For more than 35 years, Bardel Entertainment has led the animation industry through unwavering commitment to quality, creativity, and innovation. We are an internationally recognized, Emmy Award®-winning studio – in two prominent Canadian cities, Vancouver and Montreal – and the creative force behind top audience hits such as The Dragon Prince, Rick and Morty, Teen Titans Go!, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

We are looking for a Rigging Lead for a TV featurette project. Candidates must be based in British Columbia, Canada.

Start date: beginning of June, 2025.

Requirements

Core Responsibilities

• Lead the rigging team to deliver high-quality rigs that meet the show's technical and artistic standards on schedule.

• Develop and maintain character, prop, and asset rigging systems, including skeletal structures, skinning, and user-friendly controls.

• Troubleshoot and maintain production rigs, ensuring stability and usability for the Animation team.

• Define and improve rigging workflows, pipelines, and toolsets in collaboration with the studio Rigging Supervisor, CG Supervisor, and other leadership.

• Develop and document workflows, scripts, and best practices to optimize animator productivity.

• Stay current with evolving rigging technologies, methods, and industry trends.

Collaboration & Workflow

• Communicate proactively across departments and ensure alignment with project leads on technical and aesthetic goals.

• Engage in dailies, rounds, and team discussions to provide feedback and contribute to creative and technical improvements.

• Adhere to established pipeline workflows and ensure deliverables meet production and technical standards.

• Mentor junior artists, offering guidance, feedback, and career development support.

Time Management & Communication

• Meet and maintain project deadlines consistently while managing team resources effectively.

• Communicate progress, challenges, and solutions clearly with the production team and supervisors.

• Balance quality and efficiency under tight deadlines and changing project needs.

Experience

• Experience in rigging roles on animated productions.

• Proven leadership or mentoring experience within a rigging or technical department.

• Strong scripting and technical skills in Maya, Python, and MEL, with the ability to adapt to new tools and systems.

• Demonstrated success developing rigging systems, particularly for cartoon-style animation.

• Solid understanding of human anatomy, deformation, articulation, and dynamic motion.

Skills & Communication

• Ability to create rigs that support expressive, natural character motion while being technically sound.

• Strong collaborative mindset with excellent verbal and written communication skills.

• Comfortable giving and receiving feedback and committed to continuous improvement.

• A creative and practical problem-solver who contributes positively to the team environment.

• Detail-oriented and organized, with a deep understanding of the animation production pipeline.

Portfolio Requirements

• Include a reel or breakdown demonstrating your rigging work, highlighting character deformation, control systems, and technical problem-solving.

• Clearly identify your contributions to each project shown.

• Provide examples of scripting work, rigging tools, or pipeline improvements if possible.

• Include stylized rigs if relevant to the project scope.

Benefits

Pay Range: CAD $1,800 - $2,000 per week

This salary range reflects our current expectations for these roles as of this posting's date. Your final salary offer will consider various key factors, including your education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographical location, as well as the needs and requirements of the business.

Flexible work environment, Extended Health and Wellness from day 1, RRSP matching are just some of the benefits. For more details, check out our website.

At Bardel, we recognize that flexibility is key to doing great work. Our hybrid work environment is a valued perk designed to support individual accountability and empower our teams to work where they're most productive. We offer the choice to work remotely, balanced with intentional in-person time for collaboration, creativity, and team building. This role requires in-studio attendance at our Vancouver studio during onboarding and predetermined Rush Weeks.

If this seems like a good fit, what are you waiting for, get your application in!