IT Manager (Animation/VFX)

TL;DR

IT Manager (Infrastructure/Animation): Owning and architecting the technology ecosystem across production and software divisions with an accent on infrastructure automation and security compliance. Focus on building scalable network architectures, managing hybrid cloud workloads, and maintaining physical data centers to support high-performance animation pipelines.

Location: Hybrid: Must be based in Vancouver, BC, Canada (2-3 days per week in office)

Salary: $100,000 – $120,000 CAD

Company

A creative studio and software innovation lab building commercial-grade tools and GenAI production pipelines for the animation industry.

What you will do

• Define and execute the studio's technology roadmap, infrastructure budgets, and security posture.
• Architect and maintain automated deployment pipelines using Puppet, Ansible, and Python across Rocky9 Linux and Windows Server.
• Manage high-performance storage (NAS) and hybrid cloud infrastructure (AWS/GCP) for containerized workloads via Docker.
• Configure and maintain Layer 1 to 3 network architecture (Arista, Fortinet) to support render farms and high-volume asset transfer.
• Manage vendor relationships, software licensing contracts, and IT asset inventories.
• Perform hands-on data center operations, including racking servers, cable management, and hardware maintenance.

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience in Systems Engineering or IT Leadership, ideally within Animation, VFX, Gaming, or HPC startups.
• Legally entitled to work in Canada, B.C.
• Strong administration skills across both Linux (Rocky9) and Windows OS/Active Directory.
• Proficiency in Python scripting and configuration management tools like Puppet or Ansible.
• Practical knowledge of Layer 1-3 networking, firewalls (Fortinet/Arista), VMware, and Docker.
• Ability to lift up to 50 lbs and hold a valid Driver's License for visits to co-location facilities.

Culture & Benefits

• Hybrid work schedule with 2 to 3 days per week in the Vancouver office.
• Comprehensive extended health, dental, and vision coverage.
• High level of autonomy and ownership to shape the IT architecture.
• Supportive, collaborative, and ego-free work environment.