Product Designer

Description

Pixar’s Software R&D department is responsible for the in-house software that we use to create every film. Our mission is to create, maintain, and extend filmmaking tools that combine cutting-edge computer graphics technology with intuitive and artist-focused workflows.

As a Product Designer on the team, you will be designing the primary tools that seasoned artists and filmmakers will use day in and day out. You’ll work directly with artists and engineers to forge a shared vision for the future of our software.

Our design team is small, so your happy place should be working in a supportive, close-knit, and collaborative group where critiques are regular and doors are always open. We all keep in close contact, but you should be comfortable spearheading design projects and working independently.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Partner with artists and engineers to turn conceptual workflow ideas into concrete designs

• Conduct user research and facilitate group conversations to help guide and clarify project goals

• Test, evaluate, and refine your designs in highly iterative development cycles, through deployment and beyond 

• Communicate your design ideas in front of large groups and/or one-on-one with artists, engineers, and management

• Engage with engineers to hone in on actionable designs, proposing alternatives along the way and embracing technical underpinnings 

• Create design specifications for engineering teams that capture the key conceptual, interactive and visual design details

• Advocate for user-centered design processes throughout the studio 
   

REQUIREMENTS

• Fluency in a variety of user-research methodologies (such as contextual interviews, surveys, and group discussions)

• Ability to express design concepts through storyboards, wireframes, interactive prototypes, and full-fidelity mockups using tools such as Figma

• Ability to convincingly articulate your design rationale to users and engineers visually, orally, and in writing

• Experience with designing at all levels, from defining and identifying broad system-level concepts down to fine-tuning specific interactions and visuals

• A portfolio that showcases both strong visual and interaction design work
   

BONUSES

• Masters in Design, HCI, CS or related field

• Experience with 3D, digital content creation, games, or other media production tools and pipelines

• Interest in design systems and modular design patterns, and experience putting them into practice

• Proficiency with computer programming languages and concepts