CG Render TD

General Summary
The Render Technical Director (TD) works with other production departments and dailies teams to ensure required renders complete successfully, identify problems, independently debug them, utilize generalist skills to fix shots and assets, and coordinate efforts with other departments, as needed. The TD Render will be proactive in getting ahead of issues and engaged in anticipating needs of production.

Job Functions

• Provide technical support to all of production in the areas of rendering, disk utilization, and workflow.
• Debug memory problems such as Out Of Memory errors and memory leaks caused by heavy geometry, heavy shading networks, large texture files, large effects installs, render instance malfunction, motion blur, dense fog layer passes, and expensive lighting trace paths.
• Monitor work proactively to improve sets and assets performance. Manage render time and memory resources. Build test cases to identify the root cause of production scene breakage. Work to reduce noise, eliminates fireflies, improves low quality fog layers. Decode system output logs/stats to diagnose heavy or failed renders.
• Work within confined Time/Memory limits, establishing ways to enable delivery of extremely large assets from Effects Department to Lighting Department, without compromising the integrity of the intended packet.
• Help optimize renders to ensure fast turnaround and reasonable render times and memory.
• Picture debugging, fixing faulty shading introduced by poor micropolygonal dicing. Eliminate unnecessary trace paths to enhance render performance. Identify low sample areas that need improvement while installing appropriate sample fixes.
• Collaborate with Effects and Lighting artists to develop solutions to correct visual artifacts; debug efforts in cleanup and fix artifacts in our final images to ensure they meet our high visual standards.
• Assist all departments with setting up review renders needed at all phases of production; run sequence reviews, controlling playback, and respond to needs of the room.
• Interface with production, systems, and tools to address technical issues in these overlapping areas. Guide problem solving conversations across departments.
• Monitor renders on the render farm, disk space organization, and ensure efficient usage of systems resources.
  

Qualifications

• Specializes in rendering using RenderMan.
• Education in computer science, mathematics, engineering, or a related field.
• Required skills include scripting / programming in C, C++, Python, or similar languages, as well as familiarity with one or more key production software programs such as Maya, RenderMan, Nuke, Katana, or Houdini.
• Heavy familiarity with computer visual effects concepts such as rendering and compositing.
• A strong eye coupled with a strong sense of technical cost, guiding sequences towards the right solution for a problem.
• A helpful, customer-service attitude coupled with a dedicated sense for debugging complicated pipeline issues.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills are required for communicating with the team, management, and other departments.
• Ability to switch contexts under pressure, transitioning amongst solo and collaborative tasks.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team, open to direction and responsive to changing production needs with calm professionalism.
  

Physical Demands and Work Environment
The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Physical demands: While performing the duties of this job, the employee is required to walk; stand; sit; use hands to operate standard office equipment; reach with hands and arms; balance; stoop; talk or hear both in person and by telephone. The employee must lift and/or move up to 15 pounds. Vision abilities include close vision, distance vision, and the ability to adjust focus.
• Work environment: While performing the duties of this job, the employee works under typical office conditions and is exposed to variable indoor temperatures. The noise level is usually quiet or moderate.

Location
On-site in Hillsboro, OR 

Salary
Salary is commensurate with skills and experience.

Disclaimer
The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this classification. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required of personnel so classified.
Please review our Employment Disclaimer and Materials Submission Agreement.