Groom Supervisor - Expression of Interest

This role is considered Hybrid, which means the employee will work 2-3 days onsite at a Company designated location and occasionally from home.

This posting is an opportunity to submit your resume for future consideration; this is not a role that is open at this time. We anticipate this role may be open in the future, but we are not actively hiring for the position. If you would like to be considered for this potential role, please submit your resume. If the role becomes available, you may receive an email or call from a recruiter.

Position Summary

ILM’s Groom team sits alongside our Digital Model Shop and Creature teams, creating hair, fur, and feather grooms for characters and creatures as part of the Creature / Character pipeline for high-end VFX projects. The Groom Supervisor is responsible for the creation of outstanding character and creature grooms. They also provide supervision and direction for a team of artists who create the desired grooms, ensuring that they are created and rendered according to the designs and visual style of the project. They have experience in leading and mentoring teams, as well as all aspects of groom work in a production pipeline. This position serves as a role model for the Groom team, with the objective of fostering a collaborative team environment, and producing high-quality imagery. Groom Supervisors will also work with the Local HOD and global Groom team to actively drive the direction of groom technology and workflows at ILM.  

What You’ll Do

• Creation of fur/feather/hair grooms for characters, creatures and props using a mix of off the shelf and ILM proprietary tools

• Working in collaboration and under the direction of the VFX Supervisor, the Groom Supervisor is responsible for the supervision, quality control, and delivery of grooms for CG assets, ensuring that they will satisfy the style and quality of the production

• Consult with the VFX Supervisor, CG Supervisor, Model Supervisor, Look Development Supervisor, Texture Supervisor and Lighting Supervisor to assess the technical feasibility of elements in the designs and implement production friendly workflows that will maintain the vision of the film

• Responsible for bidding the work and proactively driving the overall groom schedule, and balancing artistic and productivity requirements in tandem with production management and other department Supervisors

• Attend all relevant show production and team meetings to promote effective communication throughout the show production team

• Responsible for guiding artists’ overall professional development, providing performance feedback, facilitating overall team building efforts, and maintaining positive morale amongst the crew

• Participate in recruiting and staffing of the Groom team by assessing the work of prospective candidates throughout the hiring process. Collaborate with Recruiting, HOD and Talent Management on hiring decisions, as needed

• Look after other artists to ensure they are meeting all requirements of the show

• Work closely with additional departments in the Creature workflow including Modeling, Look Development, Texture, Simulation, Rigging and Production for all technical, aesthetic and schedule needs

• Train and mentor new artists as well as provide technical assistance to the show Supervisors before and during the production

• Maintains or exceeds consistent level of productivity while meeting deadlines and producing high quality work

• Actively work on the department as a whole including balancing their time across multiple shows to drive the quality bar for groom work across productions 

• Independently and alongside the local Groom HOD be a constant driving force working with the global Groom teams to ensure continued development of the department, its technology, workflows and talent. Proactively bring new ideas and solutions to the table to raise the entire department up in quality and efficiency

What We’re Looking For

• 10+ years of experience within a high-end VFX facility

• 3+ years of proven leadership experience on multiple projects, leading groom for the full project lifecycle and mentoring teams of artists

• Great knowledge and proven experience of developing tool sets, templates and defining workflows

• A leader with a real passion driving continuous improvement within the department, fostering a great team energy and environment for others to progress and succeed 

• Demo reel and portfolio illustrating outstanding artistic eye, knowledge and experience in high end VFX 

• Attention to detail

• Proven groom skills within a high-end VFX production environment

• Must have an extremely creative and critical eye for driving the look and feel of a groom, especially when direction is unclear. Takes ownership in the ability to interpret others visions to realise an end goal

• Must be a skilled decision maker, problem solver, and an exceptional communicator

• Proven leadership abilities and ability to work effectively with individuals from diverse skill sets

• Bidding and scheduling experience is required

• Expert in Houdini including strong ability with Vex and or Python

• Nice to have:

  • Fantastic organisational skills

  • Proficient in Maya, Mari, zBrush, Photoshop

  • Ability to liaise with various parts of the Computer Graphics pipeline

  • Ability to navigate complex Computer Graphics pipelines

JoinILM

The hiring range for this position in Vancouver is C$140,000.00 to C$179,200.00 per year based on a 40-hour work week. The amount of hours scheduled per week may vary based on business needs. The base pay actually offered will take into account internal equity and also may vary depending on the candidate’s geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors. A full range of medical, financial, and/or other variable pay or benefits, may be offered dependent on the level and position offered.