Senior 3D Designer

ZAH Group•Lincolnshire, IL

1d•$90,000 - $110,000

About The Position

As the Senior 3D Designer at Klein Tools, you will lead the creation of high‑impact product visualizations that elevate brand storytelling and strengthen customer engagement. This role blends technical mastery with creative vision, producing photoreal product and environmental renders, optimizing production workflows, and pushing the boundaries of digital visualization. You will drive innovation, establish 3D visual standards and guidelines, ensure brand consistency, and collaborate cross‑functionally to enhance execution across the organization. In addition to consumer‑facing visualizations, you bring strong executional expertise in 3D animation, visual effects, motion graphics, and compositing. You have a sharp eye for the details that achieve photorealism in both still and motion formats. Highly organized and intentional in your approach, you build the systems, procedures, and libraries that ensure visual consistency and production efficiency—enabling Klein Tools’ expanding asset production pipeline to operate with speed, reliability, and exceptional quality.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in 3D Animation, Visual Effects, Computer Graphics, Graphic Design or related — or equivalent experience.
7-10 years of progressive experience, most recently in a Mid-Senior or Lead role with a focus in 3D, CG, or Visual Effects, preferably in a studio or in-house environment.
Strong portfolio showcasing expertise in 3D modeling, texturing, environmental rendering, visual effects, compositing and animation.
Prior experience in a Mid-Senior or Lead 3D, CG or VFX role.
Proven ability to manage multiple projects under tight, concurrent deadlines.
Excellent attention to detail with organizational skills and ability to prioritize.
Proficiency in 3D design and visual effects tools (C4D, Houdini, Maya) and render engines (Redshift).
Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (Premiere, After Effects, Photoshop, InDesign) and other design tools.
Executional and hands-on expertise in 3D rendering + texturing, motion graphics, and visual effects. The ability to communicate complex and technical feedback articulately and succinctly to maintain momentum in asset development.
A fundamental understanding of interactive and mixed/augmented reality mediums.
Familiarity with Project Management (Monday.com or similar), Interface Design/Collaboration (Figma) and Digital Asset Management (Bynder or similar) tools
Strong communication and presentation abilities, with the capacity to articulate and sell strategic creative ideas and recommendations for innovation effectively.

Responsibilities

Lead all lighting, rendering, and compositing for e‑Commerce product-on-white assets, packaging visuals, and photoreal environmental renderings that tell compelling product stories. Oversee end‑ to ‑end animation production — from storyboarding to final edit — including design, lighting, rendering, shot building, compositing, and title design.
Manage multiple concurrent asset productions, guiding the full creative process from brief through production, post‑production, and final delivery. Collaborate closely with Digital Design, Packaging, and Content Studio teams, as well as cross‑ functional partners in Product Marketing, Product Management, Sales, and Marketing channels to understand goals, audiences, tensions, and timelines.
Build and maintain a comprehensive CGI material, texture, and lighting library to ensure consistency, quality, and production efficiency across internal teams and external partners. Work directly with Industrial Design, prototypes, and physical samples to ensure photoreal accuracy.
Communicate visual development direction to other creative teams throughout project workflows, ensuring alignment with the overarching creative vision and strategic objectives.
Contribute to a collaborative, proactive, and excellence‑driven creative environment, helping elevate the team’s creative output and problem‑ solving mindset.
Stay current on industry trends and emerging 3D/CG technologies, providing recommendations and driving innovation across traditional, digital, and immersive/mixed ‑reality applications.