Do you love shaping mood and story through light? We’re looking for someone who sees more than just illumination.
We are looking for strong and consistent leader for our lighting department. Based in Tokyo, you’ll be working with talented teams across multiple productions, providing both creative and strategic lighting leadership.
This role is ideal for someone with excellent communication skills, who leads with calm and clarity, and who enjoys solving problems collaboratively. You’ll work closely with artists, production teams, and show and studio leadership to ensure that our lighting work is delivered to the highest standard – on time and in style.
Key Responsibilities
Visual Development Leadership: Define the lighting and shading style for projects. Create clear visual references, style guides and look books that support a consistent visual tone.
Department Orchestration: Oversee the lighting team across multiple shows, balancing creative demands with production realities. Maintain quality and consistency throughout.
Pipeline Strategy: Help design and guide the lighting and lookdev pipeline. Work with TDs and pipeline teams to ensure workflows are robust, scalable, and artist-friendly.
Technology Evaluation: Lead the review and adoption of new renderers, plugins, and tools. Balance innovation with the need for production stability.
Creative Partnership: Collaborate with directors, production designers, and supervisors to translate artistic goals into practical lighting solutions.
Resource Strategy: Plan and manage rendering resources, storage needs, and software usage. Make decisions about how to allocate technical resources effectively.
Vendor Quality Control: Oversee lighting and lookdev work from external partners. Set clear expectations, provide feedback, and ensure the work meets our standards.
Innovation Leadership: Explore and champion new techniques in lighting, rendering, and optimisation. Encourage creative and technical R&D within the team.
Talent Pipeline: Support the development of lighting artists at all levels. Help with hiring, mentoring, and career development. Build a sustainable and diverse department.
Strategic Vision: Work with studio leadership to plan for the future of the lighting team. Stay aware of industry trends and position the department to evolve and grow.
What You'll Bring:
- Proven experience supervising lighting in a VFX or animation studio.
- Strong leadership, organisation, and communication skills.
- A deep understanding of lighting techniques, shading, and rendering.
- Familiarity with tools like Maya, Houdini, Katana, Nuke, and modern renderers (e.g. Solaris, RenderMan). Familiarity with USD.
- Ability to guide and mentor artists, and support their growth.
- Experience managing schedules, resources, and team priorities.
- Comfortable working in both hands-on and strategic roles.
- A collaborative mindset with the ability to take ownership of tasks and see them through to completion.
- Proficiency in English is required, and Japanese language skills are considered an asset.
If you’re ready to help light the way, we'd love to hear from you!
