Houdini Technical Director - Temp (SFD / Cinematics)

Team Name:

Cinematics

Job Title:

Houdini Technical Director - Temp (SFD / Cinematics)

Requisition ID:

R025298

Job Description:

Blizzard Entertainment is seeking a highly skilled and innovative Temp Houdini Technical Director (TD) to join our team. If you have a passion for problem-solving and supporting artists, we want to hear from you!

Priorities can often change in a fast-paced environment like ours, so this role includes, but is not limited to, the following responsibilities:

• Support Houdini artists across multiple concurrent productions
• Work closely with artists, supervisors, and technical teams to troubleshoot and resolve technical issues efficiently, ensuring seamless production workflows

This role is anticipated to be a hybrid work position, with some work on-site and some work-from-home. The potential home studio for this role is Irvine, CA. However, we understand each person’s circumstances may be unique and will work with you to explore other possible options, including remote work arrangements.

This is a 6-month temporary position.

Minimum Requirements

Experience

• 3+ Years of experience using and/or writing tools or plugins in Houdini

Knowledge & Skills

• Strong problem-solving and debugging skills in Houdini, specifically for departments such as FX, Simulation, and Groom
• Strong verbal and written communication and collaboration skills
• Understanding of computer graphics concepts
• Understanding of techniques and technologies relating to CG pipelines and workflows
• Developing, modifying, deploying, and debugging software
• Proficiency in Python and object-oriented programming

Key Attributes

• Desire to function in a technical support role
• Ability to shift priorities during production schedule changes

Extra Points

• Experience working in Windows or Linux environments
• Experience crafting tools in PyQt
• Ability to teach, guide, and educate lighting artists methodically toward their own debugging to champion self-sufficiency in their own work
• Experience developing and working in a USD pipeline
• Bachelors or higher in Computer Science, Computer Graphics, Engineering, or related fields
• Familiarity with Blizzard games and Cinematics

Your Platform

Best known for iconic video game universes including Warcraft®, Overwatch®, Diablo®, and StarCraft®, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com), a division of Activision Blizzard, which was acquired by Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment experiences. Blizzard Entertainment has created some of the industry’s most critically acclaimed and genre-defining games over the last 30 years, with a track record that includes multiple Game of the Year awards. Blizzard Entertainment engages tens of millions of players around the world with titles available on PC via Battle.net®, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android.

Our World

Activision Blizzard, Inc., is one of the world's largest and most successful interactive entertainment companies and is at the intersection of media, technology and entertainment. We are home to some of the most beloved entertainment franchises including Call of Duty®, World of Warcraft®, Overwatch®, Diablo®, Candy Crush™ and Bubble Witch™. Our combined entertainment network delights hundreds of millions of monthly active users in 196 countries, making us the largest gaming network on the planet!

Our ability to build immersive and innovate worlds is only enhanced by diverse teams working in an inclusive environment.  We aspire to have a culture where everyone can thrive in order to connect and engage the world through epic entertainment. We provide a suite of benefits that promote physical, emotional and financial well-being for ‘Every World’ - we’ve got our employees covered!

The videogame industry and therefore our business is fast-paced and will continue to evolve. As such, the duties and responsibilities of this role may be changed as directed by the Company at any time to promote and support our business and relationships with industry partners.

We love hearing from anyone who is enthusiastic about changing the games industry. Not sure you meet all qualifications? Let us decide! Research shows that women and members of other under-represented groups tend to not apply to jobs when they think they may not meet every qualification, when, in fact, they often do! We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive