Pixar University Training Technical Director

This is a Full Time Job

Pixar University's Training Technical Director is responsible for a broad range of tasks that support technical education and enrichment at Pixar. This includes developing curriculum, teaching classes, writing documentation, and creating/maintaining technical assets and tools. Curriculum and classes will be largely related to the trainer's primary areas of expertise, but they will also expand to new areas, giving the Training TD the opportunity to learn and teach new tools and subjects. The Training TD will proactively build and maintain strong connections with Technical teams at Pixar to understand their learning needs and will create training to meet those needs. On a daily basis this will require curiosity, interest in all aspects of our Technical Pipeline, approachability, and a collaborative spirit. The generalist knowledge and relationships gained in this position will enable the Training TD to rotate into production in their home discipline as well as new departments, and these rotations will be a key part of keeping the TD's skills current, as well as supporting production in critical ways.

Responsibilities:

• Deliver high quality classroom instruction on Pixar's technical film-making pipeline for new-hires during ''TD Quickstart'' and ''Specialty Training'' weeks
• Collaborate proactively with TDs, artists, Production Staff and department leadership to understand training needs, then develop and deliver intermediate and advanced technical training in specific disciplines with limited supervision
• Work with the rest of the Technical Training Team to propose, create, and complete a range of classes and activities that support Technical education across all departments at Pixar
• Maintain existing training materials and documentation to keep them up to date with production workflows
• Create new training materials and documentation that are team-specific or studio-wide
• Maintain technical training assets including PU's prods, shots, and models, to stay up-to-date within current Production units
• Help maintain classrooms including the physical spaces, hardware, and software
• Participate in organization, coordination and delivery of miscellaneous learning events
• Successfully complete short- and long-term rotations into production departments, adding value to the production, keeping skills current, and increasing castability

Qualifications:

• Strong teaching skills with the ability to develop and provide high quality classroom instruction for students at various levels of learning
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Strong organizational and time-management skills
• Excellent interpersonal skills, ability to build and maintain strong relationships, and proven ability to work successfully as part of a team
• Good trouble-shooting skills and a sense of calm under pressure
• Passion for learning and teaching
• Deep understanding of CG Production Pipelines, and how different teams work together over the course of a film
• Previous production experience in one or more technical departments and ability to acquire strong understanding of Pixar's technical pipeline
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Film Production, or a related field of study, preferably with a focus in Computer Graphics
• Experience with 3D software platforms such as Maya, Houdini, Nuke, Katana; ability to adapt to proprietary systems
• Familiarity with LINUX / UNIX and navigating Pixar's file systems
• Experience creating, maintaining and troubleshooting documentation in wiki/Confluence, Google Docs, or similar
• Some programming experience in Python, C or similar language

Physical Requirements:
• Frequent to continuous use of standard office / computer equipment including computer, mouse, keyboard, phone, etc.
• Computer-related work may involve extended periods of sitting or standing
• Teaching and meetings / collaborations require frequent location changes between campus buildings and classrooms
• Occasional moving of objects up to 30 pounds