Senior Creature Technical Director (Simulations) - Expression of Interest - ILM Vancouver

Location: Vancouver, Canada; hybrid work with 2–3 days onsite at a designated company location and occasional work from home.

Salary: C$112,200–C$143,600 per year.

Company

Industrial Light & Magic is a visual effects facility serving the motion picture, commercial production, and attraction industries, with work spanning visual effects, VR, AR, and immersive cinema.

What you will do

• Set up and run advanced cloth, hair, rigid-body, crowd, muscle, and other creature simulations in Houdini and proprietary tools.
• Rig and envelope hero-to-background creatures, vehicles, and props in Maya.
• Troubleshoot creature CFX and pipeline issues for artists across disciplines.
• Script utilities, tools, and plug-ins in Maya using Python or VEX.
• Optimize simulation setups and participate in reviews, dailies, department meetings, and special projects.
• Mentor entry-level artists and collaborate with supervisors.

Requirements

• 5+ years of relevant professional experience with a college-level diploma in computer graphics, fine arts, design, photography, or a related field, or 7+ years of relevant VFX experience in lieu of education.
• Experience setting up and running advanced simulation shotwork and corrective sculpting.
• Knowledge of anatomy and enveloping.
• Expertise with Houdini and proficiency with Linux.
• Experience with Python or VEX scripting.
• Strong communication skills, a positive attitude, teamwork, and passion for the work.

Nice to have

• Experience with advanced hero asset rigging and enveloping in Maya.
• C++ experience.
• Basic proficiency in modeling, texturing, TD, animation, or another discipline.

Culture & Benefits

• Hybrid work arrangement with regular onsite collaboration and occasional work from home.
• Medical, financial, and other benefits may be offered depending on the level and position.
• Opportunity to contribute to large-scale visual effects productions and immersive media projects.

Hiring process

• This is an expression-of-interest posting for future consideration and is not currently an active vacancy.
• Submit a current resume and a demo reel, shot breakdown, or equivalent work sample.
• If the role opens, a recruiter may contact shortlisted applicants by email or phone.