SENIOR FX Artist – Permanent role

Mikros Animation is hiring a Senior FX Artist for a permanent position based in Toronto, Canada. This role sits inside the 3D FX department, where the artist owns the full simulation pipeline from initial setup through final render-ready caches on animated feature film production. It suits an experienced Houdini generalist who works with confidence across destruction, fluids, and volumetric effects and can carry that work through a full production cycle with minimal supervision.

About the Role

The Senior FX Artist works embedded within the CG and FX supervision structure at Mikros Animation, contributing to animated feature projects at a studio with a strong international production slate. Day to day, this means building and managing complex simulations in Houdini, attending dailies, integrating notes from supervision, and staying in close contact with lighting and compositing to make sure effects hold through the downstream VFX pipeline. The role is permanent, which means long-term involvement across multiple productions rather than a single contract engagement.

Key Responsibilities

• Produce photorealistic simulations including smoke, fire, explosions, liquids, destruction, and abstract or magical effects that meet the artistic and technical standards of the production.
• Work across Houdini solvers including Pyro, FLIP, RBD, and Vellum to generate cache-efficient, adaptable effects that integrate cleanly with other departments.
• Own assigned FX shots from briefing through submission, including rigorous quality control of workfiles, caches, and scene setups before they move downstream.
• Identify and resolve technical problems quickly, and collaborate with the pipeline team when new tools need integration or testing within the animation studio workflow.
• Check effect compatibility with layout, lighting, and compositing to ensure nothing breaks across department handoffs in the production pipeline.
• Participate actively in turnovers and dailies, communicate realistic estimates to production, and flag schedule risks early before they compound.

What You Bring

• Several years of professional experience as an FX artist with credits on animated feature film production or high-end VFX work.
• Deep working knowledge of Houdini across Pyro, FLIP, RBD, Vellum, and SOPs with a strong understanding of cache optimization and scene hygiene.
• Demonstrated ability to translate a director or supervisor’s visual intent into simulation setups that serve the story and the shot.
• Experience working within a structured CG pipeline at an animation studio or VFX facility, including familiarity with inter-department handoffs.
• A track record of sharing knowledge with junior artists and contributing to department documentation or workflow improvements.

Why This Role

Mikros Animation has built a reputation across European and North American markets for animated feature work at a consistently high technical level, and the Toronto studio has grown into a serious production hub. A permanent Senior FX Artist position here offers real stability and the chance to develop your craft across multiple productions rather than chasing contract to contract. The scope of the effects work, spanning destruction, volumetrics, and abstract simulations, keeps the technical challenge high throughout.

Apply now for the Senior FX Artist role at Mikros Animation and bring your simulation work to a permanent seat inside a production team that takes the craft seriously.