VFX Artist with Houdini and Unreal

Job Title: Houdini Technical Artist

Location: Remote (US-based, New York time zone preferred)

Rate: Up to $600 per day

Type: Freelance or 2-month trial leading to full-time

Start Date: Immediate

Company: Silverspoonanimation

About Us: Silver Spoon creates and controls real-time content built on Unreal Engine. With a tradition of firsts, we have become an industry leader, highly sought-after for real-time content for all screens.

Key Responsibilities:
As a Houdini Technical Artist in this role, your responsibilities include the creation and optimization of diverse Houdini FX simulations (flip, pyro, vellum, RBD) for broadcast AR and virtual production, ensuring their seamless integration into Unreal Engine, where you'll also develop Niagara FX systems.

You'll collaborate efficiently within a remote team using Perforce, and take ownership of shots and scenes from layout to final production.

Your proficiency in Houdini's KineFX, Blueprint, material creation, and asset optimization will contribute to an immersive user experience. Continuous learning, problem-solving, documentation, quality assurance, and effective communication round out your key responsibilities, ultimately shaping the success of our innovative projects.

Must-Have:

• Extensive experience with Houdini FX, capable of handling both large and human-scale simulations.
• Proficiency in various simulation types, including flip, pyro, vellum, and RBD.
• Proven ability to work efficiently within shorter deadlines, balancing quality and speed.
• Strong experience with Unreal Engine, including importing baked Houdini simulations into UE and creating Niagara FX.
• Adaptability to collaborate remotely and connect to our in-house machines.

Nice-to-Have:

• Additional Houdini experience in layout, shot/scene ownership through production, and optimizing simulations.
• Knowledge of KineFX.
• Familiarity with working in Unreal Engine alongside a team using Perforce.
• Blueprint and material creation experience in Unreal Engine.
• Skills in optimizing assets and effects for target performance.

Qualifications:

• Solid portfolio demonstrating Houdini and Unreal Engine expertise.
• Proven ability to deliver high-quality work on time and adapt to project requirements.
• Excellent communication and problem-solving skills.
• Self-motivated and able to work independently while being a team player when required.

How to Apply: If you're a talented Houdini Technical Artist with a passion for virtual production and broadcast AR, we'd love to hear from you. Please submit fill out an application!

Join us in shaping the future of immersive content creation. Apply now and become part of our innovative team!

The Company 

Our mission is simple: To constantly innovate and expand the boundaries of real-time production.

Our Studios
Originally founded in Brooklyn, New York, our three offices serve the entertainment, broadcast and advertising industries on both coasts and everywhere in-between. Williamsburg is home to our Unreal dev and tech art teams and the largest independent motion capture studio on the East Coast. Our Hudson Valley location houses our XR and LED stage and team, and from Los Angeles additional creative and technical leadership.

Our Team
The depth and breadth of our knowledge and experience in creating and deploying real time content is derived solely from the ingenuity and dedication of our team - a devoted collective or staff and freelance artists, developers, engineers and producers (and their pets).

Our Values
We are practical dreamers. We celebrate being the first. We believe in pushing innovation and creativity, in testing the limits of real-time technologies, in elevating visual quality and technical output, while recognizing what we can reliably execute the first time, every time.