Software Engineer (Hair/Cloth Toolset) at The Walt Disney Company

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

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Not SpecifiedCompensation

Senior (5 to 8 years)Experience Level

Full TimeJob Type

UnknownVisa

Animation, EntertainmentIndustries

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Mathematics, Physics, or equivalent experience
3+ years experience in a professional animation/VFX, or games environment and/or comparable academic/research experience with a focus on areas related to hair and cloth toolset
Understanding of computer graphics foundational concepts and algorithms
Proficiency in C++, ideally C++17 or later
Ability to develop and optimize algorithms for efficiency and scalability
Familiarity working with Maya API, USD, OpenGL, and/or Houdini
Ability to engage with artists to understand their requirements and formulate practical solutions
Excellent problem solving, troubleshooting, and debugging skills
Ability to adapt and extend relevant research to production-level tools tailored to specific art-directed needs

Responsibilities

Creation, support, and evolution of the studio’s custom tool set used for procedural creation of hairstyles, fur grooms, embroidery, feathers, and fiber-based cloth
Development of tools for character effects shot work including hair and cloth simulation
Work on geometric and procedural techniques
Design and development of intuitive user interfaces
Development of physics simulation algorithms
High performance parallel computation and other computer graphics algorithms relevant to artist workflows
Evolution and support of procedural geometry tools for creating hair styles, fur grooms, embroidery, feathers, and fiber-based cloth
Development of custom geometry deformers
Design and development of intuitive visualizations and new interactive tools and workflows
Development of mathematical and geometric libraries (e.g., collision detection/resolution, linear algebra, simulation and optimization libraries)
Support and extension of cloth and hair simulation solvers and associated authoring tools (e.g., property authoring, specification of constraints, collision interactions)
Profiling and optimization of tools and libraries, both existing and those in design/development
Collaborate with production leadership, technical directors, cross-team software engineers, and researchers

Skills

Key technologies and capabilities for this role

Procedural GeometryPhysics SimulationParallel ComputingComputer GraphicsUser InterfacesGeometry DeformersHair GroomingCloth SimulationVisualization ToolsInteractive Tools

Questions & Answers

Common questions about this position

What experience is required for this Software Engineer role?

Candidates need 3+ years of experience in a professional animation/VFX or games environment, or comparable academic/research experience focused on hair and cloth toolsets, along with understanding of computer graphics foundational concepts.

What programming skills are needed for this position?

Proficiency in C++, ideally C++17 or later, is required, with the ability to develop and optimize algorithms for efficiency and scalability.

What is the education requirement for this job?

A Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Mathematics, Physics, or equivalent experience is required.

What is the work environment like at Walt Disney Animation Studios?

The team works in a very collaborative environment, interacting daily with artists, production leadership, technical directors, cross-team software engineers, and researchers.

What makes a strong candidate for this Software Engineer position?

Ideal candidates have an in-depth understanding of underlying mathematical foundations as well as user-facing workflow needs, with experience in geometric/procedural techniques, physics simulation, and high-performance computation.