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Computer Generated Imagery Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

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Computer Generated Imagery information

See California salary details

$20.6K

$64.8K

$155.2K

How much do computer generated imagery jobs pay per year?

As of Jul 27, 2026, the average yearly pay for computer generated imagery in California is $64,802.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $39,169.00 and $69,525.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

Is CGI a good career?

Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) is a growing field within digital media, animation, and visual effects industries. It requires skills in 3D modeling, rendering software, and artistic design, often involving collaboration with film, gaming, or advertising projects. Job prospects depend on industry demand, technical proficiency, and portfolio quality, with opportunities available in entertainment, advertising, and simulation sectors.

What kind of jobs in media bring in $150,000 a year?

In media, high-paying roles related to computer generated imagery include senior 3D artists, visual effects supervisors, and CGI directors, often requiring extensive experience, advanced skills in software like Maya or Houdini, and a strong portfolio. These positions typically involve leadership responsibilities and may be found in film, advertising, or gaming industries, with salaries reaching or exceeding $150,000 annually for top professionals.

What is a Computer Generated Imagery job?

A Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) job involves creating visual content using computer software. CGI professionals work in industries like film, gaming, advertising, and architecture to produce 3D models, animations, visual effects, and digital environments. They use tools like Blender, Maya, or Unreal Engine to design realistic or stylized imagery. These roles require artistic and technical skills, including knowledge of rendering, texturing, and lighting.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive in the Computer Generated Imagery position, and why are they important?

To thrive in Computer Generated Imagery (CGI), a solid background in digital art, 3D modeling, animation, and visual effects, often supported by a degree in computer graphics, animation, or a related field, is essential. Mastery of industry-standard software such as Autodesk Maya, Blender, Adobe After Effects, and familiarity with scripting languages or rendering engines is highly valued. Strong attention to detail, creativity, teamwork, and effective communication skills help professionals excel in collaborative, deadline-driven environments. These qualifications ensure the creation of high-quality visual assets that meet project goals in film, gaming, advertising, or other media industries.

What are the typical daily responsibilities of a Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) artist?

A CGI artist's day often includes tasks like creating 3D models, developing textures, animating scenes, and collaborating with directors and other designers to bring projects to life. You may also be required to review feedback, refine your work based on client or supervisor input, and ensure that graphics meet technical requirements and project deadlines. In many organizations, CGI artists work closely with teams in visual effects, post-production, and even sound or lighting departments for a cohesive final product. Attention to detail, flexibility in workflow, and the ability to troubleshoot technical challenges are key aspects of a typical workday.

How much do CGI artists get paid?

CGI artists' salaries vary based on experience, location, and industry, but entry-level positions typically start around $40,000 to $60,000 annually, while experienced professionals can earn over $100,000. Skilled artists proficient in software like Maya, Blender, or Cinema 4D and with a strong portfolio tend to command higher salaries.
What are popular job titles related to Computer Generated Imagery jobs in California? For Computer Generated Imagery jobs in California, the most frequently searched job titles are:
What job categories do people searching Computer Generated Imagery jobs in California look for? The top searched job categories for Computer Generated Imagery jobs in California are:
Computer Generated Imagery jobs near you
Infographic showing various Computer Generated Imagery job openings in California as of July 2026, with employment types broken down into 100% Full Time. Highlights an 100% In-person job distribution, with an average salary of $64,802 per year, or $31.2 per hour.
ML Infrastructure Engineer

ML Infrastructure Engineer

Mach9 Robotics Inc

San Francisco, CA • On-site

$160K - $250K/yr

Full-time

Posted 3 days ago

Job description

The role
At Mach9, ML infrastructure engineers build and maintain the systems that power production AI models for civil engineering and surveying. Our ML pipeline spans 10,000+ miles of labeled survey data, image segmentation networks, and 3D prediction models serving real-time inference to surveyors and engineers in the field.
This role is ideal for mid-career ML infrastructure engineers with experience building for both training and inference.
You'll build training pipelines that handle deep transformer models on hundreds of terabytes of 3D point cloud and image data. You'll also architect our inference infrastructure, delivering both heavy offline detection algorithms and real-time responsive inference that integrates directly with our CAD software.
Responsibilities
  • Design and build a centralized system for versioning training data, generated datasets, and model artifacts, with full lineage tracking from raw source data through to trained model outputs.
  • Develop and maintain reliable, reproducible ML training and data generation pipelines.
  • Refactor and harden existing training and data generation scripts into composable, testable, and maintainable components.
  • Create CI/CD workflows for validating data pipelines and model training runs, including automated correctness checks and regression detection.
  • Build tooling that enables ML engineers to launch, monitor, and debug training jobs with minimal friction.
  • Optimize and scale real-time model inference services to meet latency and throughput requirements in production, including profiling, batching strategies, and resource-efficient serving.
  • Own the deployment path from trained model artifact to production endpoint, ensuring reliable rollouts, rollback, and monitoring.

Requirements
  • 3+ years of work experience in relevant fields.
  • Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent experience.
  • Strong communication skills and the ability to work closely with ML researchers and engineers to understand their workflows and translate them into robust systems.
  • Experience designing and building data versioning, artifact management, or dataset lineage systems (e.g., DVC, LakeFS, Weights & Biases, or custom solutions).
  • Hands-on experience with ML pipeline orchestration tools (e.g., Airflow, Prefect, Metaflow, or similar).
  • Experience with model serving and inference optimization - profiling latency, reducing memory footprint, or scaling serving infrastructure to meet real-time constraints.
  • Ability to read and refactor ML training code - you don't need to design model architectures, but you need to understand what training pipelines are doing well enough to make them reliable.
  • Proficient with Python, PyTorch.

Bonus qualifications
  • Familiarity with AWS infrastructure services.
  • Experience with containerized ML workflows and GPU-accelerated training environments.
  • Experience with model optimization techniques (e.g., quantization, TensorRT, ONNX Runtime, distillation).
  • Knowledge of infrastructure-as-code tools (e.g., AWS CDK, Terraform).
  • Experience building or operating ML systems that handle large unstructured datasets (imagery, 3D data, sensor data).

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