Lead Software Developer - VFX Platform and Ams

Job Description

Technicolor Creative Studios is the division with Technicolor, which contains Technicolor's world-leading Visual effects and Animation brands such as MPC, Mr. X, The Mill, and Mikros.

Technicolor's brands have worked on the spectacular scenes and tiny details that make movies, advertising campaigns and Animation movies genuinely mind-blowing. We're the people behind the effects in countless blockbuster films like The Lion King, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run and advertising campaigns for clients such as Samsung, Audi, Nike and Apple. We are continually looking for the best talent globally, enthusiastic people who come in every day to be a part of some of the industry's best work.

Technicolor's artists are wildly creative, uber-talented and passionate about the possibilities of VFX, Experiential, Animation and Technology. When you join the team, you'll be working with and learning from the most skilled people in the business.

Technicolor Production Services is the division that contains our world-leading Visual effects and Animation brands such as MPC, Mr X, The Mill, and Mikros. Key to the success of our division and its brands is winning the war on talent through acquiring and growing a community where artistry meets technology.

About The Team and Our Work
Our status as a world-class VFX facility has been achieved through the development of industry-leading software which empowers our artists to create stunning imagery. We have curated a considerable portfolio of off-the-shelf and in-house software to meet these unique requirements, and continue to evolve and improve our technology as new needs emerge. The Core Engineering team operates within a larger R&D division to provide the business critical infrastructure that enables multiple projects with thousands of shots to be simultaneously completed across the globe efficiently and to the highest quality.

A blend of globally distributed software, systems and operations experts, we are responsible for building and maintaining key infrastructure and services in collaboration with site-local engineering teams and other specialized development teams. With users in all areas of the company, our solution (the Core Platform) is based on a distributed micro-services environment providing capabilities in areas such as compute, storage, sync, and digital asset management. Development and operational support spans the stack from operating system through to desktop/web application front-ends.

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.
• Contribute to the design and implementation of the Data Model underpinning assets and scenes.
• 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 platform as required.
• Work with the product owner and stakeholders to establish requirements and report progress.

Qualifications

Required Skills and Experience
• At least 5 years of experience in Computer Graphics in a VFX or AAA Game setting.
• At least 3 of those 5 years spent 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.
• Strong knowledge of microservices architecture, design and implementation. SQL and general database knowledge for query writing and optimization.
• A working understanding of HTTP and JSON. Solid knowledge of testing principles, in particular TDD and/or BDD.
• Collaborative and team-oriented approach to product development, working with teams across locations, time zones 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;
• Knowledge of the various components used to develop micro-service frameworks (such as uWSGI, NGINX, RabbitMQ and Flask).
• Knowledge in k8/Kubernetes and Docker.Knowledge of monitoring tools (such as Prometheus, Alert Manager, Grafana and Graylog).
• Understanding of CI/CD best practices and advocate for their use and improvement. 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 Cross-platform development on Windows and OS X.
• 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-g69qzj-3-137-183-14-42 in your application.