2027 Talent Development Program – Character TD Apprenticeship

Job Position(s): 2027 Talent Development Program - Character TD Apprenticeship

Walt Disney Animation Studios Vancouver Inc. is hiring a Character TD Apprentice for their 2027 Talent Development Program, based in Vancouver, British Columbia. This role sits within the Character TD department, which covers Technical Animation, Simulation Setup, and Rigging, the pipeline work that makes cloth, hair, and creature movement behave convincingly in feature animation production. It is designed for emerging artists with fewer than five years of industry experience, or recent graduates who want structured entry into a studio animation pipeline.

About the Role

The 2027 Talent Development Program Character TD Apprenticeship begins in February 2027 and is based entirely at the Vancouver studio. The first four months are structured training, introducing you to the Character TD department’s tools, philosophies, and studio culture, with dedicated mentorship from a Disney artist. At the four-month mark, a formal review determines your readiness for real-time production assignments and potential promotional opportunities within the animation studio.

Key Responsibilities

• Learn and apply Technical Animation techniques, including cloth simulation, hair simulation, and character finaling, under mentor supervision in a feature animation production context.
• Develop working knowledge of simulation setup workflows, understanding how garment behavior and secondary motion serve character performance.
• Study rigging fundamentals as they apply to character movement and deformation within the studio’s production pipeline.
• Demonstrate an understanding of anatomy and tailoring principles as they relate to how clothing and hair respond to a character’s physical performance.
• Participate in department reviews, receiving and incorporating real-time feedback from senior Character TDs on both technical execution and artistic sensibility.
• Engage with the broader animation studio culture, collaborating across departments to understand how Character TD output connects to the larger production workflow.

What You Bring

• Fewer than five years of animation industry experience, or a Bachelor’s degree in a relevant discipline or equivalent training.
• A demo reel of no longer than two minutes showing work in cloth simulation, hair simulation, anatomy, rigging, or related areas, with a reel breakdown where applicable.
• Examples that demonstrate performance context and a clear sense of appeal, not purely technical output.
• Eligibility to work in Canada, with no sponsorship exceptions noted.
• Age of 18 or older at time of program start.

Why This Role

Walt Disney Animation Studios is one of the few feature animation studios that offers a formally structured apprenticeship with real mentorship from working artists, rather than a generalized training program. The Vancouver studio operates within an active feature film production environment, meaning apprentices are exposed to live pipeline and production decisions from the start. The application deadline is November 20, 2026 at 11:59 PM PST.

Apply now for the 2027 Talent Development Program Character TD Apprenticeship with Walt Disney Animation Studios Vancouver Inc. and start building your career in feature animation production.