[SVLUG-Jobs] Dreamworks Animation Job Posting Request

[Norman, Tim]

Location:  Redwood City, California

Posted By:  Direct Employer



Please send resumes directly to:  tim.norman at dreamworks.com<mailto:tim.norman at dreamworks.com>









JOB DESCRIPTION

PDI/DREAMWORKS  TECHNICAL RESOURCE ADMINISTRATOR



Summary:

A Technical Resource Administrators (TRAs) is are responsible for providing 24x7 managing the rendering process of high quality computer animation and visual effects on PDI/Dreamworks' render farmsupport of the studio's rendering efforts.  TRAs monitor and load balance the render farm, assist with hung and errored jobs and participate in the day-to-day management of render farm hosts.  TRAs He or she provides rendering support for all departments and divisions, including:  Layout, Motion, Lighting and Special Effects.  Render Assistants will assist in job development as requested and help with render tests and in house projects.  TRAs also monitor data I/O across various filesystems and initiate data moves to balance disk utilization.  Other responsibilities include answering the Render Desk hotline, escalating urgent studio support issues after hours and responding to all SupportQ calls assigned to the department.





Technical Resource Administrators report to the Technical Resource Manager and the Technical Resource Administration Lead.



Responsibilities:

Render Farm Management:

*         Detect and troubleshoot stuck and failed jobs

*         Monitor, diagnose and resolve/escalate malfunctioning farm hosts

*         Keep the render farm running at maximum capacity

*         Monitor filesystems for space availability

*         Request changes in storage volume sizes as needed

*         Identify and report trends and potential problems



Render Queue Management:

*         Monitor the LSF render queue

*         Maintain the rendering priorities and fair-share processor allocations for each team

*         Assist artists with job submissions and job errors

*         Answer the 24x7 Render Desk Hotline

*         Respond to all render-related SupportQ's

*         Work with production to forecast render resource needs

*         Make general reports for each shift



Render Pipeline Management:

*         Update shot directories, libraries and servers

*         Run Linux and Perl scripts to convert proprietary script files into images, movie and video files

*         Render, inspect and fix frames for one or more productions

*         Deliver movie files to producers, directors and animators for dailies and film out



Studio Support:

*         Monitor studio infrastructure servers and escalate problems

*         Answer and escalate Studio Help Desk calls after hours and on weekends

*         After hours and weekend VSC support



Other duties as assigned.



Overall Production Involvement:

Technical Resource Administrators are encouraged to develop their technical and artistic skills and have frequent interaction with animators, technical directors and supervisors.



Requirements:

*         One year of Linux, Shell scripting and basic systems administration experience

*         Good verbal and writing skills, good organizational skills

*         Able to handle a fast paced, occasionally high pressure environment

*         Can work well with a group or independently

*         Able to Graveyard and on weekend evenings or nights