Motion Capture Lab Manager

Innodata Inc. • New Jersey, NJ

13d • $120,000 - $160,000 • Onsite

About The Position

Innodata is establishing a motion capture facility to generate specialized human motion data crucial for physical AI and world models, data not currently available in public datasets. This role involves assisting in the setup of the facility, which begins its physical construction in mid-2026, and subsequently managing its day-to-day operations. The position is a blend of infrastructure and operations management, and creative direction for capture sessions. The successful candidate will be responsible for the equipment, the capture pipeline, and ensuring the quality of the captured data. While a robotics background is not required, comfort working in an environment shared with robotic hardware is essential.

Requirements

• Hands-on experience operating a professional optical motion capture system (e.g., OptiTrack, Vicon, or comparable), including calibration and troubleshooting.
• Experience with full-body and finger or hand capture, and the associated cleanup and retargeting workflow.
• Fluency with motion capture software and export formats.
• Comfort with file and data management for high-volume capture.
• Ability to direct performers and run a session efficiently, balancing creative judgment with technical precision.
• Methodical approach to calibration, QC, and documentation.
• Comfort working around robotic hardware and collaborating with a technical team.
• Background in film, games, or VFX motion capture, or in a research or biomechanics capture setting.

Nice To Haves

• Direct experience with Vicon hardware and the Shogun software stack.
• Familiarity with scripting for pipeline automation (Python preferred).
• Exposure to simulation or synthetic data tools such as NVIDIA Omniverse.

Responsibilities

• Operate and maintain the optical motion capture system, including camera setup, daily volume calibration, marker placement, and suit and glove fitting for full-body and finger capture.
• Plan and direct capture sessions according to client motion specifications, which includes scenario design, performer direction, and shot planning.
• Manage the data pipeline from raw capture through cleanup, retargeting, and export in standard formats like BVH and FBX.
• Perform quality control to meet precision and frame-rate requirements, and document calibration error bounds and skeleton resolution for each delivery.
• Maintain lab infrastructure, including capture hardware, workstations, storage, networking, and the software toolchain.
• Coordinate with hardware vendors and integrators during the build-out phase and for ongoing support and upgrades.
• Work safely and effectively in a lab environment shared with robotic systems, coordinating stage time and space with the robotics team.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed