Rigging Lead

Company Description

Repeatedly voted one of Montreal’s Top Employers and Employer of the Year for the 2022 Mercuriades Awards, Rodeo FX is a high-end creative company offering services in visual effects, advertising, animation, and experiential.

Nominated for multiple Emmy® Awards for its work on the series Stranger Things season 4, Avatar:
The Last Airbenderand The Lord of The Rings:
The Rings of Power,the independent, Oscar®-winning company boasts close to 800 artists crafting from studios in Montreal, Québec City, Toronto, Los Angeles and Paris.

Rodeo FX is a creative partner to the world’s best storytellers including Netflix, HBO, Disney, Marvel, Amazon Studios, Warner Bros. and Sony, and has collaborated on ads for You Tube, NBC and Apple. Current projects include Dune:
Prophecy, Silo Season 2and Sonic
3. Recently released projects include The Rings of Power S eason 2, Venom:
The Last Dance, Taika Waitit's Time Bandits,and House of the Dragon Season 2.

The 3D Rigging Lead designs advanced rigs for characters, creatures, vehicles, and objects, while supervising a team of rigging artists within the project. They act as a technical and artistic reference, ensure the consistency of deliverables, and support the project's vision in close collaboration with supervision, production, and partner departments. Despite their supervisory responsibilities, they remain a hands-on expert, capable of delivering rigorous, autonomous, and exemplary work.

• Support the artistic vision of the project by collaborating with CG and animation supervision.
• Propose simple, effective, and consistent rigging solutions aligned with the project's style.
• Adapt rigs to narrative intentions and the stylistic needs of animators.
• Ensure that delivered rigs allow for fluid, expressive, and credible animation.

• Create and maintain robust, scripted, and optimized rigs for the pipeline.
• Supervise the technical integration of rigs into the production chain.
• Quickly debug deformation or interaction issues.
• Document complex tools or setups to ensure continuity.

• Supervise project rigging artists by providing benevolent and structured support.
• Lead rigging dailies, offer constructive feedback, and value everyone's contributions.
• Work in conjunction with production to plan, track, and adjust workload.
• Quickly communicate technical or human issues to supervision and the department.

• Train artists on department tools, standards, and workflows.
• Produce clear references (templates, videos, guides) to support the team.
• Participate in updating internal practices and disseminating learnings.
• Identify training needs and contribute to their organization with the Department Head.

• Develop or adapt Python/PySide tools to automate repetitive tasks.
• Optimize rigs and scripts to ensure fluidity and efficiency in the pipeline.
• Monitor rig performance in production and propose improvements.
• Participate in the evolution of rigging templates and the integration of technological

• Minimum of 3 years of experience as a Ringing Lead in the VFX industry in rigging.
• Proficiency in Maya software for production rigging.
• Proficiency in Python programming applied to rig tools or automation.
• Good knowledge of anatomy (bipeds, quadrupeds, muscles, facial expressions).
• Proficiency in blend shapes and deformation testing tools.
• Ability to manage priorities, work autonomously, and deliver on time.
• Asset:
  Proficiency or knowledge of C++ for creating nodes and/or deformers in Maya.
• Asset:
  Knowledge of PySide for UI creation.
• Asset:
  Knowledge of Flow or other production management tools.
• Asset:
  Experience with advanced facial solutions (e.g., FACS,…