Senior 3D Animation Pipeline Technical Specialist (Series / Feature Film)

Senior 3D Animation Pipeline Technical Specialist (Series / Feature Film)

Location : India (Hybrid or Remote)

Experience : 7–15 years | Domain : 3D Animation / VFX / CG Series / Feature Films

About the Role

We’re seeking a Senior 3D Pipeline Technical Specialist to architect, optimize, and maintain the entire production pipeline for high-end 3D animated series and feature films.

You’ll be the technical backbone of the studio’s creative process — ensuring that every asset, shot, and render flows smoothly from art and concept to final composite.

This role demands deep technical skills and full production awareness — understanding not just code and tools, but also the creative artifacts like style bibles, character designs, thumbnails, color scripts, and look frames that drive production.

⚙️ Key Responsibilities

Pipeline Architecture & Tool Development

Design, implement, and maintain the end-to-end 3D animation pipeline — from asset creation to final render and delivery.

Build and support custom tools using Python / PySide / PyQt / MEL for Maya, Houdini, Blender, Unreal, and Nuke.

Integrate and maintain asset tracking systems (ShotGrid, Ftrack, Kitsu) and render farm managers (Deadline, Tractor).

Automate publishing, caching, version control, and file validation workflows.

Implement efficient dependency management between departments — Modeling → Rigging → Animation → FX → Lighting → Comp.

Process & Production Knowledge

Understand the entire animation pipeline, from concept art and thumbnails to final DI and QC.

Know how to translate pre-production artifacts (style bibles, character sheets, color scripts, look frames) into usable data for 3D production.

Define and enforce naming conventions, folder structures, and data standards across departments.

Ensure consistent color management and ACES compliance across tools and outputs.

Bridge creative and technical teams — communicating in both artistic and engineering language.

Optimization & Technical Direction

Profile and optimize scene load times, render performance, and farm throughput.

Troubleshoot broken assets, missing references, and pipeline bottlenecks.

Introduce new technology (USD, Unreal, Omniverse, cloud rendering) into existing pipelines.

Support department supervisors with technical guidance and automation requests.

Collaboration & Mentorship

Collaborate with Art, LookDev, Lighting, and Comp leads to maintain visual consistency and technical readiness.

Mentor junior TDs and provide documentation / training for internal pipeline tools.

Liaise with production and IT to forecast storage, render, and hardware needs.

Required Skills & Experience

Domain Requirements

Pipeline Dev Expert in Python (PySide / PyQt), MEL; able to build robust cross-department tools.

3D Packages Deep experience with Maya, Blender, Houdini, Unreal, and Nuke scripting APIs.

Asset Tracking Strong knowledge of ShotGrid / Ftrack / Kitsu APIs and database structures.

Rendering Experience with Arnold, V-Ray, Redshift, or Cycles; comfortable managing render farms.

Color & File I / O ACES / OCIO pipeline setup, EXR / AOV / light group workflows, LUT management.

Automation & Validation Building tools for asset publishing, cache management, version control, and QC checks.

Data Flow Awareness Understands how creative artifacts (art bibles, turnarounds, look frames) convert to 3D assets and shots.