Senior Look Development Technical Director - ILM London

9151 ILM (UK) Ltd.; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

ILM London is seeking a Senior Look Development Technical Director to lead the look of CG assets, creating high-quality shading with minimal direction from leadership.

You will collaborate with Lighting and CG supervisors, optimize render farm usage, and maintain standard material libraries to ensure pipeline efficiency. Hybrid work and production deadlines apply, with experience on hero assets essential.

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 and shader models.
• Proficiency with asset optimisation techniques.
• Strong shading network construction for production pipelines.
• Ability to communicate with texture and groom teams to optimize results.
• Familiarity with Katana; Houdini and Maya are advantageous.
• Understanding of VFX pipeline from modelling to compositing.

Responsibilities

• Design and create the look of computer generated objects and scenes.
• Collaborate with Lighting Supervisors and CG Supervisors to define the final look.
• Create efficient shader setups to optimise render farm usage.
• Design, implement, and maintain shading networks for hero assets when needed.

Skills

Hero assets experience

VFX lighting & rendering

Renderman knowledge

Shading network design

Team collaboration

Asset optimisation

Aesthetic lookdev

Time management

Tools

Katana

Houdini

Maya

RenderMan

Job description

Senior Look Development Technical Director

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

A current resume is required.

Additional Information

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.

Job Posting Segment

ILM London

Primary Business

ILM London

Primary Job Posting Category

Look Development - Studios

Employment Type

Full time

Location

Primary City, State, Region, Postal Code: London, United Kingdom

Alternate City, State, Region, Postal Code:

Date Posted

2026-09-17