Senior CFX Character TD

CONTRACT ROLE

Insomniac Games is looking for a Senior CFX Character TD. In this role, you will be responsible for creating character setups and simulating anatomy, cloth, and hair for both offline and real-time applications, utilizing shot-specific finalizing techniques, and contributing to the design, implementation, and maintenance of the simulation and CFX pipeline.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following:

• Works independently to consistently create high quality simulation set-ups that directly contribute to the realization of successful game characters and cinematic sequences.
• Able to create AAA quality character simulations for multiple types of character features and may have in-depth skills in one area (e.g., hair or cloth or muscle deformation).
• Effectively communicates with the project Lead, Directors and Project Manager to ensure progress is correctly reported and tracked in the Jira database, and deliverables are completed on time.
• Possesses a comprehensive understanding of animation techniques for the purpose of simulation or character finaling.
• Sets the bar for quality, speed, and communication that inspires other Character TDs as the foundation for character development.
• Collaborates directly with Character Artists, Riggers, Animators, Designers, Programmers, and other artists to ensure that the work of the team is created in the most efficient and technically responsible manner.
• Maintains effective cross-department communication to ensure that Character Artists and Animators are aware of the creative direction of the delivered CFX simulations as well as assisting with identifying the complete list of shots that will be required for CFX. 
• Acts as an intermediary between the animation and technical teams to elucidate the workflows, needs, and terminologies of each team.
• Provides feedback and guidance to other members of the CFX team.
• Identifies opportunities for improving the development pipeline as well as ensuring that CFX artists receive responsive and appropriate technical support.
• Ability to manage reasonable workload expectations and to communicate effectivelywith leadership to maintain a healthy work-life balance.
• Adheres to lawful and ethical business practices in support of a diverse team ofartists.
• Other duties may be assigned.

Education/Experience:

• Bachelor's degree (B.A.) from a four-year college or university; or five to seven years related experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Three to Five years of experience in character setup, simulation setup, MEL, Python, and PyMel scripting and a comprehensive understanding of all technical aspects of Maya animation.
• Expert-level knowledge of Simulation Setup in one or all of the key offline simulation systems including Houdini/Vellum, nCloth, and ZivaVFX.
• Strong knowledge of shot-finaling techniques.
• Strong knowledge of physical anatomy and ability to quickly achieve realistic results for skin and muscle deformations.
• Working knowledge/experience of runtime simulation systems (Havok/UE4 Cloth/PhysX).
• Experience interfacing with offline processing/renderfarm systems to run simulations.
• Strong knowledge of Maya and a working knowledge of Microsoft Word and Excel.
• Strong working knowledge of MEL, Python, and PyMel scripting as it applies to CFX, character setup and animation.