Content Pipeline Engineer (Experienced to Principal)

Company Overview

     ICON Creative Studio is Canada’s largest independently owned animation entertainment company, located in the historic Gastown district of Vancouver, BC. Our talented team includes specialists across the entire animation pipeline, working alongside creative and management professionals to deliver outstanding animated content.

Known for our commitment to quality, efficiency, and timely deliveries, ICON has partnered with distributors, broadcasters, and leading streaming platforms worldwide to create and produce noteworthy, impactful projects.

We operate from a holistic philosophy, leveraging the unique skill sets of our team members to maximize production efficiency while maintaining an optimal balance of creativity and quality on-screen.

Why work at ICON?

• Collaborate on top-tier feature and episodic CG franchises for major streaming platforms, including Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV+, Amazon, Peacock, and Paramount+.
• Be part of a diverse team of artists from around the globe who have joined us here in British Columbia.
• Work with the latest tools and software, ensuring you're always equipped to do your best work.
• Be part of a studio that upholds a premium standard of quality across all productions, putting every resource into what’s on-screen.
• Enjoy flexibility, autonomy, and a supportive workplace culture.
• Access direct deposit and a generous benefits package.
• Grow with us through continuous learning opportunities, mentorship, and empowering you to achieve your professional goals.

Junior Animator

Job Overview

    We’re looking for a Junior Animator to join our growing animation team and develop their skills while contributing to exciting animated productions. You’ll work alongside experienced artists and supervisors, applying the 12 Principles of Animation to craft clear, appealing, and expressive performances. This is a learning-focused role ideal for animators looking to build strong fundamentals, improve speed and polish, and gain confidence in a studio setting.

Responsibilities: 

• Animate shots using the 12 Principles of Animation, developing strong timing, posing, and performance.
• Compose and animate cameras with an understanding of basic photography and cinematography rules.
• Work within the established pipeline and workflows, maintaining clean scenes and thoughtful organization of keys and curves.
• Meet weekly quotas and revise work based on notes from Directors or Supervisors.
• Participate in dailies, weeklies, and team discussions to learn and apply feedback.
• Ask questions and seek help from senior artists and mentors when faced with technical or creative challenges.
• Communicate regularly with Leads and Supervisors to stay aligned with production goals.
• Actively work on improving speed, efficiency, and animation quality with each new shot.

Qualifications:

• 1 year of experience in an animation production environment or relevant academic/training program.
• Familiarity with Autodesk Maya or other industry-standard 3D animation software.
• Understanding of animation fundamentals and interest in performance-based character animation.
• Receptive to feedback and eager to learn in a collaborative environment.
• Strong communication, organization, and time management skills.
• Positive, team-focused attitude and a willingness to take on challenges.

Intermediate Animator

Job Overview

   We’re looking for an Intermediate Animator to join our production team and help bring stories to life with polished, high-quality character animation. In this role, you’ll be responsible for handling a wide range of shots - including technically complex or group shots - while maintaining consistency and clarity across your work. You'll play a key part in supporting the show’s creative vision while ensuring your work is efficient, clean, and production-ready.

Key Responsibilities

• Consistently produce animation at a high quality and output level, aligned with production expectations.
• Animate a variety of shot types, including technically challenging, action-heavy, or multi-character scenes.
• Apply strong animation fundamentals and polish to assigned shots.
• Understand and follow the show’s visual style, ensuring your work gets approved with minimal revisions.
• Maintain clean, organized scenes and workflows that support smooth production.
• Contribute to overall scene continuity and integration across sequences.
• Problem-solve technical or creative issues in collaboration with Leads or Supervisors.
• Flag larger issues in assets or rigs when they impact workflow or quality.

Qualifications

• 1+ year of experience in TV, film, games, or other media production environments.
• Strong working knowledge of Autodesk Maya is required.
• Completion of an animation diploma or certificate is a plus.
• Solid understanding of animation principles and character performance.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to work collaboratively in a team setting.
• A keen eye for detail, timing, and posing.

This is a Union position and the terms and conditions of employment are covered by a collective agreement.

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The wage range for this role reflects compensation across all of ICON’s projects. The final salary will be determined based on the specific position, the current show assignment, and the applicant’s experience and portfolio. This range accounts for varying levels of experience and responsibilities.

In compliance with British Columbia provincial mandates, we are posting this broad wage range to meet wage transparency requirements.

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ICON Creative Studio is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran, or disability status.

Demonstrated professional experience building art pipelines and editor tools; deep hands-on expertise in Unity Engine; comprehensive understanding of DCC tool content export; proven experience scripting DCC tools (Python, MEL, MaxScript); understanding of technical asset creation and production workflows; mastery of Unity’s asset import architecture (ScriptedImporters, AssetPostprocessors, Asset Database); sophisticated understanding of serialisation system, ScriptableObjects, and prefab workflows; proficiency in custom Unity Editor tooling; practical experience managing complex Addressables strategies; solid working knowledge of Unity’s rendering stack (URP, Shader Graph, HLSL, mobile-specific asset compression); creative problem solver and exceptional communicator; proactive mindset towards asset budgets and mobile performance; self-motivated, enthusiastic team player passionate about games and engineering excellence.