22DOGS is a premier international visual effects studio defined by a passion for high-end cinematic storytelling and technical excellence. With a footprint spanning Milan, Tenerife, and Toronto, we bridge the gap between creative vision and technical execution. As our project slate expands in both scale and complexity, we are seeking a visionary Production Technology Manager to serve as the architect of our technical efficiency.

This is not just a management role; it is a mission-critical position designed for a leader who understands that in the world of VFX, technology is the engine of creativity. You will be the bridge between the digital artists at their workstations and the infrastructure that powers their imagination.

At 22DOGS, we believe that technology should never be a bottleneck. The Production Technology Manager is responsible for the health, evolution, and optimization of our studio’s technical ecosystem. You will oversee a complex landscape including high-performance storage, massive render farms, and a bespoke software pipeline.

Your goal is to ensure that our systems are not just “running,” but are actively scaled and refined to meet the aggressive demands of modern film and television production. You will act as the “Technical Conductor,” ensuring that the Pipeline and IT teams are harmonized with the creative needs of our VFX Supervisors and the scheduling demands of our Producers.

1. Infrastructure & Resource Orchestration

• Systems Oversight: Direct management of the studio’s core hardware assets, including local and remote workstations, high-speed networking, and multi-tier storage solutions.
• Render Farm Management: Optimize the throughput of our render farm, balancing priority shots against long-term resource availability to ensure zero downtime during delivery windows.
• Scalability Planning: Predict upcoming resource needs based on the production slate, managing the transition between on-premise hardware and cloud-bursting capabilities.

2. Pipeline & Workflow Evolution

• Strategic Collaboration: Work hand-in-hand with the Pipeline Department to identify friction points in the artist workflow.
• Bottleneck Eradication: Analyze data transfer speeds, software load times, and automation failures to implement long-term structural fixes rather than temporary patches.
• Standards & Documentation: Establish and enforce studio-wide technical standards to ensure consistency across our three international hubs.

3. Strategic Leadership & Communication

• Cross-Departmental Alignment: Translate complex technical challenges into actionable insights for VFX Supervisors and Production Managers.
• Budget & Cost Optimization: Monitor infrastructure spend, specifically regarding cloud egress and software licensing, ensuring the studio remains lean without sacrificing power.
• Incident Management: Serve as the final point of escalation for critical technical failures, leading the “post-mortem” analysis to prevent recurrence.

Required Skills and Qualifications

To succeed in this role, you must possess a rare blend of high-level IT knowledge and a deep appreciation for the VFX creative process.

• Professional Experience: A minimum of 5–7 years in a technical leadership role within VFX, Feature Animation, or a related High-Performance Computing (HPC) industry.
• Systemic Knowledge: A mastery of Windows Active Directory and general Windows system management is essential.
• Production Fluency: You must speak the language of VFX—understanding the difference between a comp heavy show and a dynamic-sim heavy show, and how those differences impact hardware.
• Analytical Rigor: The ability to look at a complex system failure and trace it back to its root cause, whether it’s a network switch, a faulty script, or a storage bottleneck.
• Communication Excellence: You can explain “latency” to an artist and “ROI” to a stakeholder with equal clarity.

Technical “Nice to Haves”

• Scripting & Automation: Proficiency in Python or Bash to help automate routine infrastructure tasks.
• Environment Versatility: Comfort operating in Linux environments, which power much of the modern VFX backend.
• Queue Management: Direct experience with Deadline, Qube, or Tractor.
• Cloud Proficiency: Hands-on experience with AWS, Azure, or GCP for distributed rendering and remote workstations.

The VFX industry is evolving, and 22DOGS is at the forefront of this change. We offer a culture that is production-driven but artist-focused.

1. Global Impact: Your work will directly enable the creation of visuals seen by millions on the world’s biggest screens.
2. Autonomy and Ownership: We don’t micromanage. We provide the goals, and you provide the roadmap. You will have a seat at the table when defining the future of our studio’s technology.
3. The Tenerife Advantage: Our Tenerife studio offers a unique lifestyle—combining high-tech work with a Mediterranean climate, stunning landscapes, and a vibrant international community.
4. Growth Trajectory: As we grow, you grow. We are committed to internal promotion and the continuous professional development of our leadership team.

For the prospective Production Technology Manager, it is important to understand the environment you will be walking into. Our infrastructure is designed for High-End VFX Delivery.

• The Hardware: We utilize cutting-edge GPU and CPU configurations tailored for rendering-intensive tasks in Maya, Houdini, and Nuke.
• The Connectivity: Our studios in Milan, Tenerife, and Toronto are linked via high-speed dedicated lines, requiring sophisticated data synchronization and remote collaboration tools.
• The Philosophy: We believe in “Smart Scaling.” We don’t just throw hardware at a problem; we optimize the software and the workflow first.