Lead FX Technical Director (Freelance)

About the role

This is a freelance position within the New York team, candidates must be available from roughly September 2026 thru May 2027. Remote work is acceptable (from within the USA), but hybrid is encouraged and you may need to come into the office upon request. Ideal candidates will be based in the New York area, and must have valid US work authorization at time of hire.

Key responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and supervise a team of CFX and FX Technical Directors, setting artistic and technical standards for complex character dynamic simulations and environmental FX.
• Design, build, and stress‑test production setups for complex character/creature FX (hero cloth, hair/fur groom dynamics, skin drift, and tissue/muscle deformation) alongside traditional FX.
• Run hero‑level shot simulations, perform shot sculpting, apply lighting and shaders, and produce reviewable composites for final delivery.
• Partner with other departments to ensure seamless asset handoffs and resolve inter‑departmental pipeline bottlenecks.
• Conduct regular artistic and technical reviews, providing clear, constructive feedback to ensure output aligns with project targets and visual expectations.

Required profile

• Proven senior or lead experience specializing in character dynamics such as cloth, fur/hair, skin, and muscle simulations.
• High‑level mastery of Houdini (Vellum, Carbon, FLIP, VEX) and Maya.
• Strong understanding of animation principles, physical dynamics, and creature anatomy/biomechanics.
• Advanced scripting and tool development expertise in Python, VEX, HScript on Linux, plus familiarity with lighting/rendering (Arnold, V‑Ray) and compositing (Nuke).

Required skills

• Houdini (Vellum, Carbon, FLIP, VEX)
• Maya
• Python
• VEX
• HScript
• Linux
• Arnold
• V‑Ray
• Nuke
• C/C++
• USD pipelines