Industrial Light & Magic Vancouver is hiring a full-time, hybrid Senior Feature Animator to join its foundational creative team for the upcoming stylized 3D animated musical feature, “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!”, directed by Jon M. Chu and Jill Culton. Based in Vancouver, Canada, this role requires working 2 to 3 days per week onsite at the studio and carries an annual salary range of C$112,200 to C$143,600 based on a 40-hour work week. vancouver jobs washington
In this position, you will own complex shots from initial blocking through to final polish, focusing on high-level character acting, stylized movement, and precise musical timing. Beyond your individual shots, you will mentor junior and mid-level artists, troubleshoot rigging constraints, and collaborate actively during daily creative reviews to maintain visual consistency. vancouver jobs washington
To qualify, you must have either a relevant college diploma and at least 5 years of professional feature animation experience, or a minimum of 7 years of studio experience in lieu of a degree. Technically, the role demands expert-level mastery of Autodesk Maya and traditional animation principles, a strong grasp of character chaining and constraint techniques, and a working proficiency with Linux. A current resume, demo reel, and detailed shot breakdown are required to apply. vancouver jobs washington
vancouver jobs Overview : Senior Feature Animator
| Position Parameter | Details |
| Company Name | Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) Vancouver Inc. / The Walt Disney Company |
| Job Title | Senior Feature Animator |
| Job Type | Full-Time |
| Work Model | Hybrid (2–3 days per week onsite at the designated Vancouver studio location, with remaining days working from home) |
| Location | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| Compensation Range | C$112,200 to C$143,600 per year (Based on a standard 40-hour work week) |
| Production Focus | Oh, the Places You’ll Go! (Stylized 3D Feature-Length Animated Musical) |
| Primary Toolset | Autodesk Maya, Linux OS, and Proprietary ILM Character Animation Tools |
Detailed Compensation & Work Schedule
The base hiring range for this position located in Vancouver is established at C$112,200 to C$143,600 gross annually. This compensation framework is calculated based on a standard 40-hour work week.
Factors Influencing Offer Adjustments
The final base salary offered within this range will take into account several internal and external criteria, ensuring fair equity across our global teams:
- The applicant’s specific geographic location and region-locked cost of living adjustments.
- The depth of job-related technical knowledge, advanced workflow expertise, and artistic pedigree.
- Demonstrated performance levels shown through professional references, interview reviews, and portfolio history.
- Internal pay equity across existing studio staff members working within identical professional brackets.
Schedule Variability & Overtime
While the standard operating pipeline is organized around 40 hours per week, the total scheduled hours may fluctuate based on critical business needs, production milestones, crunch windows, or delivery dates set by studio directors and supervising executives.
Comprehensive Benefits Package
Dependent on the explicit employment level and finalized position offered by ILM Vancouver, a full array of corporate benefits will be extended, which may include:
- Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision healthcare options.
- Financial security plans, retirement savings matching, and standard life insurance programs.
- Variable bonus structures, discretionary project milestone incentives, or performance-related premium pay.
Key Responsibilities & What You’ll Do
As a Senior Feature Animator at ILM Vancouver, your core focus will span character artistry, mentorship, pipeline technical problem-solving, and cross-departmental collaboration. You will be responsible for executing the following tasks throughout the production life cycle:
1. High-Level Character Performance & Musicality
- Bring a diverse cast of heavily stylized characters and whimsical Seussical creatures to life through detailed movement.
- Execute advanced-level digital acting, facial expressions, and complex body mechanics that capture clear emotional subtext.
- Inject precise musical timing, rhythmic accentuation, and lyrical choreographic harmony into physical character sets to complement the film’s musical format.
- Ensure all performances align closely with the overarching creative vision of Jon M. Chu, Jill Culton, and the supervising directors.
2. Compositional Execution & Technical Continuity
- Interpret, digest, and execute notes from the Lead Animator and Animation Supervisor with minimal supervision.
- Own complex showcase shots and critical character-driven sequences from initial rough blocking stages through to highly polished final animation.
- Maintain strict performance continuity, weight distributions, and stylistic compliance across specific shots, ensuring your work matches up seamlessly with surrounding sequences handled by different animators.
- Troubleshoot complex mechanical, rigging, or interface hitches in shots using advanced knowledge of character constraints and pinning methods.
3. Departmental Leadership, Peer Review & Dailies
- Attend daily production reviews (dailies) on a standard, mandatory basis to evaluate ongoing work and give actionable, professional peer feedback.
- Supervise the daily output of junior, mid-level, and mid-high level animators at the discretion of the senior Animation Supervisor, stepping in to solve shot progression errors.
- Participate actively as a foundational team member in engineering innovative aesthetic solutions to visual performance bottlenecks.
4. Training, Mentorship & Technical Setup
- Onboard, train, and guide incoming animation personnel, helping them master the style guide, aesthetic rhythm, and unique performance rules of the film.
- Provide ongoing technical advice, structural workflow evaluations, and software pipeline assessments to show supervisors before and during major production sprints.
- Consistently meet or exceed established production quotas and performance markers, delivering high-end work under tight deadlines without compromising aesthetic quality.
Technical & Artistic Requirements
We are looking for an experienced industry professional who can confidently balance high-end traditional artistry with modern digital studio systems. Candidates must fulfill the following technical benchmarks:
Required Education & Professional Timeline
- Option A: A College Diploma, Bachelor’s Degree, or higher certification in Computer Graphics, Fine Arts, Traditional/Digital Animation, Design, Film Photography, or a closely related creative field—coupled with a minimum of five (5) years of active, professional feature-length animation experience.
- Option B: In lieu of formal educational diplomas, a minimum of seven (7) years of direct, professional feature film animation experience within a mainstream commercial production studio environment.
Technical Skill Requirements & Systems Expertise
- Software Mastery: Expert-level mastery of Autodesk Maya alongside extensive knowledge of industry-standard animation asset management systems.
- Operating Systems: Practical proficiency working within a Linux operating system environment, utilizing standard terminal commands and file structures.
- Rigging Mechanics: Deep technical knowledge of character pinning, interactive chaining, complex hierarchical constraints, and skeletal deformation behaviors.
- Artistic Principles: Advanced mastery of traditional animation tenets (squash and stretch, staging, anticipation, follow-through, overlapping action, slow-in and slow-out, arcs, secondary action, timing, exaggeration, solid drawing, and appeal).
- Communication: Elite organizational habits and strong communication skills, enabling you to articulate abstract artistic ideas clearly to multi-disciplinary technical teams.
Important Application Mandate: To be considered for this position, your application packet must include an up-to-date professional resume alongside a comprehensive digital portfolio, demo reel, and an analytical shot breakdown explaining your specific artistic or technical contributions to each piece of footage shown.
About the Studios
Industrial Light & Magic (ILM)
Founded in 1975 by visionary filmmaker George Lucas to realize the grand visual world of Star Wars, Industrial Light & Magic has established itself as the premier visual effects and animation facility across global cinema history. Serving the feature film, commercial marketing, and immersive entertainment sectors, ILM has pioneered foundational advancements in modern filmmaking.
The studio has produced visual effects and animation for more than 325 feature films, actively contributing to seven of the top ten, and 25 of the top 50, highest-grossing global box-office releases of all time. Operating at the leading edge of the digital entertainment revolution, ILM continues to define production benchmarks in stylized character animation, digital environments, virtual production, and immersive mixed-reality experiences.
The Walt Disney Company
ILM Vancouver Inc. operates as a strategic branch of Industrial Light & Magic, an integrated business unit under The Walt Disney Company. Disney stands as a leading, highly diversified international family media and entertainment enterprise across three primary operational divisions: Disney Entertainment, ESPN, and Disney Experiences.
Growing from a boutique cartoon studio in the 1920s into a major pillar of global media, Disney manages an expansive operational footprint spanning more than 40 countries. Our global workforce collaborates to deliver universally cherished, locally meaningful narrative media, interactive attractions, and shared cinematic experiences that resonate across generations.
