Unreal Rigging Supervisor – Real-Time
Role Overview
We are seeking an experienced Unreal Rigging Supervisor to lead the technical and creative development of complex character, creature, and mechanical rigs within our real-time pipeline. This role sits at the intersection of high-end VFX and real-time production, requiring a lead who can bridge the gap between traditional rigging workflows and the evolving demands of Unreal Engine (UE). You will oversee the realtime rigging team, mentor a team of Creature TDs, and ensure our assets are
performance-optimized for real-time visualization, techviz, live mocap and final pixel delivery.
Responsibilities:
Supervision & Team Leadership
● Provide technical oversight and creative leadership for all rigging and character-related workflows.
● Mentor and manage a team of Creature TDs, providing feedback on rig quality, deformation, and performance.
● Coordinate with the Head of Real-Time and Head of Technologies to define rigging standards, naming conventions, and technical specifications for assets.
● Act as a key liaison between the rigging, animation, layout, and VFX teams to ensure seamless asset integration.
● Minimum of 6 years experience in either VFX and/or game
Technical Execution & Development
● Drive the development of high-performance rigs for creatures, digital doubles, vehicles, and props, ensuring they meet the technical requirements for real-time rendering.
● Architect and maintain robust rigging pipelines using Python, Maya, and Unreal Control Rig.
● Implement advanced deformation techniques, including ML Deformer, Chaos Skin, and Ziva RT, to achieve high-fidelity results at real-time speeds.
● Identify bottlenecks in the character/creature pipeline and develop custom tools or Blueprints to automate tasks and improve artist efficiency.
Pipeline & Project Strategy
● Collaborate on project planning, bidding, and asset strategy to ensure creative goals are technically achievable and delivered on schedule.
● Ensure all rigs are compatible with industry-standard exchange formats (USD, Alembic, FBX) within the DNEG pipeline
● Contribute to technical documentation and training materials to upskill the team in new Unreal rigging features and proprietary software.
Qualifications
● Deep Unreal Expertise: Extensive experience in Unreal Engine production environments, specifically regarding rigging, animation, and performance optimization.
● Leadership Experience: Proven track record of supervising or leading technical teams within VFX, visualization, or game development.
● Technical Proficiency:
○ Expert-level knowledge of Maya and Python scripting.
○ In-depth mastery of Unreal Control Rig and Blueprints.
● Rigging Fundamentals: Comprehensive understanding of anatomy, kinematics, skinning/deformations, and real-time rig architecture.
● Pipeline Knowledge: Familiarity with Linux/Unix/Windows environments and standard production tracking tools (e.g., Shotgrid, Perforce, Jira).
● Problem-Solving: Ability to translate complex production needs into scalable, efficient technical solutions.
Bonus Skills
● Experience with Chaos Cloth/Skin, Unreal Grooming, and Machine Learning and Deformer Graph
● Experience with Ziva RT is a plus
● Strong understanding of C++.
● Experience in in-camera VFX (ICVFX), live entertainment or interactive/immersive production environments.
● Prior work on both linear (film/TV) and non-linear (games) projects.