advanced Development Group (ADG), under the guidance of senior RenderTech staff.
- Develop familiarity with USD and Hydra-based workflows in Houdini/Solaris, and contribute to the maintenance of USD pipeline components within the scope of RenderTech's responsibilities.
- Assist with shader development and look development tasks as required, building knowledge of OSL and DNEG's shading frameworks over time.
- Support the validation and testing of DCC software versions managed by Core Services, ensuring render engine behaviour is stable before production adoption.
- Work closely with Render Supervisors and contribute positively to the broader RenderTech team, sharing knowledge and supporting team goals.
- Liaise with artists and TDs across departments — including Model, Texture, Look Development, and FX — to understand rendering considerations and assist in optimising their workflows.
- Collaborate with Pipeline, Core Services, and Product teams as directed by Render Supervisors, contributing a practical production perspective.
- Support exploratory work around ML/AI-based rendering technologies — such as denoising and upscaling — in collaboration with Brahma AI's Advanced Development Group (ADG), under the guidance of senior RenderTech staff.
- A degree or equivalent practical experience in Computer Science, Visual Effects, Technical Direction, or a closely related discipline.
- Solid Python programming skills, with demonstrable experience writing tools, scripts, or pipeline utilities.
- Practical experience with lighting and/or rendering in one or more industry-standard DCCs, such as Houdini/Solaris or Katana.
- Familiarity with path tracing renderers — such as RenderMan or Karma — at a working production or academic level.
- An understanding of lighting and rendering fundamentals, including light transport, shading models, and image formation.
- Strong communication skills and the ability to work effectively within a team, translating technical issues clearly for both technical and non-technical colleagues.
- A methodical approach to problem-solving and debugging, with a high degree of attention to detail.
- Experience or exposure to USD and Hydra-based pipelines.
- Shader writing experience in OSL or C++.
- Render wrangling or render farm experience in a production environment.
- Look development experience in a VFX or animation context.
- C++ programming skills, even at an introductory level.
- Familiarity with software version control systems, automated testing frameworks or CI/CD pipelines.
- Knowledge of or interest in ML/AI applications in rendering, such as denoising or upscaling.
- Experience with relational databases or search technologies (e.g. Elasticsearch).
- Previous experience in a VFX, animation, or games studio environment.