Creature TD Supervisor — Hybrid VFX Rigging & Simulation Lead

Job Position(s): Creature TD Supervisor — Hybrid VFX Rigging & Simulation Lead

Industrial Light & Magic is hiring a Creature TD Supervisor for their studio in Birmingham, England, UK. This role sits at the intersection of CFX and rigging, leading a team of Creature TDs through simulation work covering flesh, hair, muscle, cloth, and rigid bodies across feature film and episodic television productions. It is built for an experienced technical director who has moved into supervision and wants ownership of both pipeline and people on a show-to-show basis.

About the Role

The Creature TD Supervisor operates within the broader VFX pipeline, sitting between CG leadership and the artists executing shot work daily. You are responsible for the full creature CFX workflow, from setting up the department pipeline and writing tools, through to final shot reviews before handoff. On any given day, that means balancing hands-on technical problem solving with scheduling conversations, bid reviews, and mentoring artists at various stages of their careers.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and maintain the creature TD pipeline, writing tools that support simulation work across flesh, muscle, hair, cloth, and rigid body systems.
• Supervise and review shot-level simulation work, ensuring CFX output meets both technical and creative briefs set by production leadership.
• Mentor Creature TDs across the team, providing technical guidance and helping artists develop skills that translate across productions.
• Collaborate with CG Supervisors and Production leads to bid creature work accurately, build schedules, and identify hiring needs for each show.
• Establish and document best practices across CFX and rigging teams, keeping the department aligned as productions and personnel change between shows.
• Contribute to recruitment and team building, helping assess candidates and shape the creature department at the Birmingham studio.

What You Bring

• Significant experience as a Creature TD or CFX TD on feature film productions, with at least one prior supervisory credit.
• Deep working knowledge of simulation software used in VFX pipelines, including cloth, hair, and muscle solvers common in high-end creature work.
• Proven ability to write pipeline tools and scripts, with proficiency in Python or equivalent languages used in production environments.
• Experience bidding and scheduling creature work in collaboration with production and CG leadership.
• A track record of mentoring artists and building team practice within a structured VFX post-production workflow.

Why This Role

Industrial Light & Magic has a production slate that spans major franchise features and streaming series, giving this role genuine breadth across project types and creative challenges. The Birmingham location places you inside a studio that has grown its creature and CFX capabilities significantly, with real infrastructure behind the work. For a Creature TD Supervisor looking to shape a department rather than simply manage within one, this is a structurally meaningful position.

Apply now for the Creature TD Supervisor role at Industrial Light & Magic and take the next step in leading creature work at one of the most recognized names in VFX production.