[Full-Time with benefits - remote] - Lighting/Rendering artists
Apply here: https://www.webstaurantstore.com/careers/department/photo-video/43643/67105
NOTE: Although this is a remote job, for legal reasons we can only hire legal residents of the following 16 US states: AL, AZ, AR, DE, FL, GA, KS, KY, MD, MI, MS, NV, NC, OH, OK, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, WV, WI or WY. We understand that this unfortunately rules out a lot of great people, but if you do not live in one of these states or live outside the USA your application will be rejected unreviewed. If you can and will relocate to one of these states if hired, please indicate this in your cover letter.
W-2 only, visa sponsorship not available.
What's the job?
WebstaurantStore is looking for self-motivated and detail-oriented candidates to join our rapidly growing internal studio as full-time, fully-remote 3D lighting/rendering artists. Successful candidates will demonstrate strong skills in photo-realistic lighting and rendering for our virtual photography pipeline, where we create renderings and AR experiences to showcase our products to customers.
As part of our open, respectful, collaborative, and rapidly-growing 3D team, your primary responsibility will be to create photorealistic renders of product models generated by the modeling team, both in isolation (“basic”) and in virtual environments (“staged”). As a secondary responsibility, you will also work with the modelers to develop and light new virtual sets for staged images. You will be expected to stay on task and show initiative while following our workflows and brand standards.
A link to an online portfolio showcasing your lighting and rendering skills should accompany your application.
What's in it For You:
WebstaurantStore is deeply committed to being a great place to work, with a culture of continuous improvement backed up by the resources of an established, profitable company. Some of the benefits of joining our 3D team include:
- A real 40-hour week. In the past 12 months our entire team has booked zero hours of overtime (but if we ever have any it will pay time-and-a-half).
- Remote work with a flexible schedule.
- A friendly, collaborative, large (currently 17 full-time 3D artists plus support staff), and growing team. You'll be working remotely but you won't be alone.
- A steady rhythm of projects. The nature of our studio's workstream is to have very few surprises. No crunch time or dry spells, and no scrambling to chase the client's latest whim.
- Creative autonomy. We're our own client, so designing great-looking spaces is part of the gig.
- Institutional support. We can leverage the developer and sysadmin resources of the large ecommerce company that we are in support of the team.
- A high-end workstation and all software is provided, with a dedicated IT helpdesk for issues.
As for compensation, this is a full-time position with a competitive benefits package, including:
- $55,000 - $60,000 salary (hourly basis)
- Paid time off for holidays plus 3 weeks per year
- Healthcare, dental, and vision coverage
- 401k with company match and profit-sharing contributions
- Student loan payments matched as if they were contributions into 401k
- Pre-tax Health Savings Account
- Pre-tax Dependent Care Account
- Life Insurance
- Employee discount at our website and The Restaurant Store
As a Lighting/Rendering artist you will:
- Light and render photorealistic product images in Maya/Redshift from assets developed by the modeling team
- Perform minor model and material edits to renderable assets as needed
- Perform basic post corrections on completed renders
- Precomposite beauty and AOV renders into well-organized Photoshop files for handoff to photo editors
- Use Natron to build renders of color variant products from AOVs
- Develop and light interior and exterior virtual sets for staged images.
- Plate-match renders to location photography backplates and HDRI lightprobe captures
- Work with the rest of the 3D team to constantly improve and streamline our workflows.
- Provide accurate time estimates for tasks, including iteration and review time
- Collaborate with the Photography, 3D Modeling, and Development teams to solve creative and technical problems and meet deadlines collaboratively.
- Organize and upload files according to department standards
Desired Traits:
- Hungry: Passionate for their work and self-motivated, with a process improvement focus.
- Humble: Has the grounded confidence to share their ideas, recognize the contributions of others, and admit mistakes.
- People Smart: Effective communicator and attentive listener, with excellent interpersonal skills.
Minimum qualifications:
- Demonstrated proficiency (via online portfolio) in realistic lighting and rendering
- Proficiency in Maya and Adobe Substance
- Proficiency in Photoshop
- Experience with AOV compositing
Preferred qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in 3D Animation, Fine Art, or related field
- 2+ years professional experience with 3D lighting and rendering
- Experience using Redshift Render and AWS Thinkbox Deadline
- Real-world studio photography experience a plus
- MEL/ Python a plus