Render and Data Wrangling Supervisor

General Summary
The Render and Data Wrangling Supervisor is responsible for ensuring that LAIKA’s render farm resources are running as efficiently as possible. This position will be responsible for training and overseeing the Render and Data Wrangling team and monitoring and controlling the rendering process, digital file management, and working with the Digital and Studio Pipeline teams to maintain healthy operation of the render farm for the studio during a deadline-driven feature production.

Job Functions

• Liaise with Production Management and VFX to strategize render priorities, supervise the VFX and stage render queues, and model usage projections to appropriately allocate resources based on requirements to ensure that rendering schedules and deadlines are met.
• Work closely with the Core Technology team to ensure the farm is running efficiently and determine appropriate plans for future data and technology needs and prepare resource estimates to plan for the upcoming year.
• Actively engage in developing and refining the efficiencies of the rendering and data management pipelines through workflow structuring or scripting.
• Train and supervise the Render and Data Wrangling team on best practices, coordinate the Render team’s schedule to ensure proper coverage, and help foster the Render and Data Wranglers’ professional skills.
• In collaboration with the VFX Production Management and Pipeline teams, develop regular reporting to identify and predict rendering trends and bottlenecks, and provide weekly updates on render farm’s performance and usage.
• Monitor rendering quality and quantity by assessing render submissions for optimizations and troubleshoot any potential problems; collaborate with Supervisors and Leads concerning approaches, issues and solutions, and support VFX artists with farm submission errors, inefficiencies and questions.
• Monitor render farm performance to ensure there are no technical or machine problems which might interfere with a successful output of VFX imagery; respond to errors by diagnosing, identifying and resolving or escalating, as necessary.
• Inspect and confirm the integrity of media before it leaves the department, including providing quality control for media intended for a wide audience.
• Monitor disk server status and estimate usage to ensure availability of disk resources; perform backups, archiving, cleanups and restores.
• Actively engage in developing and refining the efficiencies of the rendering and data management pipelines through workflow structuring or scripting.
  

Qualifications

• 4+ years’ of experience as a Render/Data Wrangler in a CG Animation and/or VFX environment.
• 2 – 4+ years’ experience in data management, data integrity and naming conventions.
• Demonstrated experience in a leadership role within a team.
• Highly organized problem solver with strong analytical and troubleshooting skills.
• A helpful, customer-service attitude coupled with the ability to multi-task and manage tight deadlines from multiple sources; ability to communicate in both a technical and artistic manner with various personality types.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills are required for communicating with the team, management and other departments.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team, open to direction, and responsive to changing production needs with calm professionalism.
• Ability to learn new software quickly, and learn on the job, if necessary.
• Technical understanding of digital workflows and terminology in a VFX/animation/post-production feature film environment required.
• Strong LINUX/UNIX, Windows and Mac skills.
• Preferred skills include scripting/programming in Python, as well as basic familiarity with one or more key production software programs such as Maya, RenderMan, Nuke, Katana, or Houdini, ShotGrid, RV, and/or Hiero.
  

Physical Demands and Work Environment
The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Physical demands: While performing the duties of this job, the employee is required to walk; stand; sit; use hands to operate standard office equipment; reach with hands and arms; balance; stoop; talk or hear both in person and by telephone. The employee must lift and/or move up to 15 pounds. Vision abilities include close vision, distance vision, and the ability to adjust focus.
• Work environment: While performing the duties of this job, the employee works under typical office conditions and is exposed to variable indoor temperatures. The noise level is usually quiet or moderate.
  

Location
On-site in Hillsboro, OR / and also eligible for hybrid work

Salary
Salary is commensurate with skills and experience.

Disclaimer The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this classification. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required of personnel so classified.