Head of CGI Production

Sprout; Boston, Northern (MA, KY); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Sprout Studios in Boston is seeking a Head of CGI Production to lead production operations across our visualization business. This hands-on leadership role owns resourcing, production planning, and program execution, turning approved scopes into staffed plans and delivering on time and within budget.

Reporting to the COO, you will assign internal artists, book freelancers, and resolve staffing conflicts while partnering with creative, technical, and project management leadership.

Qualifications

• Proven senior production leadership in CGI/animation.
• Experience managing multiple concurrent CGI programs and staff.
• Strong budgeting and staffing decision-making under pressure.
• Fluency with CGI workflows and software tools.
• Established network of freelance CGI artists and vendors.

Responsibilities

• Own CGI staffing plan across active and upcoming projects.
• Maintain rolling capacity forecast including freelancers and time off.
• Build and manage freelance/vendor network within budgets.
• Set production priorities and resolve resource conflicts.
• Develop production plans with assignments, estimates, dependencies and deliverables.
• Coordinate kicks-offs, reviews, and handoffs with leads and PMs.
• Track progress and adjust staffing to mitigate delivery risks.
• Collaborate with PMs on client schedules and scope changes.

Skills

Staffing planning

Resource allocation

Leadership

Budget management

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in a related field

Tools

Cinema 4D

Redshift

Blender

KeyShot

ClickUp

Job description

Sprout Studios is a Boston-based product design, innovation and visualization agency working across core transformational functions to bring new ideas and stories to life. Our visualization team creates product imagery, animations, and visual content for client programs ranging from individual launches to ongoing asset production.

The Role

We are hiring a Head of CGI Production to lead production operations across our visualization business. This is a hands-on leadership role with ownership of department-wide resourcing, production planning, and program execution. You will turn approved scopes into staffed production plans and be accountable for delivery against agreed schedules and budgets.

Reporting directly to the COO, you will have authority to assign internal artists, book freelancers within approved budgets, and resolve staffing and scheduling conflicts across CGI programs. You will partner with creative and technical leadership, who set the direction and quality standards, and with PMs, who manage client communication and commitments. You will lead production decisions and accelerate material changes to scope, budget, or delivery commitments.

You will shape how CGI production operates at Sprout: build the freelance network, improve estimating and delivery processes, and establish capacity planning that supports growth. The role offers direct access to leadership and the opportunity to bring proven studio practices into a production function you own.

Responsibilities

Staffing and Capacity Planning

• Own the CGI staffing plan across active and upcoming projects, matching artist skills and availability to production needs.
• Use our resource planning system to maintain a rolling capacity forecast that includes confirmed work, likely new programs, time off, and freelance requirements.
• Build and manage a dependable freelance and vendor network; source specialists, negotiate rates, and coordinate bookings within approved budgets.
• Set production priorities across programs, resolve resource conflicts, and recommend hiring or outsourcing when demand exceeds internal capacity.

Program Execution

• Build production plans covering artist assignments, effort estimates, dependencies, review rounds, and final deliverables.
• Coordinate kickoffs, production check-ins, internal reviews, and handoffs with creative leads and project managers.
• Track progress across multiple programs, identify delivery risks early, and adjust staffing or sequencing to keep work moving.
• Partner with PMs on client schedules and feedback; assess the production impact of changes before new commitments are made.

Budget and Scope

• Support proposals with production estimates, staffing options, freelance costs, and realistic delivery assumptions.
• Track hours, external costs, and estimated effort remaining; flag overruns early and propose corrective action.
• Document changes to scope, revision rounds, and deliverables, and work with PMs and the COO to secure approval for added work.
• Close out projects with actual costs and lessons that improve future estimates and protect project margins.

Production Systems

• Maintain accurate staffing, schedules, and project status in ClickUp and shared production tools.
• Standardize production briefs, feedback tracking, review milestones, and asset handoffs so teams know what is needed and when.
• Coordinate final delivery checks with creative and technical leads, including specifications, naming, file formats, and completeness.
• Provide leadership with a weekly view of capacity, budget exposure, delivery risks, and decisions needed.

Experience and Qualifications

• Previous staff or sustained freelance production experience at leading CGI focused agencies, with direct exposure to their staffing, budgeting, and delivery practices.
• A senior production track record in a CGI or animation studio, including ownership of multiple concurrent projects and shared artist resources, and experience leading production operations or readiness to take on department leadership.
• Experience producing both product imagery programs and animation, with a practical understanding of modeling, materials, lighting, rendering, and compositing.
• Working knowledge of CGI workflows using tools such as Cinema 4D, Redshift, Blender, KeyShot, Generative AI, and other technology sufficient to plan work with technical leads.
• An established network of freelance CGI artists and specialists, and experience assessing fit, negotiating costs, and managing their delivery.
• Strong financial judgment, clear communication, and the ability to make staffing and schedule decisions under pressure.
• Comfort leading production hands-on in a smaller agency, with the judgment to adapt established studio practices and build systems suited to its team and project mix.

What Success Looks Like

The CGI operation runs from a shared production plan with clear staffing, schedules, and budget forecasts. You resolve routine resourcing and delivery decisions independently, and identify capacity gaps early enough to act. Artists receive clear priorities, PMs can make reliable client commitments, and leadership can see where delivery or margin is at risk.