LookFX is currently in search of a Systems Engineer for its NYC office. The primary role for the Systems Engineer will be to manage infrastructure, provide support for artists and producers, interface with visual-effects software packages and act as technical liaison for the NYC office. This position requires close interaction with production supervisors, producers and artists.


Requirements:

• Strong background in computer science or computer graphics (or applicable)
• Understanding of sophisticated networks, NAS, DHCP, DNS and ActiveDirectory
• Strong understanding of Python
• Ability to navigate a unix-shell environment
• 2+ years experience in a visual effects studio (or applicable) a plus
• Knowledge of Nuke, Maya and Houdini a plus
• Ability to create artist-friendly interfaces and tools
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, dynamic environment

Submissions should include:

1. Resume/Coverletter
2. Available Start Date
3. Salary Requirements

NOTE:

• Positons are open to US citizens and residents only. Prefer those local to NYC, but will consider those within the United States.
• Students, Interns and recent grads need not apply
• Outsourcing companies outside the USA, need not apply

This is a “good at everything” Generalist admin type of role, someone who can jump from troubleshooting application issues, to racking switches / rendernodes / deploying software, and then on to working on pieces of a larger long term project with a team. Sometimes this can be all in the same day and sometimes it can be fairly intense. The good news is we know exactly when and how long the busy times are throughout the year and we usually have time to prepare for it.

Encore VFX is looking for a strong senior person on our engineering team, someone who functions well by themselves and can also organize and lead projects with different people and departments. The workstations we manage are all (mostly) Windows based (with a few Mac’s mixed in) with both Linux & Windows backend servers.

Primary areas of responsibility will include:

• Installation, deployment and maintenance of hardware, operating systems and applications
• Initiation of and participation department, site and world-wide Encore engineering projects
• Specification, documentation and communication of requirements for engineering tasks across the enterprise
• Mentoring to and advice on best practices for Systems Engineering personnel throughout the department
• After hours, holiday and weekend support on-call 24/7 as scheduled in rotation with other engineers

Distinguishing Characteristics:

• Exceptionally strong troubleshooting skills and the awareness to know when to step away from a problem and evaluate other solutions
• Attention to detail: Note taking, follow-up/through, documenting processes, project/task handoff
• Intermediate to advanced scripting skills
• Project management skills, having the ability to lead a large coordinated project from concept through implementation and support is important

Education, Skills & Certifications:

• 5-7 years of VFX Industry experience (2-3 or more in Television is a major bonus)
• 7-10 years of Systems Administration experience with both Windows and Linux in a production environment
• Expert in a Linux environment as it relates to cross-platform integration, Samba, Winbind, network performance & kernel tweaking, etc
• Expert with Sysinternals tools + PDQDeploy and Windows application deployment and the various packaging systems (MSI, Installshield, etc)
• Solid foundation and project experience with Windows shell scripting (Batch, Powershell, VB) with the ability to script application deployments
• Experience with Active Directory replication, DNS/DHCP, etc
• Current experience with virtual machine software and technology (VBox, ESXi, HyperV, etc)
• Experience with troubleshooting and debugging OS and application issues
• Ability to work evenings and weekends as required
• Experience with other scripting / programming languages: Python, Bash, C, C#, etc is a plus
• Experience with WDS / Clonezilla / etc is a plus

SONY IMAGEWORKS VANCOUVER SEEKS Graphics Software Developer - Nuke Pipeline

Sony Pictures Imageworks is seeking a strong programmer to join the software development team in Vancouver, BC.

http://www.imageworks.com/

Sony Pictures Imageworks produces high-end visual effects for movies, such as the Amazing Spider-Man 2, and Oz the Great and Powerful.  The company's work has been recognized with numerous awards and nominations, including the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects for Spider-Man 2.

Today, Imageworks is unique in its ability to provide quality digital production for live action, all-CG, motion capture and hybrid live-action/animated films. Its community of innovative digital artists and computer technologists collaborate creatively with filmmakers, helping them to bring their vision from the storyboard to the theater and delight audiences around the globe.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• The Nuke Pipeline engineer develops and maintains an efficient and creative workflow for compositing artists. This includes continued integration of Nuke into an established studio pipeline, creation of new plugins, scripts, and user interfaces. This position requires collaboration with in-house engineers, outside vendors, as well as compositing and lighting artists. The tools created help to facilitate cutting edge imagery on a wide variety of shows.

REQUIRED SKILLS:

• Experience programming in Python and C++
• Experience with Nuke’s python APIs, NDK, gizmos, and compositing workflows
• Knowledge of compositing, lighting and studio pipeline development
• Good communication skills and an aptitude for working in small teams

DESIRED SKILLS:

• Experience writing image and/or geometry plugins in C++ in Nuke or other compositing package
• Bachelor in Computer Science or equivalent
• Stereo workflows and toolsets
• Experience with UNIX / Linux
• Knowledge of third party graphics applications (e.g. Maya, Houdini, Katana)

ABOUT THE TEAM: BACKEND DEV:

• The Backend Development team works closely with artists in rendering, compositing, stereo, color science and fx.  We support both off-the-shelf and proprietary tools, developing the workflows that help artists efficiently create amazing images for film.

SOME OF THE TYPES OF TASKS ASSOCIATED WITH OUR GROUP INCLUDE:

-       Core technology growth in our Katana lighting tool, working closely with The Foundry’s Katana engineers.  

-       Ongoing contributions to open source projects like OpenColorIO, OpenImageIO, OSL, Alembic, and more.

-       GPU implementations for visualization of assets.

-       Support color integration for all shows and outside vendors as well.

-       Creating cutting-edge, next generation rendering algorithms within our version of Arnold.

-       Reducing the time to first pixel as well as finding efficiencies through more streamlined toolsets.

-       Leveraging and honing OSL to produce easy-to-use, realistic shaders that just look good out of the box.

-       Integrating Houdini and Maya tools to our fx pipeline. Visualizing fx elements within Katana and Arnold.

-       Continuously improving toolsets, as needs arise, for show driven technology requirements.

Those with a penchant for assessing artist workflow limitations, and the aptitude to implement a cohesive solution, are encouraged to apply.

To apply please send a resume to: tiffany@herringtonrecruitment.com   Please reference the job title in the subject line of your email.

SONY IMAGEWORKS VANCOUVER CANADA SEEKS PRODUCTION DATA WEB TOOLS DEVELOPER

Sony Pictures Imageworks is seeking a strong programmer to join the Core Infrastructure team in Vancouver, BC.  

http://www.imageworks.com/

Sony Pictures Imageworks produces high-end visual effects for movies, such as the Amazing Spider-Man 2, and Oz the Great and Powerful.  The company's work has been recognized with numerous awards and nominations, including the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects for Spider-Man 2.

Today, Imageworks is unique in its ability to provide quality digital production for live action, all-CG, motion capture and hybrid live-action/animated films. Its community of innovative digital artists and computer technologists collaborate creatively with filmmakers, helping them to bring their vision from the storyboard to the theater and delight audiences around the globe.

We currently have an opening in our Vancouver Canada office as for a Production Data Web Tools Developer.

What You’ll Be Doing:

You'll be extending and maintaining many of the core database applications used across departments and throughout the facility, and collaborating with users to help define workflows to improve the efficiency and management of large scale visual effects and animation production. All new large-scale applications are being written with a large dose of Python client-side scripting.

• Skills:

o   Required: Python, JavaScript, some VB / .Net experience, strong web UI design skills, SQL database experience   

o   Nice to have: Django, extJS frameworks, C#, Java

• Databases:

o   Required: experience with any of the following: Oracle, PostgreSQL, SQLite, MySQL

o   Nice to have: Solr, Cassandra, and/or HBASE

• Source Control:

o   Experience with any of the following version control systems: Git, Subversion, Mercurial

• Unix background:

o   Strong Unix command line and scripting skills

Bonus:

• Development and testing of applications to enhance user experience of products
• Flexible and willing to do different things
• Experience working in a task driven environment with adherence to strict delivery deadlines
• Working in a team structure and being open to assisting in other tasks (other platform development)
• 3-5 years of commercial experience, preferably in the Visual Effects / Animation or related industry

About the team

--------------

The Core Infrastructure team is responsible for designing, writing and maintaining three-tier applications and services used by the entire company.  Imageworks has a compute farm with thousands of cores and very large amounts of storage to manage.

To apply please send a resume to: tiffany@herringtonrecruitment.com   Please reference the job title in the subject line of your email.

Nexus is an independent production company and animation studio, with a worldwide reputation for creative and accomplished home-grown design and transmedia story-telling. Our work includes an Oscar nominated short, Grammy nominated and MTV Award winning music videos, and Cannes Grand Prix, Gold Lions, and Black D&AD pencil winning commercials.

We are looking for Studio Desktop Support holiday cover from 30th June to 1st August at our busy studio in Shoreditch, London. 

General duties will include the following:

• Offering desktop support to the studio, from general Windows/Mac troubleshooting through deploying workstations and associated equipment

• Assisting with the more specific aspects of an animation studio such as render wrangling, deploying 3D/2D software and plug-ins.

• Working alongside the Studio Manager to prepare equipment and seating for artists, producers and directors.
  

The ideal candidate will have:

• Ability to cope with all desktop support aspects of a Windows environment
• An understanding of Windows Domains, including associated services such as Active Directory and Group Policy
• An understanding of basic networking concepts such as DNS/DHCP
• Knowledge of OSX and the ability to troubleshoot issues relating to Macs in a windows environment.
• The ability to react quickly in a fast-paced environment..
• An interest in/experience of After Effects, Nuke, 3DS Max and other animation software
• An interest in/experience of the creative industries

To apply, please email your CV to Natalie Busuttil - natalieb@nexusproductions.com

SONY IMAGEWORKS VANCOUVER CANADA SEEKS SENIOR SOFTWARE ENGINEER

Sony Pictures Imageworks is seeking a strong programmer to join the Core Infrastructure team in Vancouver, BC.  

http://www.imageworks.com/

Sony Pictures Imageworks produces high-end visual effects for movies, such as the Amazing Spider-Man 2, and Oz the Great and Powerful.  The company's work has been recognized with numerous awards and nominations, including the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects for Spider-Man 2.

Today, Imageworks is unique in its ability to provide quality digital production for live action, all-CG, motion capture and hybrid live-action/animated films. Its community of innovative digital artists and computer technologists collaborate creatively with filmmakers, helping them to bring their vision from the storyboard to the theater and delight audiences around the globe.

We currently have an opening in our Vancouver Canada office as for a Senior Software Engineer

What You’ll Be Doing:

You'll be extending and maintaining distributed asset management and file system applications, and collaborating with users to help define workflows which improve the efficiency and management of large scale visual effects and animation production. You’ll also be helping to triage and solve complex issues as they arise, such as with our render management system. All new large-scale applications are being written in Scala with a large dose of Python client-side scripting.

Skills:

            Required: Python, C++, Java, network programming, multi-threading, strong debugging skills, extensive database experience, bash

            Nice to have: Scala, ZeroC ICE or other RPC frameworks, reactive programming, previous contribution to open source technologies, OpenGL

Databases:

            Required: experience with any of the following: Oracle, PostgreSQL, MySQL

Nice to have: Cassandra, Solr, and/or HBASE

Source Control:

Experience with any of the following version control systems: Git, Subversion, Mercurial

Unix background:

Strong Unix command line and scripting skills

Bonus:

• Development and testing of applications to enhance user experience of products
• Flexible and willing to do different things
• Experience working in a task driven environment with adherence to strict delivery deadlines
• Working in a team structure and being open to assisting in other tasks (other platform development)
• 3-5 years of commercial experience, preferably in the Visual Effects / Animation or related industry

About the team

--------------

The Core Infrastructure team is responsible for designing, writing and maintaining three-tier applications and services used by the entire company.  Imageworks has a compute farm with thousands of cores and very large amounts of storage to manage. Imageworks proved its all-CG character animation and production capabilities with the animated short, The ChubbChubbs! which won an Academy Award.  Surf's Up received an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature.  Imageworks is unique in its ability to provide quality digital production for live action, all-CG, motion capture and hybrid live-action/animated films.  Imageworks prides itself as a community of  artists supporting the imagination and expression of visual storytellers

To apply please send a resume to: tiffany@herringtonrecruitment.com   Please reference the job title in the subject line of your email.

Double Negative Singapore is hiring Pipeline TD!

Do apply to jobs@dneg.asia

Key Purpose of the Job

Senior and Lead Pipeline Technical Directors guide the work of ATDs and more junior Pipeline TDs, as well as designing and developing essential tools for the show.

Needs To Do

• Vet artist requests for new tools.
• Technical problem solving.
• Support tickets for issues related to main pipe (db), 3D and 2D.
• Tool development for 3d/2d dept normally in python.
• Facilitate the hand-off of new tools and pipeline improvements at the end of production.
• Work with CG Supervisor and R&D/Pipe to address show-specific pipeline needs.
• Create documentation and tutorials for tools and procedures.
• Develop test plans to ensure quality of both show-based and studio-based software.
• Work with artists to improve tool usability.
• Monitor and maintain show's pipeline.
• Serve as the conduit to Pipe and R&D for reporting and managing tool and pipeline fixes and new releases.
• Work with London Pipe/RnD with easing site to site data and workflow issues.
• Makes recommendations and provides solutions to improve quality, efficiency, and workflow.
• Develop new tools and scripts as required by the show.
• Write tool specs to be developed by London pipe team.
• Work with Pipe to maintain, extend, and update pipeline software.

Needs To Know

• 4+ years of experience as a Pipeline TD.
• Demonstrated ability of analyzing production procedures and solving problems.
• Expert level understanding of the Visual Effects pipeline.
• Expert knowledge and experience with Python and PyQt.
• Intermediate level or better experience with the APIs and use of Maya, Nuke and/or Houdini
• Excellent troubleshooting and debugging skills.
• Excellent customer service and communication skills.
• Proven ability to work independently and as a lead in team settings.
• Proactive and highly motivated.
• Advanced-level or better knowledge of Linux/UNIX and the command-line shell.

Method Studios is an award-winning international visual effects group with facilities in Los Angeles, Vancouver, New York, Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta, London, Sydney and Melbourne. As an artist-driven company known for its creativity, we service high-end feature film, commercial, television, games and motion graphics clients in the global marketplace.

Built around an exceptional team of visual effects professionals, Method's international facilities provide a full range of visual effects services including conceptual design, look development, on-set supervision, 3D animation/CGI, matte painting, compositing and finishing. With our global reach accented by our boutique accessibility, we have the capacity to service clientele wherever production is situated.

Method Studios Los Angeles is currently in search of a System Engineer.

Description

Method Studios is currently searching for a Systems Engineer to join its Technology team. The primary focus of this position is in systems architecture and infrastructure engineering. The candidate will require expertise in systems administration and architecture along with foundational programming ability. Candidate will work to implement and improve Method's existing in-house infrastructure, as well as integrate and maintain various third-party systems and products. Candidates will contribute to the design of future architecture in addition to evaluating and integrating third-party solutions for hardware, software, and workflow for maintenance of operations across a multi-site world-class visual effects facility.

Responsibilities and Duties

• Perform in the following technical areas:
  - Systems installation, configuration and operation
  - Core network service (LDAP, DNS, Firewall, etc.) installation and administration
  - Hardware integration and deployment
  - Software installation
  - Configuration management (Puppet)
  - Networking
  - Incident response and management
  - Security
  - Setup and installation of Linux and open-source extension packages
• Develop internal systems tools and utilities for operating, monitoring, and reporting on studio infrastructure availability and utilization.
• Develop and maintain high-level digital security standards required in a post-production environment.
• Develop and maintain written operational procedures for routine network management processes.
• Administer servers and network services: LDAP, NIS, AD,  DNS, DHCP, NFS
• Administer network switches, network storage and associated tape backup system, Virtual Server Infrastructure, Databases, User accounts, Email technologies, Firewall, Internet and Digital Security, User support and troubleshooting
• Analyze and tune systems for performance, throughput, resource utilization, high availability, and scalability.
• Evaluate system components, software, networking infrastructure and hardware peripherals for reliability, performance, scalability and security.
• Research in order to maintain a working knowledge of relevant hardware and software applications, including emerging technologies.
• Evaluate business requirements and make recommendations on systems design and hardware purchases to fulfill business needs.

Qualifications

• Bachelors in Computer Science, Information Systems or comparable professional experience
• Minimum 4 years experience in a professional systems engineering environment
• Advanced knowledge of Linux server and desktop environments
• Solid knowledge of OSX and Windows platforms
• Programming experience with at least one of Python, Bash, C/C++, Java or similar
• Experience building and operating high availability and high scalability computing systems
• Experience with VMware or OpenStack virtual infrastructures
• Knowledge of SQL databases: MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB
• Ability and desire to learn new technologies as required
• Ability to solve problems unsupervised and recommend proactive technical solutions
• Positive can-do attitude combined with the ability to work under pressure to meet deadlines
• Excellent communication and organizational skill with strong attention to detail
• Optional Skills that would be a plus:
  - Experience working in Film, TV, and/or post-production industry
  - Experience in the installation, configuration, and troubleshooting of key software packages including: Maya, Houdini, Nuke, Massive, RenderMan, Vray, Mental Ray, Mari, SynthEyes, PFTrack, Silhouette, Flame, Flare, Smoke, RV, and Hiero
  - Experience related to disaster recovery, business continuity, backup systems, tape libraries, SAN, and NAS knowledge

To apply, please send an email with your resume, availability and the subject line "Systems Engineer – (Your name)" to: la-recruiting@methodstudios.com

Please bear in mind that due the number of applications we receive, you will only hear back from us regarding suitable applications to open positions.

Method Studios is an award-winning international visual effects group with facilities in Los Angeles, Vancouver, New York, Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta, London, Sydney and Melbourne. As an artist-driven company known for its creativity, we service high-end feature film, commercial, television, games and motion graphics clients in the global marketplace.

Built around an exceptional team of visual effects professionals, Method's international facilities provide a full range of visual effects services including conceptual design, look development, on-set supervision, 3D animation/CGI, matte painting, compositing and finishing. With our global reach accented by our boutique accessibility, we have the capacity to service clientele wherever production is situated.

Method Studios Vancouver is currently in search of a 2D Pipeline TD to join the team.

Description

The 2D Technical Director works with peers and supervisors to build and support compositing tools, techniques, and procedures, to support current projects and advance the capabilities of the facility.
The role requires strong technical and communication skills, as well as a firm understanding of
compositing, color theory, software design, graphics, and production work flow.  Candidates will be required to contribute to compositing, and overall back end, development.

Responsibilities and Duties

• Design and create tools using a combination of custom libraries and Nuke's Python API
• Integrate new tools into Method's existing pipeline, using a combination of Python, C++, and the aforementioned A.P.I.’s
• Work with artists to troubleshoot and fix problems arising in the Technical Director’s area(s) of expertise

Qualifications

• Degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics or equivalent work experience
• Minimum 3 years visual effects production experience required
• Proficiency with Nuke
• Proficiency with Shotgun
• Proficiency with Python and PyQt
• Proficiency with Nuke’s Python interface, Nuke SDK experience a plus Proficiency with C++ is a plus Experience with pipeline integration, rendering, asset systems and databases

To apply please send your reel and resume to van-recruiting@methodstudios.com

Please bear in mind that due the number of applications we receive, you will only hear back from us regarding suitable applications to open positions.

Method Studios is an award-winning international visual effects group with facilities in Los Angeles, Vancouver, New York, Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta, London, Sydney and Melbourne. As an artist-driven company known for its creativity, we service high-end feature film, commercial, television, games and motion graphics clients in the global marketplace.

Built around an exceptional team of visual effects professionals, Method's international facilities provide a full range of visual effects services including conceptual design, look development, on-set supervision, 3D animation/CGI, matte painting, compositing and finishing. With our global reach accented by our boutique accessibility, we have the capacity to service clientele wherever production is situated.

Method Studios Los Angeles is currently in search of a 2D Technical Director to join the team.

Description

The 2D Technical Director works with peers and supervisors to build and support compositing tools, techniques, and procedures, to support current projects and advance the capabilities of the facility.
The role requires strong technical and communication skills, as well as a firm understanding of
compositing, color theory, software design, graphics, and production work flow.  Candidates will be required to contribute to compositing, and overall back end, development.

Responsibilities and Duties

• Design and create tools using a combination of custom libraries and Nuke's Python API
• Integrate new tools into Method's existing pipeline, using a combination of Python, C++, and the aforementioned A.P.I.’s
• Work with artists to troubleshoot and fix problems arising in the Technical Director’s area(s) of expertise

Qualifications

• Degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics or equivalent work experience
• Minimum 3 years visual effects production experience required
• Proficiency with Nuke
• Proficiency with Shotgun
• Proficiency with Python and PyQt
• Proficiency with Nuke’s Python interface, Nuke SDK experience a plus Proficiency with C++ is a plus Experience with pipeline integration, rendering, asset systems and databases

To apply please send your reel and resume to la-recruiting@methodstudios.com

Please bear in mind that due the number of applications we receive, you will only hear back from us regarding suitable applications to open positions.

As the new Senior Technical Support Specialist at Firstborn, it will be your responsibility to make sure our departments’ hardware and software is all running perfectly. We need someone with advanced experience in supporting and configuring the wide array of technologies that our departments use on a daily basis. A major aspect of this position is configuring post-production and VFX technologies in our content studio. You will also need a great deal of experience with 3D software and maintaining the render farms associated with that software.

Key Duties

•          Provide help desk and studio support with a high degree of technical skill and customer focus
•          Fulfill demanding customer Service Level Agreements (SLA's)
•          Image desktop and laptop computer hardware, perform deployment according to department standards
•          Administer and maintain studio render farm 

Must Have

• Maya 2012-2015
• Familiarity with VoIP telephony
• Solid knowledge of TCP/IP, DHCP, and DNS
• Experience supporting MS Office – Windows/Mac
• Support Creatives, Producers and Exec level end user
• Knowledge of supporting hardware in an Editing environment
• Imaging experience, ability to build render farm image and deploy
• Familiar with role-based administration, least privilege and other industry-standard best practices
• Support knowledge of our line-of-business apps including Microsoft Office 2010, Active Directory, Microsoft Exchange, Adobe Creative Suite and remote access VPN Support 
• Must be a self-starter, capable of owning small-to-midsize IT projects start-to-finish, completing deliverables with minimal supervision 

Advanced Experience

• Cinema 4D
• VRay for Maya
• Windows 7 and Mac OSX
• DaVinci Resolve Color Correction
• Experience managing render farm workflow
• Ability to administer, configure, troubleshoot Deadline 6 render farm manager and clients 
• Build custom workstations—hardware to OS
• Adobe Creative Suite, Creative Cloud and Premiere Pro
• Experience supporting 3D/VFX/Motion Graphics workflows
• Experience supporting and installing Final Cut Pro and Avid Media Composer
• Adobe After Effects along with plugins from Red Giant (Magic Bullet/Trapcode) 

Desired Skills

• Python or Perl Scripting
• Supporting Nuke/NukeX
• Knowledge in sourcing specialized software 

Desired Certifications

• MCTS, MCITP, MCSA, A+, Network+, ACMT, Linux+ 

Compensation Package

Fringe Talent is working with an animation studio in the Toronto area that is looking for a seasoned Sr. Sys Admin.  This is a full time, staff position with a great company doing interesting work.  If this job description looks like you - and you're interested in talking, please drop us a note and we'll give you more details.

Fringe Talent is an employer-retained recruiting firm specializing in VFX and Animation.  There is never a fee to the candidate.

Position: Senior Systems Administrator

Reports: IT Manager/Head of Production Technology

Key Duties and Responsibilities – Systems Administration

•  Implementation and maintenance of key IT work-flows and processes
• Setup and administration of studio network infrastructure, HPC, essential studio & production servers, and user workstations, including policy documentation (such as those related to security measures) and release to studio employees
• Management of user accounts and establishing & maintaining user intake processes
• Managing the deployment of OS, driver and software updates to HPC nodes as well as Artist workstations
• Troubleshooting issues with network and hardware issues in the HPC  and on workstations on the production floor
• Monitoring, maintaining and troubleshooting high performance production file servers
• Managing and executing full and incremental backups of production data and essential studio data, as well as revising and adapting the backup strategy as the needs of the studio evolve
• Writing and maintaining documentation for IT infrastructure and processes
• Working together with Production Technology and Production Management to provide solutions involving IT resources
• Working with, and managing relationships with, vendors and external consultants

Qualifications

• Minimum bachelor’s degree in associated discipline (e.g. Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, etc.) or diploma from a successful, accredited IT program
• 8+ years of IT systems/network/infrastructure, with minimum 2 year systems administrator experience within visual effects or feature animation studio environments
• Hands on experience with and understanding of Windows Desktop (Windows 7) systems, Active Directory and Exchange
• ZFS File System, POSIX, Windows, NFSv3 and 4 permissions.
• MySQL and PostgreSQL
• XCAT managment
• Puppet management
• Vmware ESXi clusters.
• LDAP
• DNS (BIND and AD)

• Experience with open source and enterprise level mail and calendaring systems
• Hands on experience setting up and maintaining Linux based servers, and ideally with HPC.
• Ability to communicate effectively with all of levels of technology users
• Strong organizational skills.
• Flexible and adaptable, with the ability to operate well in an environment of changing and evolving needs.
• Experience writing scripts in Python, Perl, BASH and experience with software development tools, like SVN and Trac.
• Experience setting up Data Center server rooms would be ideal

Systems Administrator - New York

MPC is one of the world's leading post production facilities creating high-end digital visual effects for the advertising, music, television and feature film industries. The company works with and continually invests in new technologies, and a key part of the organization is the Systems team which develops and maintains the infrastructure on which all the visual effects are created.

There is currently a vacancy for the position of Systems Administrator. Reporting to the Head of Technology, this role offers the successful candidate unlimited potential to advance technical skills, offers experience with state-of-the-art technology and opportunity to learn from specialist digital media colleagues.

The Administrator works in collaboration with VFX Supervisors, Compositing Supervisors, 3D Animators and Production staff to advise management and clients.

Responsibility:

• Ensure systems run reliably according to production needs.
• Installation, deployment, and troubleshooting of common VFX tools and internally developed tools including Baselight, Flame, Maya, Nuke.
• Integrate off the shelf and custom applications into production pipelines.
• Responsible for infrastructure including Tractor based Renderfarm with netbooted Linux render nodes, Isilon Storage Cluster, Linux Servers and Workstations, Network Equipment, etc.
• Work and communicate with London headquarters and counterparts in other MPC offices around the globe.
• Keep abreast of latest developments in VFX products and practices.
• Work with artists and producers to understand individual projects to serve as an expert resource and advise on technology related issues, and ways to streamline workflows and deliver jobs within budget and technical limitations.
• Direct support of end users. workstation deployment, monitor calibrations, general IT issues including email and Internet access.
• Develop and enhance all stages of the pipeline.

Required Skills and Experience:

• System Administration experience with an emphasis on UNIX/Linux.
• Familiarity with Python and UNIX Shell scripting. Tcsh, Perl, PyQt, C++ a plus.
• Familiarity with SQL Databases. MySQL and Postgres experience a plus.
• Experience with scale strongly preferred. (Renderfarms, Clusters, Clouds, Enterprise, etc.)
• Strong understanding of storage and networking. NFS, Isilon storage cluster, Alcatel + HP switch configuration, Flame/Smoke Stonefs framestore, Aspera experience all strong plusses.
• Understanding of VFX tools and pipelines. Some understanding of Color Science and Colorspaces.

If you are interested, please email your resume to newyork-jobs@moving-picture.com

Method Studios is an award-winning international visual effects group with facilities in Los Angeles, Vancouver, New York, Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta, London, Sydney and Melbourne. As an artist-driven company known for its creativity, we service high-end feature film, commercial, television, games and motion graphics clients in the global marketplace.

Built around an exceptional team of visual effects professionals, Method's international facilities provide a full range of visual effects services including conceptual design, look development, on-set supervision, 3D animation/CGI, matte painting, compositing and finishing. With our global reach accented by our boutique accessibility, we have the capacity to service clientele wherever production is situated.

Method Studios is looking for a Senior Show/Pipeline Technical Director for Feature film VFX to join their growing London office in the heart of Soho.

Responsibilities and Duties  

• Supporting existing in-house tools and frameworks. 
• Developing tools using third party and open-source software. 
• Extending and integrating asset tracking frameworks and artist tools. 
• Supporting and optimizing rendering workflows. 
• Supporting users on Linux and Mac OS X.  

Qualifications

• Strong knowledge of Python. 
• Strong knowledge of Linux and shell scripting. 
• Good Experience with Maya and Nuke APIs.
• Good understanding of VFX colour workflows. 
• Ability to problem solve unsupervised and recommend technical solutions. 
• Ability to learn new technologies as required. 
• Willingness to learn existing in-house frameworks 
• Positive can-do attitude and an ability to work under pressure and to deadlines.

Experience and Education 

Absolute requisite is:

• At least 5+ years industry experience in a similar role. 
• Undergraduate degree/diploma in a related technology discipline. 

In addition, experience of any of the following is highly desirable: 

• VFX Post Production for Feature Films - processes, techniques, technologies and software. 
• Supporting and developing tools for: 

          - Asset tracking 

          - Character/crowd pipeline 

          - QuickTime generation 

          - Familiarity with the APIs and use of: 

          - Houdini 

          - RV 

          - Alembic 

          - Qube 

          - Shotgun 

          - Arnold, Vray 

          - Programming experience in C++ 

          - Familiarity with developing on OS X platform 

          - SQL and NoSQL databases  

 To apply, please visit: http://www.methodstudios.com/careers#/london

Please bear in mind that due the number of applications we receive, you will only hear back from us regarding suitable applications to open positions. 

The IT Coordinator is responsible for providing administrative and project management support to a busy IT team supporting 200+ artists. This person is capable of resolving low-level support issues, and will be able to knowledgably escalate items and assign appropriate resources. The IT Coordinator tracks projects, monitors ticketed requests, and liaises with show Producers, artists and Management as a representative of the IT team.

Responsibilities:

• Act as the key communication point between IT Team and other departments
• Generate weekly/monthly reports/benchmarks of related IT issues for the purposes of improving IT efficiency and problem solving; share this information in production meetings
• Monitor progress of all tickets in current ticketing system; assist in research and implementation of new software ticketing system
• Perform Helpdesk fixes to resolve basic issues; promote complex issues to the attention of senior staff
• Help manage IT budget and provide administrative support pertaining to IT (ie. petty cash management, expense reporting, cheque req’s)
• Ensure IT’s responsiveness to issues and adequate follow-up to all items
• Prepare and distribute new hire packages for new artists; assist with ensuring all ticketed actions are completed on a timely basis
• Update department documentation
• Assist with managing vendor relationships
• Maintain dynamic inventory database that tracks software installs, hardware usage and workstation assignments

Requirements

• High attention to detail and strong organization skills
• Excellent interpersonal skills for dealing with various departments
• Good project management skills to prioritize items and ensure adequate follow-up
• 1-3 years experience troubleshooting hardware issues in an IT support role required
• 1-3 years Experience installing software, patches, updates in an IT support role required
• Media industry experience an asset

Interested applicants should send a resume and cover letter to hireme@gurustudio.com with IT COORDINATOR in the subject line.

We thank all applicants for their interest however only selected candidates will be contacted. No phone calls or drop-ins, no staffing agencies please.

Overview:

The Director of Operations and Technology is responsible for supervising and leading both long-term and day-to-day Studio Operations and Technology initiatives. The Director works closely with the VP of Production, Workflow Process & Design Engineer and Managing Technical Director on issues related to Production resources while providing project support to large-scale pipeline development initiatives. The Director supervises the IT and Studio Operations Teams and is responsible for developing a long-term asset and resource strategy for these departments.

Responsibilities:

• Enable and Support Best-In-Class Digital Media Operation.
• Develop, track, and control assigned project, annual IT and operating budgets; Deliver and execute with maximum efficiency and effectiveness, and minimized, optimized cost. 
• Drive Quality across the organization through effective partnerships with Operations, Production and Technology Teams 
• Develop business case justifications and cost/benefit analyses for technology and operations related spending and initiatives, including strategic outsourcing opportunities
• Oversee the management of customer, partner, subcontractor and supplier relationships
• Champion a culture of quality and continuous improvement to enhance customer satisfaction and organization competitiveness; Ensure their teams keep abreast of industry trends and emerging technologies and applications; Seek experts from both within the company and the industry to engage in training opportunities
• Partner with management to keep the IT and Operations team engaged motivated, and committed to performing at their highest potentials.
• Address and proactively communicate quality issues and develop and document standard operating procedures and quality assurance plans. 
• Identify and actively manage bottle-neck resources across workflows, ensure that content protection and content security practices are adequately addressed; Champion and drive Business Management process and other continual process improvement opportunities for efficient workflow and cost reduction across all Studio Operations
• Supervise and manage cellphone and mobile technology usage within the studio
• Responsible for initiating opportunities for staff to provide input into meaningful skills and training topics and areas, which can advance team goals and results.

Requirements:

• Ideally 5+ years of Production experience
• Strong Project Management skills are a must; PMP certification an asset
• Previous experience and involvement in Information Technology projects is ideal
• Post-Production experience an asset
• Exceptional leadership and team-building skills
• Exceptional communication skills to interface with management, vendors and clients

Interested applicants should send a resume and cover letter with DIRECTOR, OPERATIONS & TECHNOLOGY in the subject line to hireme@gurustudio.com

We thank all applicants for their interest however only selected candidates will be contacted. No phone calls or drop-ins, no staffing agencies please.