About the role
Company Overview
DIGIC Pictures has been making 3D animated films for more than twenty years. We are a world-renowned animation studio creating high-impact trailers and cinematics for games, films, and commercials. We have won numerous prestigious awards and created short films for world-renowned brands such as Call of Duty, Netflix's Love, Death & Robots and Amazon's Secret Level series. Our team is currently working on several high-profile projects, including the animated film series based on the world-famous card game Magic: The Gathering for Netflix.
Division: DIGIC Animation
Department: Animation Pipeline Development
Location: Full-time | Remote freelance only within ±2h of Budapest (CET)
Responsibilities
Core Mission
The Lead Pipeline Developer owns the technical pipeline of the Animation Division, its architecture, its roadmap, and the team that builds it. The role converts production needs into a coherent, scalable toolset across the core DCCs (Maya, Houdini, Gaffer, Nuke, Photoshop) and the systems that connect them, and is accountable for the stability of that pipeline in production. Sitting between the CG Supervision group, the CG Technology team and production leadership, the Lead Pipeline Developer sets standards, arbitrates technical direction, prioritises the development backlog against schedule and budget, and leads, mentors and grows the Pipeline Developer team. The role is the final escalation point for pipeline-level failures that block a show.
Main Tasks
- Define and own the technical architecture of the animation pipeline end to end, from asset publishing through animation, CFX, FX, lighting and rendering to delivery. Maintain a development roadmap aligned with show milestones and studio strategy.
- Lead the Pipeline Developer team. Assign and track work, run code and design reviews, set and enforce coding standards, mentor developers, conduct performance reviews, and participate in recruitment, onboarding and capacity planning.
- Own the pipeline request backlog. Triage incoming requests from CG Supervisors, Heads of Departments and ATDs, arbitrate between competing priorities, define scope and acceptance criteria, and communicate realistic delivery expectations to production.
- Act as the final escalation point for critical, show-stopping pipeline failures. Own incident triage, coordinate resolution across Pipeline, CG Technology and Render Farm Ops, and drive post-incident fixes that remove the root cause.
- Govern software versioning and environment management (DCC versions, plugins, Python environments, package and dependency resolution), release cadence, testing and rollback procedures, so that deployments never destabilise an active show.
- Ensure every deployed tool ships with documentation, that pipeline conventions are written down and current, and that training and technical presentations reach the artist teams that depend on them.
Main Performance Indicators
- Minimal production downtime attributable to pipeline or tooling failures; fast triage and resolution when incidents occur.
- Development commitments delivered on the agreed schedule, with scope and risk communicated to production ahead of time rather than after slippage.
- Measurable reduction in manual artist effort and repeated technical fixes across departments.
- High and sustained artist adoption of deployed tools and workflows, with low rates of local workarounds and shadow scripts.
- A stable Pipeline team with clear ownership, low key-person risk, consistent code quality and demonstrable individual development.
- Steady migration off legacy systems and toward the agreed architecture without disrupting active production.
Essential Skills
- Minimum of 7+ years of experience in Maya tool development and pipeline integration in high-end VFX or 3D animation production, including at least 3 years leading a technical team or owning the pipeline of a large-scale show or episodic series.
- Expert Python, including packaging, testing, performance work and API design. Strong Qt / PySide for artist-facing tooling. Working knowledge of C++ for DCC plugin work is an advantage.
- Proven ability to design asset and shot pipelines at scale, covering publishing, versioning, dependency resolution, caching and data validation.
- Deep technical mastery of Maya and Houdini, practical experience across Nuke, Gaffer and Arnold renderer.
- Strong Linux fluency, source control (Git), CI/CD, environment and package management (Rez or equivalent).
Desirable Skills
Professional Skills & Interfaces
- Able to direct and develop a team of technical specialists, delegate ownership, hold a quality bar and resolve conflict without escalating friction into production.
- Interfaces daily with CG Supervisors, Heads of Departments, Production, CG Technology and Render Farm Ops. Able to say no with a reason, offer alternatives, and hold a defensible priority order under pressure.
- Precise technical communication with developers, and plain, non-technical communication with artists, producers and executives. Able to present a roadmap and justify it.
- Comfortable making architectural decisions with incomplete information, distinguishing a temporary production fix from a permanent solution, and scheduling the repayment of the difference.
What We Offer
- Part of a forward-looking leadership team shaping how our long-form animation division delivers excellence.
- The chance to work on high-profile projects.
- An inspiring professional environment with world-class productions.
- Remote work (onsite in the office is required at least once a week).
- Full-time employment in Hungary or a freelance contract within a European time zone.
- A supportive, open-minded team.
Employment Requirements
- DIGIC can only work with freelancers who are registered as sole proprietors/entrepreneurs or as self-employed professionals.