Senior FX Technical Director

About the role

Image Engine, a VFX studio in Vancouver founded in 1995, is hiring a Senior FX TD for a 3-month project contract starting in September. The role mentors junior and mid-level artists, delivers high-quality FX for shows within the assigned timeframe and works closely with FX Supervisors and Leads. Candidates must be based in British Columbia and eligible to work in Canada.

Key responsibilities

• Create realistic effects such as rigid body and particle dynamics, procedural geometry, fluid and cloth simulations under supervision, using the studio pipeline and tools
• Create and maintain studio-wide FX tools, setups and best practices
• Create shaders, render passes, beauty renders, slap comps and FX comps
• Estimate task times and communicate issues to the lead and the show production coordinator
• Attend rounds, dailies, reviews and meetings, and report simulation and art direction changes to the FX Lead and VFX Supervisor
• Work with the FX Lead to address notes and improve shots while maintaining the quality level set by the show's VFX Supervisor
• Support other departments (lighting, compositing) and help junior artists grow through informal feedback and tips
• Maintain FX documentation on the wiki and share it with junior team members

Required profile

• Minimum 3 years of feature film/TV production experience as an FX artist in Houdini
• Excellent knowledge of Houdini, including creating HDAs and supporting users, and building large setups with many dependencies
• Strong knowledge of VEX and Hscript, compositing and asset management in a complex VFX pipeline
• Ability to troubleshoot, manage competing priorities and communicate clearly across departments
• Candidates must be based in British Columbia and eligible to work in Canada

Required skills

• Houdini, VEX, Hscript, Arnold or another renderer, VDB and Alembic
• Working knowledge of Nuke; desirable: Python, Linux/Unix scripting, Maya, Gaffer, HDK, Naiad, RealFlow, Bullet, Blastcode

What we offer

• Salary of $111,800 to $123,500 per year for a 40-hour week
• Extended healthcare from day 1, premiums 100% covered by Image Engine
• Up to 8 paid Health and Wellness days per year