We are looking for a passionate technical artist to push the boundaries of our custom Houdini tools, act as a mentor, and explore new ways to unlock sustainable innovation by leveraging procedural thinking.

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The Team

Mode Lab is a creative lab solving the complex problems of our time using very powerful computational tools. We bring together purpose-driven designers to focus their talents and energy on overcoming the twin challenges of social and climate catastrophes resulting from our industrial age.

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Mode Lab was founded in Brooklyn, New York in 2007. Today our studio is located in the Pacific Northwest, the epicenter of new product creation in the United States. We've empowered more than 50 clients worldwide, 80% of which are Fortune 500, across five industries, to transform the products they create and the positive impact their brand can make. Our team comprises sustainable design thinkers who fuse human-centered thinking and computational techniques to challenge the status quo. We take a synthesis approach to design, implementing computational tools and humanistic design strategies to develop sustainable solutions holistically.  Environmental, social, and economic impacts are integral to the products and services we create, from ideation through to the end of use. We work with the leading consumer product, automotive, and manufacturing brands to make sustainability compelling, impactful, and real. Our mission is to be the essential partner for ambitious and compassionate brands everywhere. Our vision is to redesign the world as a sustainable balance between human well-being and planetary performance.

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Mode Lab offers a competitive benefits package to all employees, including health care, 401K matching, generous paid time off, and support for continuing education and personal research.

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The Impact You'll Have

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The purpose of this role is to develop innovative sustainability solutions through the development and maintenance of leading-edge proprietary pipeline tools and scripts.

• Work directly with our Design team to build advanced solutions for sustainable design and manufacturing applications.
• Design, build and optimize procedural algorithms in both visual and textual languages.
• Research procedural technologies and solutions in close collaboration with our Design team.
• Render and animate high-quality effects that meet technical and aesthetic standards for the project.
• Help to set up and maintain the global tools and workflows related to procedural production.
• Train and empower our Designers in using related workflows and tools.
• Optimize procedural workflows to increase tool usability and performance.
• Work on client projects alongside Fortune 500 brands.

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Who We're Looking For

General

• A purpose-driven individual who puts people and planet first
• Background in Film, VFX, Design, Software Engineering
• Familiar with lean and agile DevOps principles
• Ability to take and apply direction and work well in a team environment
• Ability to document and optimize workflows
• Ability to handle and prioritize multiple tasks and meet deadlines

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Houdini Experience

• High level of demonstrated experience and proficiency in Houdini
• Previous experience working in a studio on production projects
• Strong knowledge in implementing algorithms in VEX/VOPS
• Strong knowledge in modeling and rendering VDB/Volumes
• Proficiency in shading and rendering techniques
• Familiar with TOPS/PDG/HDAs
• Can create static and animated visualizations of both conceptual and applied algorithms

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At Mode Lab, we believe that we can only succeed as a team with the inclusivity of diverse voices, points of view, and experiences. We are committed to an equitable workplace and believe deeply in diversity of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, national origin, and all the other characteristics that make us different. We strongly encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and communities.

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If you require additional accommodations during the interview process, please let us know.