Pipeline Technical Director, AYON & Data I/O

Role Overview

Promise's productions run on a pipeline where generative AI and traditional VFX workflows meet. Every show depends on material moving into it, through it, and out to delivery cleanly, and on a production backbone configured the same way every time.

As Pipeline Technical Director, you administer the studio's production tracking and asset management backbone day to day (projects, users, permissions, statuses, and publish workflows) and you own data I/O for productions: ingest, transcode, QC, packaging, and delivery to spec, with every asset landing as a clean, versioned, addressable record. When a show arrives with a drive of material, you already know where it goes and how it gets there.

You work alongside the pipeline lead and the lead technologist, and you are the link between implementation and what productions need. The role grows with the studio, with a path to senior and lead responsibility.

Key Responsibilities

• Administer the production backbone across shows: project setup, anatomy and naming conventions, users and permissions, and status workflows.
• Own data I/O for every show: ingest, transcode, QC, packaging, and delivery to client spec, on the dates productions depend on.
• Run and refine the publish workflow artists use to get approved work into the system.
• Keep the production database clean and reconciled: versions, links, and metadata that hold up at delivery.
• Set up new shows in the pipeline, from folder structure and task assignment through handoff to coordinators and artists.
• Support the pipeline lead and the lead technologist on integrations with the DCC and review tools artists use daily.
• Document how the pipeline works so it outlives any one person's memory.

Qualifications

• Hands-on experience administering AYON or OpenPype: project setup, anatomy, permissions, and publishing.
• Experience in pipeline TD, data I/O, or production engineering roles at a VFX, animation, or post studio, or on productions where data I/O was yours to run.
• Delivery-spec literacy: codecs, color pipelines, naming, and the discipline of getting it right every time.
• Python for pipeline scripting and comfort with REST APIs.
• A working understanding of how shots, bids, and task assignments move through a production.
• Comfort configuring a pipeline to a studio's own standard, with the understanding that every studio pipeline is its own.
• Los Angeles preferred, with on-site availability.

Preferred

• ftrack or ShotGrid administration alongside AYON.
• Experience with review tools and DCC integrations (OpenRV, Nuke, Maya, Resolve).
• On-set or virtual production experience where data I/O was live.
• USD familiarity.
• Exposure to generative AI production workflows.

Compensation

We offer a highly competitive compensation package commensurate with experience, including equity.

Benefits

We believe in supporting our team’s well-being and growth. Our comprehensive benefits package includes:

• Health & Wellness: Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance coverage, with employee premiums covered 100%.
• Time Off: Generous paid time off (PTO) policy, including company holidays and sick leave.
• Financial Security: 401(k) matching program to help you plan for your future.
• Work Environment: A dynamic, creative, and inclusive hybrid work environment based out of our innovative studio.