JALI Research Inc. (JALI) is seeking a skilled and energetic software engineer to join its software development team to contribute meaningfully to JALI’s growing suite of proprietary and acclaimed facial animation tools and workflows licensed by award winning and best-class- video game development, feature animation production, VFX and transmedia character deployment.
At JALI, we are storytellers at heart. We pride ourselves on our deep bench of in-house talent, bringing together an Academy Award-winning team with decades of combined experience in graphics research and animation. Over the past 6 years JALI has contributed to several critically acclaimed titles – notably Cyberpunk 2077, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, Rise of the Ronin – that have set new standards for immersiveness in gameplay. Our expertise is trusted by studios across the globe. Currently over 50 game projects are leveraging JALI Software in active production and our experience spans a wide range of IPs and animation styles.
As a member of the JALI team, you will report directly to the Chief Technology Officer and work with a multidisciplinary team to build on the success of our current product offerings, and develop the next generation of tools and workflows to generate and direct expressive facial animation at scale across a growing number of markets.
RESPONSIBILITIES
- Develop, maintain, and provide support for the JALI Maya and Unreal plugins (jSync, jRig / jRigger, jTagger and JALI C++ Libraries and API used by studios and users across the video game development, avatar / digital human and animation (series & film) industries
- Collaborate with the development team, founders and end-user stakeholders to produce best-in- class frameworks and next-generation workflows
- Thoroughly learn the code-base to help direct and optimize it over the long term
- Coding Python Projects for QA, deployments etc
- Learning/Maintaining and Optimizing C++ and Unreal code-base with CTO
- Debugging, QA, Unit Testing
- Creating Installers for new customer deployments
QUALIFICATIONS
- BS, MS/PhD in Computer Science or similar technical field of study or equivalent practical experience
- Strong programming skills in C++, Python
- Strong communication skills with the ability to convey complex technical information
- Passion for interacting with end-user clients and creative staff to develop solution-based tools and technologies in the fields of graphics, and specifically, character animation
ASSETS
- Technical writing skills, working with, writing and revising written and visual documentation and tutorials
- 3-5 years of industry experience
- Experience with real-time game engines such as Unreal or Unity
- Experience with cross-platform development
- Working knowledge of C#, Mel
- Familiarity with Maya and or related Digital Content Creation (DCC) software platforms: Houdini, Blender, 3DMax, Cinema 4D etc
- Familiarity with character rigging fundamentals
TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN THIS ROLE YOU WILL
- Have the ability to work as part of a team
- Be a self-starter with a can-do attitude
- Be cooperative, kind and patient
- Communicate effectively, especially when conveying complex technical information
- Demonstrate exceptional problem-solving skills
- Be confident interacting with end-user clients and creative staff to develop solution based tools and technologies in the fields of graphics, and specifically, character animation
- Always be looking to expand your knowledge and skill set through new learning opportunities
- Have a keen interest in video games, film, animation and performing arts
WORKPLACE & CULTURE
- We are a partially remote workforce and have a flexible approach to in-studio work – the local Toronto team typically works at least two days a week in the office space in Kensington Market
- Team members meet briefly each morning on Zoom for daily standups and once weekly for longer form status calls and progress presentations
- We stay connected, organized and transparent using Slack
- As a small team, self motivation, ownership and the ability to hold oneself accountable is crucial
JOB DETAILS
Reports to: CTO
Permanent, Full-time
COMPENSATION
65-81K + Health and Dental Coverage
Flexible work schedule
Paid vacation, sick days
LOCATION
Our transit-friendly studio space is part of a shared creative workspace located in Toronto’s eclectic Kensington Market, called 156 Studio Projects, located at 156 Augusta Ave. 2nd Floor, Toronto ON. Amenities include spacious workstations, unlimited meeting room access, kitchen and common areas. The building is not accessible.
Please apply with resume, cover letter. Only those selected for an interview will be contacted. Applicants selected for interview may be asked to provide code samples. References will be contacted. This position is open to all qualified applicants; however, preference will be given to Canadian citizens or permanent residents.
JALI
JALI provides production teams with a powerful, flexible, and intuitive suite of animation and rigging tools to create unforgettable digital character performances.
At JALI we view digital characters, whether they are hero characters, NPC, or in-car virtual assistants, as actors. And at their most essential, whether they are photorealistic models rendered in 6K resolution, or they are cube-headed avatars on a Minecraft server or Roblox, they all have a job to do, and that job is to give a performance. To power those performances, we develop artistic-centric tools to drive and fully direct the expressive performance of digital characters, enabling story and character development, direction and animation capable of massive scale up with a fraction of typical resources.
JALI’s procedural animation system employs intelligent automation and is designed with a deep understanding of the principles of rigging and animation craft. With tools to automate and direct the animation of best-in-class automated lip sync, expressive multilingual facial animation, and high-performance rigging and pipeline solutions, JALI empowers animators to deliver cinematic-quality character animation with ease – on time, on budget and on model, and high fidelity in game character animation at unprecedented scale.
The art of digital character animation is constantly evolving, and our tools are flexible enough to redefine the future of animation — whatever form it takes next.