Environment Surfacing Supervisor – Netflix Animation Studios

Job Position(s): Environment Surfacing Supervisor - Netflix Animation Studios

Netflix is hiring an Environment Surfacing Supervisor at Netflix Animation Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia. This role sits at the intersection of art and technical pipeline, responsible for defining and supervising the surfacing of all digital environments, sets, and props on a feature film production to ensure they are ready for Lighting, FX, CFX, and Rendering. It suits an experienced surfacing or lookdev artist who has moved into leadership and is comfortable holding the visual line across a complex, multi-department VFX pipeline.

About the Role

The Environment Surfacing Supervisor works within the Environments department at Netflix Animation Studios, reporting into the Head of Environments and collaborating daily with the Production Designer and Art Director to translate design intent into shaders, materials, and textures that serve the film’s visual storytelling. On any given day this person is running surfacing reviews, giving specific notes on material quality and color, and working with Modeling, Layout, and Lighting to keep assets moving cleanly through the feature animation pipeline. This is a hybrid role based in Vancouver with a minimum of three days per week in the studio.

Key Responsibilities

• Supervise all environment surfacing work across the film, maintaining consistency in textures, materials, and shaders against the established look development direction.
• Lead surfacing reviews and deliver clear, specific feedback to artists on material reads, color accuracy, and stylization relative to the Production Designer’s intent.
• Ensure all surfaced assets meet pipeline and technical standards so they integrate without rework into Lighting, FX, CFX, and Rendering.
• Partner with Production Technology, R&D, and lookdev TDs to define and refine material libraries, surfacing tools, and department workflows.
• Provide Production Management with accurate reads on asset complexity, team capacity, and progress to support scheduling and prioritization decisions.
• Mentor environment surfacing artists, identify training gaps, and contribute to performance reviews and craft development within the team.

What You Bring

• Significant experience as a Surfacing or Lookdev Artist focused on environments in feature animation, VFX, or high-end series, with time in a Lead or Supervisory capacity.
• A portfolio or reel demonstrating strong environment surfacing work across stylized and/or realistic productions.
• Proficiency in Mari, Substance Painter, Substance Designer, and Maya, plus hands-on experience with a path-tracing renderer such as RenderMan or Arnold.
• Solid understanding of how environment surfacing interacts with Modeling, Layout, FX, CFX, and Lighting across a production pipeline.
• Strong organizational skills and the ability to manage competing asset priorities across a feature film production schedule.

Why This Role

Netflix Animation Studios is building original feature films across three global studio locations, and this Vancouver team is actively staffing for an upcoming production, which means real creative ownership from early in the process. The overall compensation range for this Environment Surfacing Supervisor role is $163,000 to $223,000 CAD total compensation, with no stock options, plus benefits covering medical, dental, vision, mental health support, retirement programs, family-forming benefits, and paid leave. For a surfacing supervisor ready to work at the feature animation level with a studio that has the resources to do the work properly, this is a substantive opportunity.

Apply now for the Environment Surfacing Supervisor position at Netflix Animation Studios in Vancouver and bring your environment surfacing experience to a feature film production built to last.