Walt Disney Animation Studios Hiring Associate Software Engineer – Core, USD 2022/23/24

At Walt Disney Animation Studios, we have a deep commitment to the philosophy that creativity inspires technology, and technology inspires creativity. Engineers in our Production Technology department are tasked with developing and implementing new algorithms to solve unique and challenging problems for our animated content. We do this by working alongside a user base that shares a collaborative environment with us and uses the code we develop daily.

We are looking for an associate engineer to join our Production Technology team, targeting software development in multiple domains, from core libraries to user interfaces. In this role, you will partner with artists, production and technology leadership, technical directors, cross-team software engineers, and other technologists and researchers across Walt Disney Studios. You will be supporting, designing, and implementing innovative workflows and state-of-the-art solutions motivated by our new long-term vision for Walt Disney Animation Studios.

Projects Include:

• Designing and implementing core infrastructure to manage our shot, environment, and asset definitions and structures.
• Building new APIs to allow for artist-facing and data management tools to more readily access shot content.
• Supporting our productions by identifying and solving technical obstacles encountered by our artists.
• Extending and improving the core libraries used for end-user tool creation.
• Creating new user interfaces and tools for artists and technical directors to author, edit, access, and inspect shot and asset content.
• Adopting new external DCCs and integrating them into our pipeline.
• Writing new tools and plugins into 3rd party apps for rough to fine story development.
• Devising artist dashboards for consolidating and managing tasks, encouraging collaboration and visibility into the characters, environments, story, and the overall filmmaking process.

What does it mean to be a developer here at Walt Disney Animation Studios?

• Our engineers get the opportunity to work on the full stack of our tools, from developing the underlying algorithms to building intuitive artist-friendly interfaces.
• Work hand in hand with artists and a team of cross-site developers to make the tools we need for the incredibly complex characters/environments featured in our content.
• Develop on top of a highly performant, extendable in-house application framework.
• Develop new artist-centric interaction models using the latest hardware and technologies.

You will succeed in this role if you have:

• The ability to quickly produce clear, testable code.
• Understanding of the importance of performant solutions.
• Good problem-solving, troubleshooting, and debugging skills.
• Ability to collaborate with team members across different disciplines, directly interfacing with stakeholders to understand requirements.
• Exemplary communication, teamwork, and problem-solving skills, balancing the timeliness of solutions with their sustainability. Able to collaborate with team and leadership to prioritize competing demands based on business value.

Key Qualifications:

• 0-2 years of experience designing and developing complex user-facing software, ideally in a studio environment.
• Proficiency in C++, ideally C++11/14.
• Experience with scripting languages, including Python.
• Experience building clean interfaces using modern UI development toolkits such as Qt.

Bonus Qualifications:

• Knowledge or use of Pixar’s Universal Scene Description (USD) file format and APIs.
• Understanding of computer graphics foundational concepts and algorithms.
• Knowledge of animation, graphics techniques, and algorithms.
• Strong mathematical fundamentals, including linear algebra and numerical methods.
• Strong understanding of coding process, standards, continuous integration, and testing principles.

Required Education:

• BS in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or equivalent experience.

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The hiring range for this position in location is $93,398.00 to $ 125,290.00 per year. The base pay actually offered will take into account internal equity and also may vary depending on the candidate’s geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors. A bonus and/or long-term incentive units may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to the full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the level and position offered.