Senior Maya Technical Artist

Why join Swaybox Studios?

At Swaybox Studios is rewriting the rulebook of visual storytelling. As we collaborate with DC Studios/Warner Bros Pictures Animation and Matt Reeves’ 6th and Idaho on a revolutionary new project, you’ll play a vital role in coordinating the artistry and logistics that bring bold visions to life. This is your chance to help lead a production that’s equal parts innovative and unforgettable.

Job Summary

Swaybox Studios is seeking a technically adept and creatively driven Senior Maya Technical Artist to lead the seamless integration of facial performance through the innovative combination of keyframe poses and proprietary facial replacement technology. This role is central to maintaining the emotional fidelity and character consistency of our hybrid puppetry-CG performances, ensuring the final output meets the high artistic standards of the studio.

The Senior Maya Technical Artist will be focused on facial performance replacement, utilizing projection mapping in Maya with a hand-off to compositing in Nuke. You’ll play a hands-on role in resolving technical challenges and collaborating with Technical Directors to evolve tools that enhance production efficiency. This is a perfect position for someone who understands the subtle art of expression, character performance, and hybrid storytelling.

Key Responsibilities

• Ensure keyframe poses are seamlessly matched between our proprietary machine and animation performances within the face replacement pipeline.
• Contribute and develop the projection mapping and texture workflows within Maya.
• Communicate and collaborate with the VFX Supervisor, MoMo Art Supervisor, and TDs to align visual performance with narrative goals and identify areas of improvement in the pipeline, including tool and workflow development.
• Troubleshoot and debug technical issues related to face projection, animation line up, and pipeline tools; providing timely support and solutions.
• Create and maintain detailed technical documentation, including training sessions, tool descriptions, and user guides to ensure clarity and repeatability across the department.
• Develop, maintain, and optimize custom tools, scripts, and workflows within Maya to support our teams and maintain best practices within our pipeline.
• Coordinate with production teams to align technical processes with project timelines and goals.
  
  

Required Qualifications

• 5 years of experience as a Maya Technical Artist or similar role in a high-end VFX, Animation, or hybrid production environment, with a strong understanding of facial performance work.
• Strong proficiency in Python, PySide, PyQT, MEL, and other scripting languages used in Maya.
• Extensive experience with Maya, including customizing and developing tools, optimizing and automating workflows, and solving complex technical challenges.
• Proficient in Maya for projection mapping, facial pose application, and texture management.
• Strong problem-solving skills, attention to detail, and the ability to adapt quickly to unique or proprietary workflows.
• Solid understanding of character animation principles, performance nuances, and texture mapping techniques.
  
  

Preferred Qualifications

• Familiarity with compositing (Nuke), animation, and rigging workflows is advantageous.
• Knowledge of rendering techniques, post-production processes, engineering principles, and hybrid workflows that span traditional VFX and digital puppetry is a plus.
• Experience with other industry-standard tools and pipelines, such as ShotGrid (FPT) and Houdini is great to have.
• Background in projection-based facial animation, performance capture, or similar hybrid VFX processes is a strong plus.
• Drawing skills with a solid understanding of visual language- texture, color, dimension, scale, perspective, shade, motion blur, depth of field, proportion, spatial awareness, etc. is helpful.
  
  

At Swaybox Studios, we believe that great storytelling comes from diverse voices, perspectives, and experiences. We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, talents, and identities.

We do not discriminate in employment opportunities or practices on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.

Swaybox Studios also complies with applicable Louisiana laws governing non-discrimination in employment. We are dedicated to fostering a creative, inclusive, and respectful environment for all.