Character Surfacing Supervisor – Netflix Animation Studios

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

Netflix is hiring a Character Surfacing Supervisor for its Animation Studios operation based in Sydney, Australia. This role sits within the characters department and is responsible for defining and supervising the look of all digital characters and character-related assets across a feature film production, from texture and shader development through to final delivery into lighting and rendering. It suits an experienced surfacing or lookdev artist who has moved into a lead or supervisory capacity and is comfortable owning the character look pipeline end to end.

About the Role

The Character Surfacing Supervisor works directly with the Production Designer, Art Director, and Character Designers to translate design intent into production-ready materials, shaders, and color palettes. Day to day, this means running character surfacing reviews, troubleshooting pipeline integration with rigging, CFX, and lighting teams, and keeping asset complexity and progress visible to production management. The role is hybrid, with a minimum of three days per week in the Sydney studio.

Key Responsibilities

• Supervise the full character surfacing pipeline across all digital characters and related assets, ensuring the final look supports the film’s design language and storytelling intent.
• Lead surfacing reviews and deliver specific, constructive feedback on textures, materials, shading networks, and overall character presentation.
• Ensure all surfaced assets meet technical and pipeline standards so they integrate cleanly with rigging, CFX, animation, lighting, and rendering departments.
• Partner with Production Technology and R&D to define and refine material libraries, surfacing tools, and lookdev workflows across the feature film production.
• Provide production management with accurate reads on asset complexity and team progress to support scheduling and prioritisation decisions.
• Mentor character surfacing artists, identify training needs, and contribute to performance feedback and craft development across the team.

What You Bring

• Significant experience as a surfacing or lookdev artist focused on characters in feature animation, VFX, or high-end episodic series, with time in a lead or supervisory role.
• A strong portfolio demonstrating depth in skin, fabric, hair, and fur materials across stylized and realistic character work.
• Proficiency with Mari, Substance Painter, Substance Designer, and Maya, plus hands-on experience with a path-tracing renderer such as RenderMan or Arnold.
• A clear understanding of how character surfacing interacts with modeling, rigging, CFX, and lighting within a production pipeline.

Why This Role

Netflix Animation Studios is building its feature film slate across three global studio locations, and the Sydney operation is central to that plan. This Character Surfacing Supervisor position offers direct creative ownership on a feature from early development through final look, within a studio that is actively investing in its artist community and production infrastructure. Benefits include medical, dental, vision, mental health support, retirement programs, family-forming benefits, and paid leave programs.

Apply now for the Character Surfacing Supervisor role at Netflix Animation Studios and bring your character lookdev work to feature film scale.