CGI Lead

thelab; New York (NY); On-site; USD 100,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

thelab is seeking a CGI Supervisor to oversee the technical and artistic quality of all 3D content across production within HOME's AI-enabled ecosystem.

You will bridge creative leadership, production teams, and 3D artists, defining workflows, supervising asset creation, lighting, rendering, and animation, and ensuring timely delivery from concept to final delivery.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Graphics, Animation, Visual Effects, or equivalent professional experience.
• 8+ years of CGI, VFX, or digital production, with demonstrated leadership experience.
• Proven expertise managing end-to-end CGI production pipelines.
• Strong understanding of modeling, lighting, rendering, shading, animation, compositing, and asset management.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and project management skills.
• Ability to balance creative excellence with production schedules and technical requirements.

Responsibilities

• Define, maintain, and continuously optimize the CGI production pipeline to support efficient, scalable project delivery.
• Collaborate with AI Developers, pipeline engineers, and production teams to implement workflow improvements and automation within HOME.
• Identify opportunities to streamline rendering, asset management, and production processes through emerging technologies.
• Ensure pipeline stability, consistency, and adherence to production standards across all CGI projects.
• Lead, mentor, and develop a multidisciplinary team of CGI artists, including modeling, texturing, rigging, animation, lighting, look development, FX, and rendering.
• Assign work based on project priorities, artist expertise, and production schedules.
• Foster a collaborative, innovative, and high-performing creative environment.
• Support career development through coaching, feedback, and technical guidance.
• Oversee look development, lighting, materials, rendering, and overall visual quality across all CGI deliverables.
• Conduct regular creative and technical reviews, providing constructive feedback to ensure consistency and excellence.
• Maintain visual continuity across campaigns, assets, and production teams.
• Ensure work meets client expectations, brand standards, and creative objectives.
• Partner closely with Creative Directors, Senior Art Directors, Production Managers, AI Developers, and Compositing Supervisors throughout the production lifecycle.
• Establish technical standards for seamless handoffs between CGI, compositing, photography, motion, and post-production teams.
• Define render outputs, AOVs, utility passes, and delivery specifications that support efficient downstream production.
• Contribute to the evolution of HOME by identifying opportunities where AI-enabled workflows can enhance creative production without compromising artistic quality.

Skills

Leadership

Project management

CGI pipelines

Modeling

Lighting

Rendering

Shading

Animation

Compositing

Asset management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Graphics

Tools

3ds Max

Houdini

V-Ray

Karma

Python

MEL

MaxScript

Job description

Position Summary:

The CGI Supervisor is responsible for the technical and artistic quality of all 3D computer-generated content across production. Acting as the bridge between creative leadership, production teams, and 3D artists, this role defines technical workflows, oversees asset creation, lighting, rendering, and animation, and ensures the efficient execution of projects from concept through final delivery.

Working within HOME, Wellcom's AI-enabled production ecosystem, the CGI Supervisor leads multidisciplinary CGI teams while helping integrate emerging technologies that improve production efficiency, scalability, and quality. This role ensures all deliverables align with the client's creative vision, brand standards, and technical specifications.

Key Responsibilities:

Pipeline & Workflow Leadership

• Define, maintain, and continuously optimize the CGI production pipeline to support efficient, scalable project delivery.
• Collaborate with AI Developers, pipeline engineers, and production teams to implement workflow improvements and automation within HOME.
• Identify opportunities to streamline rendering, asset management, and production processes through emerging technologies.
• Ensure pipeline stability, consistency, and adherence to production standards across all CGI projects.

Team Leadership & Mentorship

• Lead, mentor, and develop a multidisciplinary team of CGI artists, including modeling, texturing, rigging, animation, lighting, look development, FX, and rendering.
• Assign work based on project priorities, artist expertise, and production schedules.
• Foster a collaborative, innovative, and high-performing creative environment.
• Support career development through coaching, feedback, and technical guidance.

Technical Direction & Problem Solving

• Serve as the primary technical authority for complex CGI production challenges.
• Troubleshoot issues involving modeling, lighting, rendering, simulations, shaders, and production workflows.
• Work closely with technical teams to improve tools, optimize rendering performance, and reduce production bottlenecks.
• Evaluate emerging technologies and recommend improvements to production capabilities.

Creative Direction & Quality Control

• Oversee look development, lighting, materials, rendering, and overall visual quality across all CGI deliverables.
• Conduct regular creative and technical reviews, providing constructive feedback to ensure consistency and excellence.
• Maintain visual continuity across campaigns, assets, and production teams.
• Ensure work meets client expectations, brand standards, and creative objectives.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner closely with Creative Directors, Senior Art Directors, Production Managers, AI Developers, and Compositing Supervisors throughout the production lifecycle.
• Establish technical standards for seamless handoffs between CGI, compositing, photography, motion, and post-production teams.
• Define render outputs, AOVs, utility passes, and delivery specifications that support efficient downstream production.
• Contribute to the evolution of HOME by identifying opportunities where AI-enabled workflows can enhance creative production without compromising artistic quality.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Graphics, Animation, Visual Effects, Digital Arts, or equivalent professional experience.
• 8+ years of experience in CGI, VFX, or digital production, with demonstrated leadership experience.
• Proven expertise managing end-to-end CGI production pipelines.
• Strong understanding of modeling, lighting, rendering, shading, animation, compositing, and asset management.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and project management skills.
• Ability to balance creative excellence with production schedules and technical requirements.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience leading teams within commercial advertising, retail, e-commerce, or creative production environments.
• Experience implementing production pipeline improvements or workflow automation.
• Familiarity with AI-assisted production tools and emerging generative AI technologies.
• Experience working with cloud rendering and distributed production environments.
• Knowledge of scripting or pipeline development (Python, MEL, MaxScript, or similar).
• Experience collaborating with software developers and technical pipeline teams.

Technical Skills:

3D Software

• 3ds Max
• Houdini

Rendering Engines

• V-Ray
• Karma

Pipeline & Production

• Asset management
• Look development
• Shader development
• Render optimization
• Pipeline architecture
• Workflow automation
• Version control

Emerging Technologies

• AI-enabled production workflows
• Cloud rendering
• Production automation
• Familiarity with HOME AI capabilities

Success in This Role:

A successful CGI Supervisor will:

• Deliver technically exceptional and visually compelling CGI that meets the highest creative standards.
• Lead and inspire multidisciplinary CGI teams while fostering collaboration across creative, production, and technology functions.
• Build efficient, scalable production pipelines that improve quality, consistency, and speed.
• Champion innovation by evaluating new tools and technologies that enhance production workflows.
• Help shape the continued evolution of HOME by integrating AI-enabled capabilities into CGI production while maintaining creative integrity and technical excellence.