Creative Technologist, Studio R&D

About Big Shot Pictures

Big Shot Pictures is a next-generation animation company founded by Brian Robbins that produces the franchises of tomorrow. With a distinctive digital-first approach, the company builds global animation franchises across all platforms, from digital to theatrical, gaming to streaming, and consumer products to experiences.

About the Role

We are looking for a hands-on Creative Technologist to join our Studio R&D team and lead the development and implementation of innovative generative AI workflows for animation. This role bridges creative vision and technical execution – staying on the pulse of emerging AI models, evaluating production viability, and translating breakthroughs into scalable, artist-friendly tools.

You will work in an agile, high-autonomy environment embedded alongside our engineers and creatives – 3D/2D artists, animators, writers, directors, and more. You don't need to be a machine learning engineer or traditional software developer yourself; our engineering team handles core infrastructure. We value creative taste, technical curiosity, and strong judgment in identifying high-impact production solutions.

Responsibilities

• Evaluate emerging generative models (image, video, 3D, motion, and audio) upon release using a mixture of standardized benchmarks and creative gut
• Benchmark model performance across key dimensions: visual quality, style consistency, controllability, speed, cost, etc
• Collaborate closely with creatives and show units to develop solutions that support their creative visions and production requirements
• Push the boundaries of what generative-tooling can do by solving complex creative challenges such as high control, character consistency, and dynamic multi-character shots
• Develop lightweight prototypes, custom tools, and automated scripts to remove production bottlenecks across asset creation, pre-production, and post-production
• Partner with the engineering team to integrate generative workflows into scalable production solutions
• Document workflow standards, best practices, and research findings to enable seamless knowledge transfer and studio-wide adoption
• Foster a culture of creative innovation, empowering teams with modern production tools and automated pipelines
• Make incredible content!

Required Qualifications

• Demonstrated creative judgment and high quality standards for media – preferably within stylized 3D animation
• Proven track record of self-directed creation and experimentation with state-of-the-art image, video, 3D, and audio generative models
• Experience with node-based AI tools (e.g., ComfyUI), open-source model deployment, custom nodes, or fine-tuning techniques (LoRA, ControlNet)
• Ability to work beyond consumer-facing AI apps, building custom node workflows or local/hosted model setups
• Pragmatic approach to technical problem-solving, prioritizing clean, maintainable, and reliable solutions over unnecessary complexity
• High autonomy and initiative, with strong communication skills to keep cross-functional teams aligned on key research initiatives
• Strong collaborative orientation, openness to constructive feedback, and adaptability in pivoting technical strategies
• Familiarity with animation pipelines and creative workflows
• A portfolio demonstrating creative projects made with AI-tooling

Nice to Have

• Production experience in animation, film, series, or gaming, particularly involving stylized 3D pipelines
• Familiarity with digital content creation (DCC) software and real-time engines such as Maya, Blender, or Unreal Engine
• Active involvement in open-source AI development or creative technology research communities