Unreal Rigging Supervisor – Real-Time

DNEG; Caerphilly; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

DNEG in the United Kingdom is seeking an experienced Unreal Rigging Supervisor to lead the technical and creative development of complex rigs for real‑time pipelines, bridging traditional rigging with Unreal Engine.

You will oversee the realtime rigging team, mentor Creature TDs, drive high‑performance rigs for creatures and props, and define standards across rigging, animation, and VFX to ensure assets are delivered on schedule.

Qualifications

• Extensive Unreal Engine expertise in production environments.
• Leadership experience supervising technical teams in VFX, visualization, or games.
• Proficiency in Maya and Python scripting.
• Deep knowledge of Unreal Control Rig and Blueprints.
• Strong understanding of real-time rig architecture and workflow.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical oversight and creative leadership for rigging workflows.
• Mentor Creature TDs and drive high-performance rigs for real-time rendering.
• Define rigging standards and collaborate across rigging, animation, layout, and VFX.
• Architect and maintain rigging pipelines using Python, Maya, and Unreal Control Rig.
• Identify bottlenecks and build tools/Blueprints to improve efficiency.
• Support project planning, asset strategy, and on-time delivery.
• Ensure compatibility with USD, Alembic, FBX in the DNEG pipeline.

Skills

Unreal Engine

Maya

Python scripting

Blueprints

Leadership

Team management

Tools

Unreal Control Rig

Blueprints

C++

Perforce

Shotgrid

Jira

Job description

Role Overview

We are seeking an experienced Unreal Rigging Supervisor to lead the technical and creative development of complex character, creature, and mechanical rigs within our real‑time pipeline. This role sits at the intersection of high‑end VFX and real‑time production, requiring a lead who can bridge the gap between traditional rigging workflows and the evolving demands of Unreal Engine (UE). You will oversee the realtime rigging team, mentor a team of Creature TDs, and ensure our assets are performance‑optimized for real‑time visualization, techviz, live mocap and final pixel delivery.

Responsibilities

• Supervision & Team Leadership: Provide technical oversight and creative leadership for all rigging and character‑related workflows.
• Mentor and manage a team of Creature TDs, providing feedback on rig quality, deformation, and performance.
• Coordinate with the Head of Real‑Time and Head of Technologies to define rigging standards, naming conventions, and technical specifications for assets.
• Act as a key liaison between the rigging, animation, layout, and VFX teams to ensure seamless asset integration.
• Minimum of 6 years experience in either VFX and/or game.
• Drive the development of high‑performance rigs for creatures, digital doubles, vehicles, and props, ensuring they meet the technical requirements for real‑time rendering.
• Architect and maintain robust rigging pipelines using Python, Maya, and Unreal Control Rig.
• Implement advanced deformation techniques, including ML Deformer, Chaos Skin, and Ziva RT, to achieve high‑fidelity results at real‑time speeds.
• Identify bottlenecks in the character/creature pipeline and develop custom tools or Blueprints to automate tasks and improve artist efficiency.
• Collaborate on project planning, bidding, and asset strategy to ensure creative goals are technically achievable and delivered on schedule.
• Ensure all rigs are compatible with industry‑standard exchange formats (USD, Alembic, FBX) within the DNEG pipeline.
• Contribute to technical documentation and training materials to upskill the team in new Unreal rigging features and proprietary software.

Qualifications

• Deep Unreal Expertise: Extensive experience in Unreal Engine production environments, specifically regarding rigging, animation, and performance optimization.
• Leadership Experience: Proven track record of supervising or leading technical teams within VFX, visualization, or game development.
• Technical Proficiency:
  • Expert‑level knowledge of Maya and Python scripting.
  • In‑depth mastery of Unreal Control Rig and Blueprints.
• Rigging Fundamentals: Comprehensive understanding of anatomy, kinematics, skinning/deformations, and real‑time rig architecture.
• Pipeline Knowledge: Familiarity with Linux/Unix/Windows environments and standard production tracking tools (Shotgrid, Perforce, Jira).
• Problem‑Solving: Ability to translate complex production needs into scalable, efficient technical solutions.

Bonus Skills

• Experience with Chaos Cloth/Skin, Unreal Grooming, and Machine Learning and Deformer Graph.
• Experience with Ziva RT.
• Strong understanding of C++.
• Experience in in‑camera VFX (ICVFX), live entertainment or interactive/immersive production environments.
• Prior work on both linear (film/TV) and non‑linear (games) projects.

Please note that this is a unionized position and will be covered by a collective agreement between DNEG and IATSE, in the coming months. As a unionized employee, you will be required to join the union and will benefit from the conditions set out in the collective agreement. Union dues will be required once the collective agreement is in place.

For Canada only: The base salary range for this full‑time position is $120,000 to $175,000 CAD. DNEG salary ranges are determined by function, department, level, and location. An individual's pay within a given range is determined by their transferable or job‑related skills and work experience. Salary ranges are modified from time to time based on external market data collected through our third‑party surveys.