Senior Look Development Technical Director - ILM London

Industrial Light & Magic; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Industrial Light & Magic is seeking a Senior Look Development Technical Director to produce high-quality lookdev and shading for CG assets, with minimal guidance from Leads or Supervisors.

You will design and implement shading networks, work with Lighting/CG Supervisors, and maintain material libraries to ensure pipeline efficiency. Hybrid role with on-site work two days per week and occasional remote work.

Qualifications

• Experience creating hero assets and props in Look Development.
• Experience with lighting and rendering within a VFX environment
• Proven knowledge of real world materials
• Proficiency with asset optimization
• Comprehensive knowledge of physically based rendering and shader models
• Ability to work with texture and groom artists to get best results
• Strong grasp of geometry formatting, including Primvars
• Ability to build and maintain complex shading networks with artist usability in mind
• Strong triage of technical issues
• Ability to resolve complex lookdev challenges
• Deliver high-quality assets within production deadlines
• Proven ability to work on large-scale environments
• Knowledge of Katana is essential, Houdini and Maya beneficial
• Understanding of neighbouring departments (FX, Texture, Groom, Lighting)
• Excellent knowledge of Renderman or other unbiased rendering systems
• Aesthetic eye; anticipates problems and uses software knowledge to achieve look
• Ability to manage multiple assets in a shot context
• Can work collaboratively within a team
• Ability to prioritise tasks and provide accurate time estimates on shot task completion
• Understanding of the VFX pipeline from modelling through animation, texturing, rendering and compositing
• Ability to learn new techniques and software quickly

Responsibilities

• Design and create the look of computer generated objects and scenes
• Work closely with Lighting Supervisors and CG Supervisors to determine the best approach to solving CG challenges when developing the final look
• Create efficient shader setups in order to optimise render farm usage
• Manage and maintain standard material libraries using established shading templates for consistency and pipeline efficiency.
• Design, implement, and maintain complex, custom shading networks and materials for high-priority ("hero") assets when bespoke solutions are required.

Skills

Look Development

Shading

Hero Assets

Lighting & Rendering

Material Realism

Shader authoring

Team Collaboration

Pipeline Efficiency

Primvars

Tools

Katana

Houdini

Maya

RenderMan

Shader Networks

Job description

Position Summary

We are looking for Senior Look Development Technical Directors who reflect the creative talent, collaborative mindset and passion for great filmmaking that defines ILM.

The Senior Look Development Technical Director is responsible for producing high-quality lookdev and shading for our CG assets, needing only initial direction and guidance from their Lead or Supervisor.

What You’ll Do

• Design and create the look of computer generated objects and scenes
• Work closely with Lighting Supervisors and CG Supervisors to determine the best approach to solving CG challenges when developing the final look
• Create efficient shader setups in order to optimise render farm usage
• Manage and maintain standard material libraries using established shading templates for consistency and pipeline efficiency.
• Design, implement, and maintain complex, custom shading networks and materials for high-priority ("hero") assets when bespoke solutions are required.

What We’re Looking For

• Previous experience creating both hero assets & props in Look Development.
• Experience with lighting and rendering within a VFX environment
• Proven knowledge of real world materials
• Proficiency with asset optimisation
• Comprehensive knowledge of physically based rendering and shader models
• Ability to work and communicate with texture and groom artists to get the best possible results
• A strong grasp of geometry formatting, including but not limited to Primvars.
• Ability to build and maintain complex shading networks with artist usability and user-interface support in mind
• Strong ability to triage technical issues
• Ability to resolve complex lookdev challenges
• Deliver high-quality assets within production deadlines
• Proven ability to work on large-scale environments
• Knowledge of Katana is essential, Houdini and Maya beneficial
• A solid understanding of the fundamentals of neighbouring departments (FX, Texture, Groom, and Lighting)
• Excellent knowledge of Renderman or other unbiased rendering systems
• Aesthetic eye; anticipates potential problems and uses existing software knowledge to achieve the desired look
• Ability to manage multiple assets in a shot context
• Can work collaboratively within a team environment
• Ability to prioritise tasks, manage time well, provide everyone with accurate time estimates on shot task completion
• A thorough understanding of the VFX pipeline from modelling through animation, texturing, rendering and compositing
• Ability to pick up new techniques and the ability to learn new software quickly and easily

This role is Hybrid, which means the employee will be required to work a minimum of 2 days on-site per week at a Company designated location, and occasionally from home.

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