Lead Software Developer - Pipeline

Job Description

The Moving Picture Company (MPC) has been a global leader in visual effects (VFX) for over 25 years, with established facilities across the globe.
We are renowned for adding visual wonder and creative expertise to the film, advertising and entertainment industries, with some of our most famous projects including the blockbuster movies Blade Runner 2049, The Jungle Book, The Lion King and 1917, and advertising campaigns for Channel 4, Sony and IKEA.

MPC is part of Technicolor's premiere portfolio of Production Services, working alongside Mr. X and Mikros, providing tailor-cut, high end services for the world's best storytellers, and operating at the highest level of quality across massive scales of turnaround for tens of thousands of shots every year.

With a full slate of incredibly high profile pictures for 2021 and 2022, and renewed efforts to harmonize the technology stack across Business Units, MPC is at the centre of an exciting modernization and retooling of its pipeline, continuing to push boundaries on scale, performance, and artist experience.

We're looking for a lead developer to help us with our continued efforts to advance and maintain our existing Pipeline across Film, Episodic and Virtual Production, with a view to increased artist flexibility, unity of pipelines, cross Business Unit sharing of assets and the role of USD alongside an AMS.

The VFX Pipeline is at the heart of every production and is a key part in helping our artists deliver amazing work; if you are passionate about data, architecture, artist and TD quality of life, and want to make meaningful contributions to one of the most productive environments in the industry, we want to hear from you!

Primary Responsibilities
• Work with, and inform, leadership to shape the technical implementation and architecture or key client services in the pipeline.
• Help leadership to track progress and outcomes, and provide key insight when a change of direction is needed.
• Work with projects across Film, Episodic and Virtual Production to provide solutions and guidance for their pipelines
• Work with and mentor more junior members of the team to help resolve issues and solve problems.
• Contribute to developer facing or user facing documentation as applicable.
• Operate as a domain specialist and point person for multiple teams or projects when applicable.
• Taking responsibility for code quality, always leaving projects in better state than before you started work.
• Evangelise use of the Core Platform within MPC and other Technicolor business units.
• Take part in the hiring process by screening applicants, participating in interviews or posing interview questions as required.
• Provide some level of operational support for the pipeline as required.
• Work with the product owner and stakeholders to establish requirements and report progress.

Qualifications
• Advanced experience with Computer Graphics in a VFX or AAA Game setting.
• Advanced experience in a pipeline or tool development role.
• Production-level experience using Python for desktop applications, service backends or development infrastructure.
• Experience with structured development operations (ticketing, reportage, version control etc.)
• Experience and vision around the structuring and implementation of Asset Management and Pipeline-centric projects
• Understanding of and the ability to operate in a structured DevOps context
• Basic skills in GUI/UX development, and willingness to occasionally develop PoC level frames to demonstrate or propose concepts and ideas
• Familiarity with modern structured development practices, documentation needs, and the tools that support them is very important.
• Solid knowledge of testing principles, in particular TDD and/or BDD.
• Collaborative and team-oriented approach to product development, working with teams across locations, timezones and cultures.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills

Nice to Have

The following are not essential to be successful in the role, however prior experience or the desire to grow in these areas will be of benefit;
• Understanding of CI/CD best practices and advocate for their use and improvement.
• An understanding of the Virtual Production space within VFX
• C++ knowledge will be an added advantage.
• Demonstrable knowledge operating and implementation for a VFX Centric DCC (Maya, Houdini)
• Strong understanding and some experience working with USD directly
• Knowledge of Python packages and frameworks such as Flask, PyQt, PyMySQL, etc.
• An interest in the architectural perspective - contributing to architectural decisions and other technical documentation.
• Experience of Agile and lean methodologies, and an interest in process improvement in these areas.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced and dynamic environment where requirements change.
• Able to present technical concepts to a broad audience with varying level of technical understanding.
• Experience working with large, legacy code bases; from maintenance and refactoring through to end-of-life support.
• An awareness of security and keeping content secure.

Soft Skills
• Highly committed and able to transition between independent work and team participation.
• Positive attitude towards learning, sharing and mentoring.
• Organized and methodical with an ability to communicate efficiently within a technical team.

This is an exciting opportunity to work in the dynamic world of visual effects. If you are an ambitious software developer looking for an opportunity to work with cutting edge technology then we look forward to your application.

Jobcode: Reference SBJ-rjvkzw-18-118-145-114-42 in your application.