Junior Creature Technical Director (Project Hire) – ILM San Francisco

Job Position(s): Junior Creature Technical Director (Project Hire) - ILM San Francisco

ILM San Francisco is hiring a Junior Creature Technical Director on a project basis to join their creature department team. This role sits within the VFX pipeline at one of the most recognized visual effects studios in the industry, focused on developing and maintaining creature rigs, simulation setups, and the tools that keep creature work running across productions. It suits an early-career CG professional with hands-on experience in rigging or simulation who is ready to learn production-scale creature work under experienced supervision.

About the Role

The creature department at ILM handles hero asset development, character rigging, and sim work across feature film and episodic television productions. As a Junior Creature Technical Director, you will work directly under Creature TD Supervisors and leads, supporting both shot work and the broader VFX pipeline by troubleshooting issues and maintaining assets. Day-to-day work involves a mix of rig analysis, quality control support, and documentation, with increasing responsibility as you build credits within the department.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide day-to-day show support for Creature Technical Directors and Animators under the direction of leads, supervisors, and the Head of Department.
• Analyze and optimize character rigs and simulation setups to meet show-specific performance and quality requirements.
• Troubleshoot creature pipeline issues for artists working across other disciplines, including animation and effects.
• Complete entry-level shot work and rig non-hero assets as assigned by the show Creature TD Supervisor.
• Assist supervisors with quality control and prep work during production on VFX-heavy feature film projects.
• Create and maintain documentation covering show-specific processes so that pipeline knowledge is transferable across the team.

What You Bring

• A certificate or degree in Computer Graphics, Animation, Fine Arts, Design, Photography, or a related field, or equivalent production experience.
• Proven ability in at least one CG technique relevant to the creature department, including rigging or simulation with cloth, hair, fur, muscles, or skin.
• Hands-on experience with Maya or Houdini is required, and a reel demonstrating creature effects, rigging, or technical work must accompany your application.
• Experience refining rig templates, rig kits, or reusable sim setups is a plus.
• Familiarity with Linux and scripting knowledge in Python, MEL, or VEX is a plus.

Why This Role

ILM has built creature work for some of the most technically demanding productions in film history, and this position puts you inside that pipeline at the San Francisco studio. The hiring range for this position in San Francisco is $67,000 to $85,600 per year, with a bonus and long-term incentive units potentially included alongside a full benefits package. For a junior TD looking to build real feature film production credits in creature rigging and simulation, this is a direct entry point into one of Disney’s flagship VFX facilities.

Apply now for the Junior Creature Technical Director opening at ILM San Francisco and take the next step in your creature TD career.