Manager Cgi Animation Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Turn concepts into images people believe are real

Vuly designs and manufactures outdoor play equipment sold around the world. Long before a product exists in metal, rope and plastic, it exists as a render — the one Industrial Design uses to sell a concept, the one Engineering checks before committing to tooling, and the one a customer sees on their screen before they ever touch the real thing. We're looking for the artists who collaborate with the team to build, update and own that image.

You'll take support the early-stage concepts and engineering CAD data and turn them into imagery so accurate that nobody questions whether it's a photograph. You'll work within a defined CGI pipeline that makes that possible at speed, across multiple concurrent projects, without the quality slipping.

This role will require artists who understand the importance of authentic visualisation and are happy to advocate for the visual representation of products we make both at the early design stage and at the consumer level end stage.

What you'll actually do

• Travel the Globe. ~3 months+ a year travel to Hong Kong & China (Shenzhen) to collaborate with key R&D divisions working on rapid concepting & prototyping.
• Make it look real. Create photorealistic CGI imagery, animations and visual effects for new Vuly design projects, from concept through to launch.
• Visualise before it exists. Support product development by visualising early-stage ideas — materials, textures, lighting and realistic environments.
• Prep CAD for CGI. Work closely with Industrial Designers and Product Engineers to prep CAD data for CGI workflows, then light and build materials around it.
• Model what CAD can't sell. Model and sculpt, and support Industrial Designers across both hardsurface and non-traditional surface modelling.
• Work inside the pipeline. Use the established CGI pipeline, asset management and scene optimisation to keep output consistent and efficient across projects.
• Follow the playbook, then flag what's next. Implement pre-defined procedures for visual presentation in line with team workflows, and turn engineering/CAD data into visually accurate representations.

What we're looking for

Essential

• 3+ years' professional experience in CGI, 3D visualisation or a related creative field — product, architectural or industrial CGI preferred
• Mastery of Blender, Plasticity, diffusion models and Adobe Creative Suite
• Strong modelling, lighting, shading and rendering skills for photorealistic scenes
• Expertise in hard surface modelling, sculpting and animation
• A strong portfolio spanning consumer products and industrial/interior design, including textiles, CMF and cloth
• Experience turning engineering/CAD data into visually accurate representations
• Open to regular and consistent travel to key R&D teams in the Asia region

Desirable

• Background in design (UI, UX or Industrial Design)
• A passion for interactive game design and a fresh eye for visual presentation

How you'll work

You'll work inside an established CGI pipeline rather than setting it, iterating fast alongside Industrial Design and Engineering. New tools, plug-ins or pipeline changes that affect the wider team need sign-off from the Senior CGI Concept Artist or Design Director, and anything brand-facing or a major shift in visual direction gets escalated rather than shipped solo.

What we offer

• Hands-on CGI work on products before they exist in the real world
• A global business with design and manufacturing teams across Australia, Kuala Lumpur and Asia

Apply

Please apply with your CV and portfolio. We're most interested in seeing how you think through a visual problem - the reference you chose, the lighting decision that made it click, the render that changed someone's mind - alongside the finished image.