Software Engineer, Tools GPU (Core)

Are you interested in advancing Pixar’s in-house and open-source filmmaking software? Our Software R&D department is looking for a motivated and skilled engineer to help develop the studio’s interactive rendering architecture. We work very closely with both artists and engineers to build innovative filmmaking tools that enable our film production and continuously extend artistic reach.

As a Software Engineer on the GPU team, you will work on hardware-accelerated preview rendering in our content creation tools, delivering fast and high quality visualization of huge film assets. You’ll work on the high performance data processing pipeline we use to prepare scenes for rendering. This codebase has been open sourced as the OpenUSD Hydra component, and you’ll support and collaborate with a rich community in the film and graphics industries to extend the project in exciting new directions!

Responsibilities

• Develop, test, and support high performance 3D graphics software, using C++ mainly in a Linux environment

• Collaborate with artists and other engineers to provide innovative technical solutions to artistic challenges

• Design flexible and performant APIs that enable our software to perform well and scale to highly complex film production workflows

• Help advance Pixar’s open-source initiatives like Hydra, OpenUSD (Universal Scene Description) and OpenSubdiv, as well as in-house content creation and pipeline tools

Qualifications

• Strong understanding of C++ that you continually expand upon

• Familiarity with the math of computer graphics, and understanding of GPU APIs (e.g. OpenGL/Vulkan) and graphics pipelines

• Experience with, or excitement to learn about, our core technical areas: modern rendering architectures for rasterization and ray tracing, data structures and algorithms, and multithreading. Ability to understand algorithmic runtime and memory tradeoffs

• Passion for setting a high bar for code quality by writing robust, maintainable, well-documented and well-tested code

• Ability to listen well and communicate clearly with a diverse set of technical and non-technical users and commitment to build positive working relationships

• Eagerness for continuous learning; willing to branch out into new technical areas, pick up new tricks, and revisit assumptions in areas of strength

• Prior exposure to Hydra, USD or OpenSubdiv and/or experience using 3D applications (e.g., Blender, Maya, Houdini, Katana) is a bonus

• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or equivalent experience

For more information about our graphics technologies visit graphics.pixar.com

The hiring range for this position in Emeryville is $158,185.00 to $204,710.00 per year. The base pay actually offered will take into account internal equity and also may vary depending on the candidate’s geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors.

Pixar is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We know our storytelling is at its best when we include, celebrate and embrace difference. We strive to be a diverse workforce that is representative of our audiences, and where all can thrive and belong. We are committed to building a team that includes and respects a variety of voices, identities, backgrounds, experiences and perspectives. Pixar participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the U.S. | Follow us on X @PixarRecruiting.