Digital Matte Painter - Senior (Expression of Interest)

Salary: $111,000 to $123,000/year

Position: Digital Matte Painter - Senior

Hiring Range:$111,000 to $123,500/year for a 40 hour work week

Project Contract: start January 2026

Company Benefits:Extended healthcare from day 1, premiums 100% covered by Image Engine, up to 8 paid Health and Wellness days per year.

*Candidates are required to be based in British Columbia and eligible to work in Canada*

ABOUT IMAGE ENGINE

Image Engine is a world-class VFX studio based in Vancouver, BC, that has built a reputation for excellence in the visual effects industry since 1995. We specialize in crafting stunning visual effects for feature films and television with an award-winning portfolio that includes The Book of Boba Fett, The Mandalorian, Game Of Thrones, Lost in Space, Jurassic World, and District 9.

We offer a full range of visual effects services, from concept designs and pre-visualization to CG animation, compositing, and explosive volumetric digital effects. Our crew is passionate about storytelling and pushing the artistic and technical boundaries to deliver the highest quality work on every project. R&D is central to our philosophy of driving creativity through innovation and we're committed to continually evolving our robust production pipelines.

At Image Engine, we value diversity and teamwork, and we're proud to foster a workplace culture that is supportive, respectful, and empowering. We believe that our success is a reflection of our exceptionally talented team, and we're always looking for passionate and dedicated individuals to join us on our mission to create unforgettable visual experiences. Join our team and be part of something extraordinary.

POSITION PURPOSE

The Senior Matte Painter is responsible for delivering high quality photo-real environments in a quick and efficient manner. They will be flexible in their approach and open to feedback from other departments when creating solutions. They will use their experience to interpret and apply briefing notes with minimal direction from team Leads or Supervisors. They will quality check all of their work and occasionally will assist the Leads to quality check the work of junior artists should the workload require it. They will participate in the buddy system for new employees to help them quickly understand our pipeline.

The Senior Matte Painter will take the initiative to resolve technical and creative issues while executing shots at a high level of difficulty. In addition, they will help the Leads and Supervisors to flag issues. They will potentially assist in the Lead role on a short term basis in the event of an absence or if production needs require it. They will participate in team meetings when necessary.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

• Create final photo-real environments with minimal supervision and within the studio pipeline
• Integrate live footage, CG elements, images and photography into film
• Communicate successes and challenges faced by the team to Supervisors
• Manage time and resources to meet weekly targets
• Overcome technical issues (day to day problem solving), in conjunction with R&D and the CG Supervisor
• Attention to detail when finalizing, approving or QCing work
• Accurately assesses and prioritizes their workload, communicates about deadlines and elements requirements to complete the work with DMP Coordinator, Lead & Supervisor
• Communicate well with all members of the Matte Painting, Production and Supervision teams
• Promote interdepartmental collaboration
• Ensure all email correspondence and scheduling is up to date, responding to emails in a timely manner
• Demonstrates resilience, and a desire to achieve high quality standards
• Assist members of the Matte Painting team to learn and grow their skills
• Attend dailies, reviews, and team meetings as required

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

• 5+ years of Digital Matte Painting experience on high end feature films
• Demonstrated proficiency in defining and creating photo-real elements
• Experience with rendering large datasets
• Strong knowledge of 3D workflow, including Asset Modeling, Lookdev, Scene Assembly, Shading, Lighting, and Rendering.
• Knowledge of traditional art skills and techniques: composition, color, lighting, depth, drawing, painting, and photography
• Experience in concept art
• Ability to balance quick turnaround while achieving a high degree of aesthetic quality

SKILLS AND ABILITIES

Technical skills

• Ability to train and coach artists in Matte Painting techniques and studio workflows
• Experience with Matte Painting, 2D and 3D projection, and camera mapping set-ups for environments
• Experience solving technical issues with complex 3D scene and Nuke scenes, including render optimization
• Experience with deep comp
• Strong knowledge in Photoshop, Nuke and Maya with all aspects of 2.5D and 3D projection work.
• Knowledge in Arnold renderer
• Knowledge on other 3D software (Blender, Zbrush, Unreal Engine, Houdini, Terrain generation softwares as Gaea, World creator, photogrammetry softwares) a plus but not accentual
• • Ability to come up with creative and efficient rendering solutions
• Excellent attention to detail when finalizing, approving or QCing work

Core skills

• Ability to determine the timeframe and scope required for each task
• Ability to troubleshoot and deal with competing priorities and projects
• Ability to assess artists strengths and weaknesses to assign tasks and manage workflow
• Ability to adapt quickly to new technologies and applications
• Ability to teach new techniques and apply new approaches and solutions
• Strong leadership skills
• Excellent time management and communication skills