UX Specialist at Mikros Animation in Montreal, QC, CA

Company Description

Repeatedly voted one of Montreal’s Top Employers and Employer of the Year for the 2022 Mercuriades Awards, Rodeo FX is a high-end creative company offering services in visual effects, advertising, animation, and experiential.

Nominated for multiple Emmy® Awards for its work on the series Stranger Things season 4, Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power, the independent, Oscar®-winning company boasts close to 800 artists crafting from studios in Montreal, Québec City, Toronto, Los Angeles and Paris.

Rodeo FX is a creative partner to the world’s best storytellers including Netflix, HBO, Disney, Marvel, Amazon Studios, Warner Bros. and Sony, and has collaborated on ads for YouTube, NBC and Apple. Current projects include Dune: Prophecy, Silo Season 2 and Sonic 3. Recently released projects include The Rings of Power Season 2, Venom: The Last Dance, Taika Waitit's Time Bandits, and House of the Dragon Season 2.

Work arrangements:

As an artist-founded and artist-led company, creativity is at the heart of everything we do. Our mission is to give our talent the freedom, resources, and environment they need to produce high-quality work and thrive in a stimulating, collaborative, and supportive setting.

Given their key role in team leadership, decision-making, communication, and operational and production support, managers, supervisors, production team members, and support functions, including Finance, HR, and IT, are expected to work from the studio at least four days per week.

This increased presence helps strengthen collaboration, maintain closer proximity with teams, support operational needs more effectively, and sustain a strong, vibrant, and aligned studio culture.

Job Description

Summary:

Rodeo FX is seeking a UX Specialist to elevate and transform the way our artists interact with our technology, tools, and production pipeline.

In this role, you will bridge the gap between technology and creative workflow, ensuring that our visual effects artists are equipped with intuitive, efficient, and reliable tools, pipeline, and infrastructure. You will work closely with artists, Supervisors, Technical Directors, Pipeline and IT teams to understand how work gets done, identify friction points, and translate those insights into meaningful improvements.

The ideal candidate combines a strong understanding of UX and user research with technical knowledge of VFX production environments and the ability to collaborate effectively with both creative and technical teams.

Main responsibilities:

Artist Experience & User Research

• Conduct workflow studies, interviews, observational research, and usability testing to understand how artists interact with tools, pipeline, and infrastructure.
• Develop a deep understanding of the needs and challenges of VFX artists, Supervisors, Technical Directors, and other production users.
• Identify workflow friction, inefficiencies, and usability challenges through qualitative and quantitative research.
• Synthesize user feedback and research findings into actionable opportunities for improvement.
• Advocate for the artist experience throughout the development and evolution of internal tools and workflows.

Workflow & Tool Experience

• Design intuitive interfaces, interactions, and streamlined workflows tailored to the needs of artists and technical users.
• Translate complex technical processes into clear, efficient, and user-friendly experiences.
• Partner with Pipeline to improve the usability, accessibility, and efficiency of internal tools and applications.
• Lead or support prototyping, usability testing, and iterative validation of new and existing tools.
• Identify opportunities to simplify workflows, reduce repetitive tasks, and eliminate unnecessary steps.

Data, Telemetry & UX Metrics

• Establish telemetry and user analytics across internal tools and applications to measure usage, adoption, performance, and user behaviour.
• Define UX metrics and benchmarks to evaluate tool usability, workflow efficiency, adoption, and artist satisfaction.
• Combine quantitative usage data with qualitative research to identify trends and measure the impact of UX improvements.
• Develop dashboards and reporting to provide visibility into UX performance and initiative outcomes.
• Use data and research to validate design decisions and continuously improve the user experience.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with Pipeline, Systems, Production, and Creative teams to translate user research and feedback into actionable product and workflow requirements.
• Collaborate with developers, Pipeline TDs, and other technical specialists throughout the product development lifecycle.
• Facilitate workshops, feedback sessions, and usability testing with creative and technical users.
• Communicate UX findings, recommendations, and priorities clearly to technical, production, and executive stakeholders.
• Promote user-centered design practices across technology and pipeline development.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of UX research/design experience in VFX, animation, gaming, or content creation software.
• Strong understanding of VFX production workflows and pipelines, with familiarity with DCCs such as Maya, Houdini, Nuke, or Katana.
• Experience with workflow analysis, usability testing, software instrumentation, telemetry, and user analytics.
• Ability to translate artist feedback and research into practical UX improvements, workflows, and software requirements.
• Technical background in computer science, software engineering, technical art, pipeline, or a related field, combined with UX training or demonstrated UX experience.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, communication, and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively across creative and technical teams.
• Experience with UX/product design tools such as Figma, Miro, Jira, or similar platforms is an asset.
• Familiarity with Python, APIs, analytics, or software development practices is an asset.

Additional Information

• 1 year contract with possibility to extend
• Sick/personal days ;
• Group Insurance, access to Dialogue online support and to an Employee Assistance Program (EAP);
• RRSP with employer contribution;
• Discounts on public transports, several spas, sports classes, art center, cafes, furniture and several other local businesses.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

At Rodeo FX, diversity is a core value. We’re committed to creating an inclusive, equitable workplace where different perspectives are embraced. Every team member brings unique insight that strengthens our creativity, challenges our thinking, and helps us deliver better work.

Use of Artificial Intelligence in Recruitment

Rodeo FX may use AI-based tools to support certain steps of the recruitment process, such as interview transcription or preliminary application analysis. These tools may be operated by third-party providers, and data may be processed outside Quebec. These tools never replace human decision-making: all final hiring decisions are made by our recruitment team and hiring managers. To learn more about how we protect your personal information and your rights, please consult our Privacy Policy.

Apply with LinkedIn

If you would like to use the “Apply with LinkedIn” feature to simplify your application, please make sure you accept cookies on the SmartRecruiters application page. This allows the feature to display and function properly.