SENIOR FX Artist – Temporary contract

Rodeo FX is hiring a Senior FX Artist on a temporary contract basis in Toronto, Canada. This role sits within the 3D/FX department and is responsible for producing photorealistic simulations, including fire, smoke, fluid dynamics, destruction, and abstract effects, that are delivered shot-ready through the VFX pipeline. It suits an experienced FX generalist who works well with minimal supervision and has a track record of delivering technically clean, artistically grounded work on film or television productions.

About the Role

The Senior FX Artist works embedded in Rodeo FX’s 3D pipeline, coordinating closely with FX leads, CG supervision, lighting, layout, and compositing to ensure effects are compatible across departments from setup through final render. Day-to-day work involves running complex Houdini simulations, managing caches and workfiles to internal technical standards, and actively participating in dailies to integrate notes efficiently. This is a production-facing role where shot turnover, realistic scheduling, and clear communication with production management are part of the regular workflow.

Key Responsibilities

• Build and deliver complex Houdini simulations across Pyro, Flip, RBD, and Vellum systems, from initial setup through cache delivery, while meeting artistic and technical guidelines.
• Maintain rigorous quality control over workfiles, simulation caches, and render setups before any submission to the VFX pipeline.
• Identify technical problems in simulation stability or cache optimization early and provide working solutions without waiting for escalation.
• Check effect compatibility with layout, lighting, and compositing departments to ensure clean integration across the full post-production workflow.
• Participate in turnovers, briefings, and dailies, integrating feedback constructively and communicating clearly about deadlines, technical limitations, or scheduling risks.
• Contribute to FX department documentation and share techniques or tools with colleagues to support consistent working methods across the team.

What You Bring

• Senior-level experience in FX simulation for feature film production or episodic television, with credits that demonstrate a range of effect types.
• Deep proficiency in Houdini, specifically Pyro, Flip, RBD, Vellum, and SOPs, with the ability to build optimized, adaptable setups independently.
• Demonstrated ability to manage assigned FX tasks autonomously from brief through final render without requiring close supervision.
• Experience collaborating with pipeline teams to integrate or test new tools within a production environment.
• Strong communication skills suited to a multi-department VFX studio structure, including production coordination and cross-discipline collaboration.

Why This Role

Rodeo FX is a well-established visual effects studio with credits across major feature film and episodic television productions, offering Senior FX Artists access to substantive, technically complex work. The Toronto studio operates within a structured VFX pipeline that supports both creative input and technical development at the senior level. This contract role offers genuine scope for an experienced FX artist to contribute meaningfully to production and to the ongoing development of the FX department’s working methods.

Apply now for the Senior FX Artist contract role at Rodeo FX and bring your Houdini simulation work to a studio with a serious production slate.