Senior Rigging TD: Build Elite Animation Rigs & Tools

Placements24; Paarl; Hybrid; ZAR 900,000 - 1,300,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Medical aid

Retirement provisions

Learning opportunities

Job summary

Placements24 seeks a Senior Rigging Technical Director in Paarl, Western Cape, SA, to design, implement, and maintain advanced character and prop rigs for animation. You will collaborate with modelers, animators, and supervisors to ensure rigs are performant, intuitive, and artistically compliant.

You will bring extensive experience in anatomy-based rigging, strong scripting skills in Python, and proficiency with Maya, MEL/C++.

Qualifications

• Minimum 6 years of experience in character rigging for animation.
• Expertise in building complex rigs for realistic and stylized characters.
• Proficiency in Maya and its rigging tools.
• Strong Python scripting; MEL/C++ knowledge a plus.
• Deep understanding of anatomy, biomechanics, and deformation principles.
• Experience with facial rigging and performance capture data application.
• Knowledge of standard file formats and pipeline workflows.
• Excellent problem-solving and attention to detail; strong collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and implement robust and efficient character and prop rigs for animation.
• Develop and maintain rigging tools and scripts to automate processes and enhance workflow efficiency.
• Collaborate with character modelers to optimize topology and mesh preparation for rigging.
• Work closely with animators to provide intuitive, user-friendly rigs.
• Troubleshoot and resolve complex rigging and deformation issues.
• Optimize rigs for performance within the animation pipeline and downstream renderers.
• Stay current with the latest advancements in rigging technology and techniques.
• Provide technical support and guidance to the rigging and animation teams.
• Contribute to the development of rigging pipelines and best practices.

Skills

Rigging expertise

Maya proficiency

Python scripting

Anatomy & deformation understanding

Facial rigging

Pipeline knowledge

Communication & collaboration

MEL/C++ knowledge

Education

Degree in Computer Graphics/Animation or related field

Tools

Maya

Rigging tools

Job description

Placements24 seeks a Senior Rigging Technical Director in Paarl, Western Cape, SA, to design, implement, and maintain advanced character and prop rigs for animation. You will collaborate with modelers, animators, and supervisors to ensure rigs are performant, intuitive, and artistically compliant.

You will bring extensive experience in anatomy-based rigging, strong scripting skills in Python, and proficiency with Maya, MEL/C++.