Technical Director, AI Services

Shutterstock • New York City, NY

11h • $165,000 - $175,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

Shutterstock enables our customers, partners, contributors, and employees to achieve their goals and realize new opportunities. Our continued growth opens new doors as we scale our platform, expand our offerings and build a company that’s ready for the future! With Shutterstock Studios, we provide our clients every live-action, 3D, or immersive production service they could ever need… from creative development and concept design, to modeling, all the way to animation, compositing and visual effects. We also develop and build real-time 3D props, characters, and custom worlds for XR production, along with immersive experiences for AR/VR and more. Our continued growth opens new doors as we scale our platform, expand our offerings and build a company that’s ready for the future! We’re looking for a Technical Director, who has a wealth of experience working with (and developing for) Post Production pipelines and associated 3D Digital Content Creation (DCC) tools/formats. Ideal candidates will also have experience in establishing and administering a full-stack studio pipeline along with an intimate knowledge of shot management tools and 3D, VFX and XR/VAD workflows in film, television and commercial production. A high level of technical knowledge combined with strong management and creative problem-solving skills will be essential. In addition, we expect candidates to also possess experience with 3D capture technologies (Photogrammetry, NeRF and Gaussian Splatts, etc.) and associated workflows, as well as hybrid workflows involving real-time game engines (e.g., Unreal Engine) and AI-supported tools (image or text-to-3D and image/text-to-video, etc.)

Requirements

• 8+ years in a technical role working with engineering teams, pipeline strategy and associated processes for a Post or fully 3D or Visual Effects pipeline within either an enterprise or commercial studio setting
• Strong Python proficiency, familiarity with web technologies and REST APIs, Docker, Kubernetes, Unreal Engine, the Nuke family of tools, and at least one 3D application
• 8+ years of experience in production for feature film CG/VFX workflows, 3D digital twins OR comparable work in AAA game development
• 8+ years of direct experience developing custom pipeline solutions for 3D DCC tools and/or real-time workflows for film and/or commercial content
• Ability to help drive strategy and pipeline decisions across multiple departments - Post, 3D, VFX, VAD and Gen-AI hybrid.
• Ability to develop or adapt custom pipeline tools to meet the needs of 3D/VFX productions
• Expert knowledge of 3D DCC tools, formats and future-facing trends
• Knowledgeable of visual optimization through profiling and enhancing performance with the help of diagnostic tools and instructing the artists on modeling and texturing best practices
• Working knowledge of UE workflows for film and commercial XR production
• Ability to clearly and effectively communicate technical and design processes and workflows to our team, as well as internal stakeholders
• Working knowledge of a range of Digital Content Creation software including Photoshop, Zbrush/Mudbox, Substance Designer/Painter, 3dsMax, Maya, Blender, and Houdini

Nice To Haves

• Experience with 3D capture technologies (Photogrammetry, NeRF and Gaussian Splatts, etc.) and associated workflows
• Experience with hybrid workflows involving real-time game engines (e.g., Unreal Engine) and AI-supported tools (image or text-to-3D and image/text-to-video, etc.)

Responsibilities

• Define and drive the technical vision and roadmap for end-to-end productions across a range of 3D/VFX/XR tools and workflows, ensuring scalability, efficiency and alignment to business priorities
• Identify current process issues and present mitigating strategies to internal stakeholders
• Establish and champion best practices, standards, and governance for the use of 3D and Unreal assets and environments in Pre-Viz, CG/VFX, Virtual Production, XR and hybrid production workflows
• Establish and uphold technical and creative quality benchmarks, ensuring visuals and outputs meet the highest artistic and technical quality
• Direct and collaborate with internal and external development teams to design, build and validate new features and prototypes, while shaping R&D priorities through actionable feedback
• Partner with key stakeholders to define and refine specifications and guidelines for high-volume media and associated metadata deliveries
• Operate as a senior cross-functional leader, proactively influencing and aligning with a diverse set stakeholders including executives, directors, and producers

Benefits

• Flexibility to work between home and office with everything you need to be successful in both
• A generous and competitive benefits package
• health, wellness and financial benefits

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed
• Number of Employees: 501-1,000 employees