Character Technical Director - Tech Animation

Character Technical Director - Tech Animation

Job  
Location Burbank, California, United States Business Walt Disney Animation Studios Date posted Feb. 04, 2026

At Walt Disney Animation Studios, Character Technical Directors (TD) work on Character Rigging, Simulation Setup, and Technical Animation. We are currently hiring Character TDs with an emphasis in Technical Animation/CFX to join us in crafting the most appealing character simulation performances for Hexed.

Our ideal candidate has strong artistic skills built on top of a proven technical foundation. You will work closely with the industry's top talent in fields ranging from design and modeling through animation to bring our characters to life.

• Technical Animation/Character FX for shot production, including cloth and hair simulation, and final character polishing
• Collaborate directly with Character Asset Team members:
  Directors, Character Designers, Animators, Modelers, and Look Development Artists to define and create the best simulation or animation rigs for a wide range of character styles and art directions
• Responsible for the secondary animation of our characters using a suite of physical simulation, rigging and sculpting tools.

• Experience in hair and/or cloth simulation
• Experience in shot finaling and sculpting work post simulation
• Thorough understanding of the principles of animation
• Extensive knowledge of anatomy, kinematics, and physical behaviors
• Experience with crafting appealing performance through simulation
• Solid understanding of Python scripting
• Experience on 3+ CG feature film productions
• Experience working in collaborative environments and taking direction
• Strong problem-solving ability
• Comfortable with Linux environments
• Experience in modeling, grooming, and rigging are a plus
• Bachelor's degree in Art, Illustration, Computer Graphics, Engineering, related field or equivalent experience

Our department currently uses Autodesk Maya as our primary platform with proprietary solvers, hair instancing tools, and other authoring plugins. Applicants should be adept in Maya or an equivalent CG application or demonstrate a curiosity about learning software quickly. Strength in packages like Marvelous Designer, XGen, and Houdini is an added plus.

• A reel of recent and best technical animation work that is no longer than 3 minutes in length
• A resume that details your work history outlining past experiences that relate to working on cloth and hair technical animation in a collaborative environment
• A reel breakdown of the visuals on your reel (either in word doc or visible on reel)
• Examples of art directed simulation a plus
• Post simulation finaling and anatomy sculpting a plus
• Cloth simulation rigs that demonstrate an understanding of tailoring and fabric quality under a broad range of motion a plus
• Examples of performance with character animation rigs a plus
• An optional portfolio of drawing or sculpture work reflecting an interest and knowledge in design and anatomy

The pay rate for this role in Burbank, California is $60.69 to $71.68 per hour, which follows the pay scale agreed upon in the Collective Bargaining Agreement. The base pay actually offered may vary depending on the candidate's geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience, among other factors. Select benefits may be provided as part of the compensation package, such as medical, financial, and/or other benefits.

To learn more about our benefits visit:

Combining masterful artistry and storytelling with groundbreaking technology, Walt Disney Animation Studios is a filmmaker-driven animation studio responsible for creating some of the most beloved films ever made. Disney Animation continues to build on its rich legacy of innovation and creativity, from the first fully-animated feature film, 1937's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, to the upcoming features. Among the studio's timeless creations are Pinocchio, Sleeping Beauty, The Jungle Book, The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Frozen, Zootopia, and Encanto.

The Walt…