Creature Supervisor
Location: Sydney, Australia Company: DNEG
About DNEG
DNEG is a global leader in visual effects and animation, renowned for creating award-winning content for feature films, television, and multiplatform projects. With over 9,000 employees across the world, we are dedicated to fostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive work environment. We value collaboration, innovation, and believe that embracing our differences is key to our collective success.
The Role
We are looking for an exceptional Creature Supervisor to join our team in Sydney. This is a critical leadership role responsible for the end-to-end development of all CG creatures—from initial design and build through to final render.
The Creature Supervisor drives the technical and creative excellence of the department, ensuring the highest quality results are delivered on high-end feature film projects.
Key Responsibilities
- Supervision: Oversee and manage the complete development lifecycle for CG creatures, covering Rigging, Muscle/Skin simulation (CFX), Cloth, and Hair/Fur simulation.
- Pipeline & Efficiency: Supervise the Creature pipeline, providing expert direction on architecture, methodologies, and technical workflow improvements in collaboration with the Head of Creature and the Pipeline team.
- Inter-Departmental Collaboration: Act as the primary technical liaison, ensuring seamless communication and effective collaboration between Creature TDs and all related departments within the production pipeline.
- Technical Leadership & Mentorship: Lead, mentor, and motivate the Creature team through complex technical and creative challenges.
- Hands-on Implementation: Lead by example by executing key, challenging work personally, providing immediate guidance, and developing planned training schemes with in-house trainers.
- Quality Control: Ensure the team consistently delivers output that meets the highest standards of visual quality and technical integrity.
Must-Have Qualifications
- Proven, extensive experience in high-end feature film VFX, specifically involving the development of major CG creatures/characters on multiple projects.
- Thorough, expert knowledge across most areas of creature specialization, including:
- Rigging
- Muscle/Skin simulation (CFX)
- Cloth simulation
- Hair/Fur simulation
- Full working knowledge and expertise in Maya.
- Comfortable managing the technical depth of creature work while possessing strong, critical visual and artistic skills.
- Familiarity with pipeline challenges common in a typical creature-heavy post-production environment.
- Strong leadership qualities and proven experience in supervising and leading technical teams.
Nice-to-Have Skills
- Programming or scripting skills (e.g., MEL, Python, VEX).
- Experience with advanced tools such as Ziva, Houdini, and USD.
- Experience in creating large-scale crowd simulations.
Candidate Profile
- Proactive Leader: Highly organised, proactive, and a self-starter who leads with motivation.
- Communicator: A clear communicator, approachable, personable, and a keen team player.
- Adaptable: Calm under pressure, adaptable, and willing to learn new skills and proprietary software to meet production deadlines.
- Positive Attitude: Committed to deadlines and possesses a positive, ‘can-do’ attitude.
Ready to bring complex creatures to life? Apply now to join our award-winning team in Sydney.
DNEG welcomes and encourages applications from all, regardless of background, experience, or disability. Please inform us if you require any adjustments or support during the application process.
