Position Summary

Are you a talented engineer, looking for an opportunity to make science films that change the world? Would you like to apply your technical skills to transform how people see their connection to our planet, nature and the cosmos? The Planetarium Production Systems Engineer will play an integral role in the creation of beautiful cutting-edge science content showcased in San Francisco and planetariums around the world. You will maintain and improve the infrastructure of our in-house, award winning science visualization studio comprised of a small team of visual effects artists creating science visualizations, animations, and fulldome imagery for planetarium programs. This position reports to the Visual Effects Supervisor.

Essential Duties and Responsabilities

• Maintain and improve network, storage and render farm infrastructure in support of the science visualization team creating high resolution image sequences generated from large 3d models, animations, textures and scientific datasets
• Update and maintain visual effects software and operating system environments
• Provide desktop support to workstations for 6-10 artists in Linux and Mac environments
• Maintain and operate the planetarium playback system for dailies screenings
• Install/de-install equipment and generate/maintain documentation of systems
• Collaborate with expert consultants and Viz staff on long term design, planning and budgeting of future hardware and software infrastructure and cloud-based services
• Maintain and improve disaster recovery, backup and archive strategy
• Provide support and coverage for planetarium systems operations, with periodic night, weekend and holiday shifts

Minimum Qualifications

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required or preferred. A qualified candidate will possess a combination of the following:

• 1+ years working in a visual effects, real-time graphics, science visualization or similar audio/visual production environment
• Linux/Mac systems and data server administration experience: RHEL7/CentOS 7, macOS
• Good grasp of TCP/IP networking, ethernet configuration, fiber switches; proven ability to troubleshoot and resolve network issues in a timely manner
• Experience with visual effects software and good understanding of 3D and 2D computer graphics and visual effects workflows
• Knowledge of render server, 3D and editorial workstation architecture, custom CentOS and Mac operating system image testing and deployment
• Demonstrated track record with software engineering best practices
• Comfortable scripting with high level languages (e.g., Python)
• Works well with cross-discipline and cross-departmental teams
• Open collaborator who tracks/shares projects' progress proactively and regularly
• Self-aware self-starter with solid problem solving abilities, works systematically and with care, has a high attention to detail, excellent communication skills and a sense of humor

A plus if you have:

• Houdini, Maya, Blender, Nuke, Adobe CC knowledge and experience
• Job management software experience (e.g., PipelineFX Qube)
• Virtual environments and virtual machines knowledge
• Cloud storage and computing familiarity
• AR, VR or 360 Video experience

The California Academy of Sciences welcomes people of all backgrounds, identities and beliefs to join us in achieving our mission to explore, explain, and sustain life on Earth. We place diversity, equity, and inclusion at the heart of our recruiting efforts and strive to build a culture centered on mutual respect, equal treatment, and the opportunity to succeed.

Learn more and submit your application at CAS' official website.