From DVanhove@dreamworks.com Thu Apr 24 15:06:40 2003 From: "Vanhove, Dana" Subject: Opportunities at DreamWorks DreamWorks (Glendale, CA) and PDI/DreamWorks (Redwood City, CA) have several openings in our animation technology department; job descriptions below. If you or any of your colleagues are interested in applying, please reply back to me with a current resume in the body of the message, and we will follow up if we see a "fit." (Feel free to forward this on to anyone else who might be interested and have them reply back directly to me). Thanks, Dana **************************** Dana Vanhove DreamWorks Feature Animation Recruiting 1000 Flower St. Glendale, CA 91201 p: 818-695-5000 f: 818-695-3320 e: dvanhove@dreamworks.com **************************** Department TD The Department Support TD is responsible for defining and supporting the technical production process and throughput of high quality computer animation and is the technical support for all DreamWorks departments including modeling, layout, motion, lighting. Responsibilities: Implement and maintain pipeline architecture Implement new software and features into pipeline Write or modify software or scripts to integrate different processes into the pipeline Assist in the training of co-workers in the technical production process Work closely with artists to understand the creative workflow and reduce inefficiency through technical support and education. Preferred Skills: Languages: Mel, Perl, Python, C/C+, RenderMan Shading Language Software: Maya, RenderMan, Mental Ray 3 Years in a production environment is highly desirable. Degree in Computer Science or other similar background preferred. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Show Lead (Glendale) The Animation Technology Show Lead, or Production Software Supervisor, is an Animation Technology (AT) position. The Show Lead has a direct report to the Head of Software, but is also accountable to an assigned show's CG Supervisor(s) (or equivalent technical leadership) and through them to a show's Department leads, as well as Production Management. The responsibilities are varied but generally focus on (1) development and support of pipeline infrastructure, (2) deployment and support of AT developed Studio tools (e.g. DrawTools, PDI Renderer) and 3rd party tools (e.g. Maya), as well as (3) acting as a general liaison (among several) to the AT group on technical issues encountered on the show. The position roughly parallels the position of Lead Production TD on the production side, but is generally focused on a longer term Technology Studio agenda rather than providing day-to-day shot level support. The position of Show Lead requires a breadth of understanding of the overall production pipeline, a fair depth of technical understanding in the tools and processes being supported, excellent problem solving skills, solid software development/process skills, basic scripting abilities (Perl, Python, Mel...). Good communication skills, as well as good team management skills. The Show Lead manages a group of Software TDs (SWTDs), also under AT, which can vary in size from show to show. With some frequency, the Show Lead will also request and supervise developer resources from the core AT group. Each SWTD is typically assigned to a specific department on the show and is physically located within the department they are supporting. While their day-to-day software development and support is most often focused on the needs of their department, the Show Lead has a responsibility in directing their development based on a priority view of the show's overall software/support needs. The SWTD position roughly parallels the position of Production TD on the production side, although again it is generally focused on a longer term Technology Studio agenda rather than providing shot level support. The position of SWTD requires solid software development skills (C/C++) and scripting skills (Perl, Python, Mel), a fair depth of technical understanding of the tools and processes used within the department (which varies from department to department), good communication skills, and an eagerness and aptitude to work closely with production artists. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Software Engineers (Character Set-up Tools) (Glendale and Redwood City) This role has a primary responsibility for support of character setup tools like adb set-up, adb shaper and various "c" actors that the character TD's use, and to develop new character tools outside of the unified deformation system effort. Candidates should have an affinity for character setup and motion and have the necessary background in math, geometry, and deformation. Some user interface experience is preferred. Candidates will need to work closely and directly with lead character TD's, collaborating and understanding their issues in order to deliver appropriate tools. People in these positions will have to be very strong in successfully building personal, productive relationships with extremely busy character TD's. Requirements: BSCS (MSCS Preferred), along with 3-5 years of professional and related experience in a "c" environment working with character setup related tools. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- UI Software Engineers (Animation Tools) (Glendale and Redwood City) This role is for highly skilled, self-motivated software engineers with proven experience in key areas of digital film technology production. These technologists will join an existing team of world-class software engineers in the creation of tools employed in the making of several upcoming CG films. As a software engineer in our R&D Animation Tools Group you will be part of a small team of developers working on proprietary character animation software, with a strong emphasis on writing user interfaces that do not suck. Duties will include ongoing support and working closely with animators to improve the design and functionality of the tool. Knowledge of C/C++, X11, OpenGL is a plus. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Software Engineer (Rendering) (Glendale) The Software Development group is looking for experienced programmers to join our team of proprietary graphics software developers at our Glendale studio. We work in an Intel/Linux SGI/IRIX Open GL/C programming environment building extremely high-quality computer animation tools, used to create character animation, rendering and special effects for feature length animation films. Candidates should enjoy working closely with end users and other programmers to design and build focused, efficient, interactive graphics software. Must be comfortable adhering to programming and user interface standards, enjoy complex imagery and animation, be self-motivated, self-managing, and team oriented. Life-long love of graphics programming, pragmatic engineering mentality and healthy cynical world view a plus. Requirements: * 2+ years of experience writing core rendering software * Good knowledge of high-end production renderer architecture * Familiar with the main algorithms involved in a rendering pipeline * Experience writing shaders or/and shading languages * Experience with image processing and compositing a plus * Excellent software engineering and coding standards * Enjoy complex algorithms that produce optimal non-popping animation ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Production Engineers (Redwood City & Glendale) PDI/DreamWorks and DreamWorks Animation are looking for Production Engineers and Animation production software and pipeline architect/developers. Responsible for design, multi-application systems and software/hardware integration projects. Interface with animators and technical directors as a first line of involvement to solve production issues. Challenges in new developments of improving feature film software systems and tools. Mid-Level = Some CG Pipeline experience preferred. Senior-Level = 2+ years CG Pipeline experience within industry. Requirements (for both): - Industry experience in developing large software and/or hardware systems. - Shell Scripting (csh,sh), Perl scripting, C, C++, and Java programming. - Object-oriented development. - Excellent Unix and Linux skills. - Knowledge of relational database design (implementation experience a plus). - System administration skills preferred. - Experience with large-scale fileservers (SGI, Sun, HP, Network Appliance). - Excellent verbal and written communication skills. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Quality Assurance Engineer - (Redwood City) The Software Development and SQA groups at PDI/DreamWorks are looking for a Software Quality Assurance Engineer to test our suite of production software. This suite includes all proprietary production software from revision control systems for production assets to high end 3D authoring tools. We are looking for a detail oriented, problem solver with good communication skills who is comfortable multi-tasking and working in a dynamic and complex production/development environment. We would like someone who would be enthusiastic and capable of becoming an expert user of our 3D production software used for modeling, layout, character set-up, animation, surfacing, lighting, rendering and effects. Areas of Responsibility: * Become an expert user of several distinct sets of production software * Perform regression testing * Build test cases * Write test documentation (test plans, etc.) * Help build and maintain test architecture (scripts, suites, harnesses, etc.) * Administration of our bug tracking system * Work closely with management, software developers, and production users * An optimal candidate would have one or more of the following: * Experience testing graphics or design software * Experience using or testing 3D modeling and/or animation software * Scripting experience (Perl, Python, Javascript, etc.) * Test automation experience ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Senior Unix Systems Administrator (Glendale) Candidates should possess a solid understanding of a UNIX-based operating system, including knowledge of kernel and network services. Familiarity with journaled filesystems, TCP/IP, NFS, LDAP, etc. is highly desirable, as is experience with network-attached storage devices such as Netapp Filers. Experience with administration in a heterogeneous UNIX/Linux environment is essential. Ability to write scripts using shell or Perl required. Strong inter-personal and communication skills are essential. A Bachelor's degree in computer science or a related technical field is desirable, however, the successful candidate will demonstrate his/her ability with at least 3 - 5 years of systems administration experience in a large site. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Junior Systems Administrator (Redwood City) Assist the systems administrators in supporting a group of animators and support staff and with the installation and daily maintenance of all hardware, troubleshooting and maintenance of software, computers, peripherals, and networks. Responsibilities: · Administration of systems · Calibration · Equipment set-up · General facilities support Requirements: - 1-2 years Unix experience Hardware a plus