Technical Director II - Hamster & Gretel (Disney Television Animation)

The Technical Director II is responsible for monitoring and ensuring the technical and creative fidelity of animated projects and works in all phases of the postproductions process. This ranges from ingesting materials from our partner studios, executing creative or technical shot work through our mastering and finishing pipeline.  The ideal candidate is comfortable digging into complex shots created by our international animation partners and improving them with surgical precision and artistry. Extensive knowledge of all stages of 2D/Harmony production including Importing, creation of new scenes, compositing, and the file structure of ToonBoom Harmony is required. This position requires technical skills combined with refined artistic skills, including an eye for composition, color, and lighting and a strong knowledge of animation principles. Extensive knowledge of the CG Pipeline with respect to assets, including Character, Prop, Sets and VFX. This position works closely with the Studio Lead Technical Director, Creative Leadership, Series Leadership, Production and other Technical Directors in the studio. When required this position will also participate in ongoing pipeline improvement efforts as software use continues to grow and evolve.

Responsibilities:

• Perform shot work as needed, including fixes at any stage of the pipeline. For 2D/Harmony series this would include adjusting color, adjusting lighting, adjusting animation timing, re-animating, fx and compositing.
• Support the production in facilitating creative and technical workflows that pertain to pre-production artwork, necessary technical assets for production, or tool creation and retake calls within series approved assumptions.  
• If applicable, for CG shots, support the production via shot or asset troubleshooting, artistic or technical input, research and development, or tool creation.
• Facilitate creation and delivery of final domestic source master materials to broadcast and streaming business units.
• In collaboration with Studio Lead TD, create or recommend tools or pipelines to increase efficiency.
• Ingest incoming shot data for editorial as needed.
• Provide occasional technical support for shot and asset data for subcontractors and other groups in the Walt Disney Company specific to the pipeline of the assigned production.
• Promote a positive, productive, and highly collaborative work environment.
• Additional duties as necessary, or as defined by individual contracts.

Requirements:

• Minimum of 3 years of experience in animation production.
• Expert knowledge of all stages of 2D/Harmony workflows. CG production knowledge including modeling, surfacing, rigging, lighting, rendering, fx, and compositing required.
• Expert knowledge of Harmony and Photoshop required.
• ToonBoom Harmony, TV Paint, or Adobe Animate (Flash) and CG experience a plus.
• Familiarity with other CG technologies such as Houdini, BiFrost, Blender, After Effects, Maya, Arnold, Nuke.
• For CG series, Python and MEL experience utilizing the Nuke and Maya APIs, and Unix shell scripting experience strongly preferred.

Skills:

• Solution-oriented outlook and a proactive personality; willing to roll up their sleeves and directly fix shot, data, or asset issues.
• Demonstrated ability to integrate artistic vision with technical expertise.
• Must be able to work in a collaborative, fast-paced environment.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Experience working with subcontractor animation studios a plus.

The pay rate for this role in Burbank, California is $54.03 per hour, which follows the pay scale agreed upon in the Collective Bargaining Agreement. The base pay actually offered may vary depending on the candidate’s geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience, among other factors. Select benefits may be provided as part of the compensation package, such as medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the level and position offered. To learn more about our benefits visit: https://jobs.disneycareers.com/benefits.