Technical Assistant

Job Description

Description

Position at Industrial Light & Magic

Technical Assistants (TAs) are primarily responsible for managing compute and storage production resources. They work very closely with artists, production, and other technical staff to ensure resources are allocated appropriately and used in the most efficient manner possible. By working closely with production TAs are afforded the opportunity to learn the artistic workflows, pipelines and tools first-hand.

This is the studio’s main entry-level position which feeds into other technical and artistic positions. It offers a great chance to get in on the ground floor of an exciting career in computer graphics and animation for major Hollywood feature films.

Primary Responsibilities
• Works with the CG Supervisors, Assistant Technical Directors, and Production Engineering Team to ensure shows follow proper data management procedures.
• Prioritizes overnight renders on both Linux and Windows render farm. Coordinates processor allocations with Production. Balances processor demands within show, between shows, and as a share of facility pool.

Monitors processor and file server utilization and health of jobs in the farm throughout the day and overnight. Identifies problem shots and works with artists to fix issues.
• Monitors disk usage for the facility, with a particular focus on individual shows, and on a shot-by-shot basis within those shows. Coordinates show storage needs on a long-term basis with Resource manager. Coordinates and executes the finaling process for shots and shows.
• Prioritizes, manages, and maintains archive of show data, including creation of archival backups for shows, maintenance of archive database, storage and retrieval of physical media for recent show archives. Fulfills all data restoration requests, including archival research to locate requested data.
• Manage reference materials through our internal image library system. This includes uploading/removing of images and provide assistance when users encounter issues with the system.
• Handle any data management requests such as file transfer, image conversion, archive/restore, and data removal.
• Responsible for maintaining and updating department software as a team. Works closely with our Production Engineering team to ensure that code is clean and well maintained.

Education / Experience
• Diploma or Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science or equivalent.

Required Skills / Competencies
• Proven ability and experience working well on teams.
• Aesthetic eye and/or artistic background highly desired.
• Knowledge of, and experience with, 3D modeling/animation software (i.e. Maya) highly desired.
• Proven knowledge of and experience with UNIX/Linux & Windows operating systems.
• Strong scripting language (i.e. Python, Perl) and programming language (i.e. C/C++, Java) preferred.
• Database knowledge preferred (i.e. Oracle).
• Familiarity with film and video post-production and/or computer graphics techniques highly desired.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills required. Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to effectively interact with diverse personalities.
• Strong time management skills; Ability to multi-task and prioritize.
• Proven ability to work autonomously and in team settings.
• Highly motivated.
• Ability to work shift hours as required.

About The Walt Disney Company:

The Walt Disney Company, together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, is a leading diversified international family entertainment and media enterprise with the following business segments: media networks, parks and resorts, studio entertainment, consumer products and interactive media. From humble beginnings as a cartoon studio in the 1920s to its preeminent name in the entertainment industry today, Disney proudly continues its legacy of creating world-class stories and experiences for every member of the family. Disney's stories, characters and experiences reach consumers and guests from every corner of the globe. With operations in more than 40 countries, our employees and cast members work together to create entertainment experiences that are both universally and locally cherished.

This position is with Lucasfilm Entertainment Company Ltd. LLC, which is part of a business segment we call Industrial Light & Magic.

Jobcode: Reference SBJ-d9zejm-18-219-236-62-42 in your application.