Weta Digital is now accepting applications from Virtual Art Department TDs who are available and based in, or interested in relocating to New Zealand for roles opening up now! Any successful applicant from outside New Zealand should expect to initially carry out their duties on a remote basis prior to travel to NZ.

The Virtual Art Department is one of only a few of its kind in the world. Our small and passionate team of generalists deliver real-time assets for Mocap, Previs and Animation using the unique Weta proprietary pipeline and contribute to the successful delivery of shows. In VAD we value our diverse culture and professional backgrounds and we encourage an atmosphere of learning and teamwork.

While working closely with the team, the VAD TD is responsible for independently investigating, understanding and implementing most bug fixes and feature requests relevant to VAD workflows, ensuring they are delivered effectively and on time.

You'll help create and maintain movie-making techniques and strive to guarantee a stable workflow and toolsets for completing VAD tasks; this includes providing assistance and appropriate solutions for any real-time application of all VAD deliverables. 

To thrive in this role, you’ll have proven experience in a production environment and be comfortable working toward long term solutions, while effectively delivering immediate functionality.  Being able to communicate effectively, give and receive constructive feedback and work collaboratively will be critical to your success in this role.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Ensuring that there is adequate tool and pipeline support for all VAD artists working on shows 
• Representing the VAD team at meetings such as tech meetings, workflows etc.
• Supporting production by assigning work based on task or technical requirements.
• Informing show and dept supervision/management when planning workflows and scheduling work
• Effectively communicating with technical and non-technical users to flag issues and offer solutions 
• Balancing and maintaining an overview across multiple workflows while providing short-term and long-term support/solutions
• Efficient and accessible organization of set ups to share with other artists, to efficiently provide fully textured assets for all applicable uses in real-time

We are looking for candidates with the following attributes:

• Professional experience of Maya 3D modeling with strong scripting abilities in Python (4+ years)
• Pyqt/PySide experience (4+ years)
• Comfortable with troubleshooting/enhancing/refactoring existing code
• The ability to work under pressure and to tight deadlines, taking direction and addressing written and verbal feedback with quick turnarounds
• Self-motivated, approachable, proactive, adaptable and a passionate team player with collaborative dev experience
• Able to thrive in fast-paced/time-critical environments
• Able to gather requirements and user feedback independently
• Flexibility to perform in a constantly changing work environment, able to compromise and still provide suitable solutions with a genuine interest in problem solving
• Texture skills for texturing assets using any of the following: Mari, Photoshop, Quixel, Substance Painter/Designer
• Experience working at a VFX or AAA Game Studio

Applicants are encouraged to provide and/or describe examples of UI they’ve designed and users feedback 

Please note, you may need to travel offsite and outside of New Zealand (once permitted) if required.

Weta Digital is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate our diversity and believe in creating an environment where all our crew feel welcomed, respected, supported and appreciated.

If this sounds like you, send your application, we can’t wait to hear from you!