Pipeline TD

Company Overview

      ICON Creative Studio is Canada’s largest independently owned animation entertainment company, located in the historic Gastown district of Vancouver, BC. Our talented team includes specialists across the entire animation pipeline, working alongside creative and management professionals to deliver outstanding animated content.

Known for our commitment to quality, efficiency, and timely deliveries, ICON has partnered with distributors, broadcasters, and leading streaming platforms worldwide to create and produce noteworthy, impactful projects.

We operate from a holistic philosophy, leveraging the unique skill sets of our team members to maximize production efficiency while maintaining an optimal balance of creativity and quality on-screen.

Why work at ICON?

• Collaborate on top-tier feature and episodic CG franchises for major streaming platforms, including Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV+, Amazon, Peacock, and Paramount+.
• Be part of a diverse team of artists from around the globe who have joined us here in British Columbia.
• Work with the latest tools and software, ensuring you're always equipped to do your best work.
• Be part of a studio that upholds a premium standard of quality across all productions, putting every resource into what’s on-screen.
• Enjoy flexibility, autonomy, and a supportive workplace culture.
• Access direct deposit and a generous benefits package.
• Grow with us through continuous learning opportunities, mentorship, and empowering you to achieve your professional goals.

Pipeline Technical Director

The purpose of the Pipeline department is to nurture an environment for the effective and efficient production of media through research, innovation, and the application of technology.

A Pipeline TD requires a general understanding of how data flows through the studio from beginning to end. Often with intimate knowledge of the operations in a particular department or area of expertise. With this knowledge, you will be expected to recognize when the pipeline is not running smoothly and make necessary adjustments.

The applicant may be expected to demonstrate their skills through a programming test or exercise.

This position will report to the Pipeline Supervisor (Head of Department).

Responsibilities:

• Provide courteous and professional technical support
• Evaluate issues and requests generated by production (tickets), implementing technical solutions as needed
• Notify supervisor of any anticipated disruptions to production schedules
• Identify and automate inefficient or redundant tasks
• Provide regular updates on current development efforts and projects
• Maintain knowledge of the workflows and processes of the studio Pipeline
• Attend regular production and departmental meetings
• Participate in code reviews and training sessions
• Maintain documentation for new and modified tools/systems
• Perform code maintenance and refactoring
• Write effective, readable and maintainable code
• Stay informed about new technologies and techniques
• Follow departmental coding standards
• Follow departmental development and deployment practices
• Abide by the ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct

Required Skills:

• Willingness to understand and contemplate complex technical 
• Take a proactive approach to investigation and troubleshooting issues
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Strong organizational skills
• Good time management
• Use of Design Patterns and SOLID programming principles
• Fluency with the Python programming language
• Good understanding of visual effects and/or animation pipelines
• Proven experience writing pipeline tools and modifying workflows

Desirable Skills

• A degree in Computer Science, Computer Graphics or related field
• Knowledge of database management and web technologies
• Experience in Pipeline, System Administration or Software Development
• Familiarity with standard software development practices
• Experience of UI and UX design using Qt libraries
• Experience with writing or maintaining REST-ful APIs
• Prior experience using:
  • Digital Content Creation (DCC) Applications:
    • Maya / Zbrush / Nuke / Houdini / MARI / Premiere / Photoshop

• MEL / PyMEL / Maya Python API (1 & 2) / Maya C++ API
• Version/Source control (Git / BitBucket / GitLab)
• Issue Tracking (YouTrack)
• Production Tracking (Shotgun)
• Farm schedulers (Deadline)
• Renderers (Arnold)
• Editing (Adobe Premiere)
• Universal Scene Description / Alembic
• Additional programming languages (C++ / Java)

--

The wage range for this role reflects compensation across all of ICON’s projects. The final salary will be determined based on the specific position, the current show assignment, and the applicant’s experience and portfolio. This range accounts for varying levels of experience and responsibilities.

In compliance with British Columbia provincial mandates, we are posting this broad wage range to meet wage transparency requirements.

--

ICON Creative Studio is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran, or disability status.