Lead Crowd Technical Director - ILM London (Houdini/VFX)

Location: London, United Kingdom; hybrid work with 2 days onsite per week at a company-designated location

Company

Industrial Light & Magic is a visual effects facility serving motion picture, commercial production, attraction, VR, AR, and immersive cinema projects.

What you will do

• Lead and mentor crowd artists while providing creative and technical feedback at shot and sequence level.
• Direct the development of shot templates, crowd tools, workflows, and show setups for small to medium productions.
• Build and maintain motion libraries, support motion-capture planning, and manage crowd agent setups and variation logic.
• Troubleshoot complex crowd-pipeline issues and collaborate with R&D and Pipeline Engineering on efficient solutions.
• Work with Production and Artists to assign tasks, meet deadlines, and provide shot and sequence feedback.
• Support recruitment and staffing of the crowd team.

Requirements

• Strong experience on high-end VFX or animated feature film productions.
• Previous leadership or mentoring experience.
• Expert knowledge of Houdini for crowds and extensive understanding of human, insect, combat, and animal crowd behaviours.
• High proficiency in VEX and Python.
• Proficiency with Linux and shell scripting.
• Strong cinematography, composition, storytelling, problem-solving, communication, and organizational skills.

Nice to have

• Experience with motion-capture retargeting, motion editing, and creature simulation including cloth and groom.
• Working familiarity with C/C++.

Culture & Benefits

• Hybrid work arrangement with occasional work from home.
• Opportunity to contribute to visual effects, VR, AR, and immersive cinema projects.
• Equal opportunity employment within The Walt Disney Company.

Hiring process

• Applications are accepted until 31 August 2026.