Aardman Nathan Love is an animation studio that seeks to capture and tell stories in engaging, clever, and whimsical ways. Our work spans all realms of the 2D and 3D universes - basically any dimension we can get our hands on. Our team is brimming with enthusiastic and down-to-earth artists and producers who feel it’s important to do incredible work but also enjoy the ride.
We are currently looking for someone to step into the new position of ‘Systems Admin / Pipeline Developer’. Qualifications for this role include familiarity within a CG animation pipeline, prior experience in the IT field, people skills, a willingness to wear many hats, and knowledge of the scripting language Python. Below is a more detailed and comprehensive list of quotidian tasks that this job will entail.
If this description applies to you and gets you excited, please send a resume, cover letter, and list of references to [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you!
A DAY/WEEK IN THE LIFE…
Setting up workstations for artists
- Consulting with producer/director and moving the best workstation for the incoming artist into place.
- Setting up Cintiqs or tablets, and updated software for said artists
Setting new artists up in our system
- Making sure they have a login
- Explaining file structure & setting up shortcuts to all software
- Explaining (and enforcing) our naming conventions (camelCase)
- If Maya or Nuke, explaining our custom tools
Installing various things
- Fonts (very often)
- Updating CC versions before new freelancers come in
- Any extra software or plugins
- Setting up remote access to speed this up
Maintaining workstation documentation
- Updating active workstation spreadsheet
- Updating numerous spreadsheets
Keep archiving & backups spreadsheet clean and current
- Joining for wrap-up process meetings
- Adding new projects to the spreadsheet
- Helping Paul (our remote IT guy) with archiving. Communicating with him on the regular.
- Helping to clean up / delete loose files on the server
Unarchiving assets from tape as needed
- Learning how to unarchive cleanly
- Working with artists to track down exactly what files are needed for the project
- Keeping track of how much has been unarchived and clearing old goods
Archiving to tape
- Learning the process from Paul and applying it
- Updating Wrap-Up spreadsheet
Production pipeline support & tool development
- Working with CG team to find inefficiencies in workflow
- Creating Python scripts that will make our pipeline more efficient
Updating website
- Using our custom backend to upload and organize content on our website
- Working with artists to gather the correct content.
Fixing general workstation & office equipment
- Printer troubleshooting
- Calling the service provider if the internet goes out
- Troubleshooting individual connectivity issues
Desktop & server maintenance
- Making sure all workstations have enough hard drive space, and clearing them when needed
- Making sure server is not low on storage, and communicating with team to wrap-up more projects when more space is needed
- Making sure antivirus is up to date
- Making sure snapshot backups are working
Research, purchase, and set up new systems
- Researching cost effective new hardware, software, and licenses
- Providing potential plans for approval
- Coordinating buying, setting up, & testing new equipment
Studio vibe
- We are a small staff and the amount of freelancers present fluctuates depending on current projects. There is lots of interaction between team members and most situations are handled face to face or within g-chat.