Environment Surfacing Lead (Animation)

TL;DR

Environment Surfacing Lead (Animation): Leading surfacing and look-dev efforts for environmental assets in 3D animated films with an accent on achieving a painterly stylized look and optimizing shaders for episodic production. Focus on defining look-dev standards, procedural texturing workflows, and solving technical surfacing bottlenecks.

Location: Fully remote within ±2h of Budapest (CET)

Company

hirify.global is an award-winning studio with over twenty years of experience creating 3D animated films for world-renowned brands like Call of Duty, Netflix, and Amazon.

What you will do

• Lead surfacing and look-dev for environmental assets, ensuring aesthetic benchmarks of stylized projects.
• Define and document surfacing workflows, translating 2D concepts into 3D shaders.
• Perform rigorous visual reviews of environment shaders and textures for quality control.
• Lead interactive rounds to solve technical surfacing bottlenecks and guide material properties.
• Collaborate with Technical Directors to optimize environment shaders for performance.
• Act as the primary expert in surfacing tools, providing daily coaching to the environment team.

Requirements

• Expert-level mastery of texturing and look-dev for large-scale architectural and organic assets.
• Broad DCC adaptability with texturing suite software (Substance, 3D Coat, Photoshop) and Arnold render engine.
• Expert ability to translate 2D concept art into stylized 3D shaders that maintain a non-photorealistic appeal.
• High-level proficiency in building modular shader networks (OSL, Houdini, Maya nodes).
• Expert understanding of texture memory management, UDIM workflows, and texture compression.
• High-level proficiency in written and spoken English.

Culture & Benefits

• Fully remote work with long-term cooperation opportunities.
• Work on internationally recognized, world-class projects.
• Supportive work environment.
• Opportunity to be part of a forward-looking leadership team shaping animation excellence.
• Must be registered as a sole proprietor/entrepreneur or self-employed professional for freelance cooperation.