Visual Effects Supervisor Job at Complex Media, Inc. in New York

Company And Culture

Complex is the definitive platform for global youth culture and music lifestyle, seamlessly integrating cutting‑edge content, commerce and live experiences with unparalleled scale. Through innovative content, Complex tells stories of music, streetwear and style, sports, art and beyond. Its content engages in a dynamic conversation with the audience, reflecting and shaping the zeitgeist of convergence culture. A powerful media juggernaut paired with a curated marketplace, Complex is redefining the way fans interact with their favorite brands and artists and reshaping the future of digital culture and commerce.

Why We're Hiring

Complex seeks a Visual Effects Supervisor to lead and revolutionize VFX production at their NYC studio. This role involves establishing and leading virtual production workflows, including virtual set creation. The aim is to enhance creative control, speed up iteration, and integrate advanced technologies for innovative content. The supervisor will use Unreal Engine, motion capture, animation, and AI to create visuals exceeding expectations for a youth audience. Reporting to the VP of Production, this leader will drive innovation and technical excellence, pushing the boundaries of visual effects supervision and championing new technologies across teams. Join us to pioneer the Next‑Generation Visuals at Complex Studio NYC.

What You'll Do

• VFX Leadership & Vision: Lead and meticulously oversee all facets of visual effects production, from initial concept development and pre‑visualization through to final delivery. Ensure the highest creative and technical standards are consistently met, aligning with Complex's distinct brand identity and the director's specific vision for each project.
• Collaborate closely with the VP of Production, directors, creative leads, and various production teams to define VFX requirements, develop innovative visual strategies, and ensure the seamless integration of VFX into all content formats, from short‑form social media to long‑form episodic series.
• Virtual Production & Unreal Engine Mastery: Spearhead the design, development, and hands‑on construction of dynamic, high‑fidelity virtual sets and environments within Unreal Engine. These assets will be utilized across Complex.com’s virtual production stages, supporting both ICVFX on LED volumes and green screen productions. This includes meticulous asset creation, detailed scene assembly, sophisticated lighting, and rigorous optimization for real‑time performance.
• Develop, implement, and manage robust virtual production pipelines. This involves integrating camera tracking systems, real‑time compositing (e.g., leveraging Unreal Engine’s Composure tool), and efficient on‑set operations to facilitate cutting‑edge in‑camera VFX (ICVFX) and streamlined workflows.
• Motion Capture & Animation Excellence: Oversee and direct all motion capture sessions, ensuring the acquisition of high‑quality data for nuanced character animation and immersive virtual performances.
• Manage the end‑to‑end motion capture pipeline, encompassing data processing, cleaning, sophisticated retargeting to various character rigs, and seamless integration into both Unreal Engine and Blender environments.
• Utilize Blender extensively for a range of tasks including 3D modeling, intricate texturing, character rigging, keyframe animation, and complex VFX shot production.
• Establish, maintain, and refine efficient animation pipelines. Uphold and champion core animation principles (e.g., squash and stretch, timing, anticipation, arcs) to deliver compelling, believable, and emotionally resonant character and object motion across all projects.
• AI Integration & Innovation: Champion, supervise, and actively participate in the practical application of a diverse suite of cutting‑edge AI tools across the entire VFX workflow. This includes Gemini, OpenAI’s Sora, DALL‑E, GPT models, Anthropic Claude, Kling, and Runway.
• Proactively identify opportunities and implement AI‑driven solutions for tasks such as concept art generation, pre‑visualization, automated rotoscoping, creation of background elements and textures, enhancements to character animation, and overall workflow automation to significantly boost creative output and production efficiency. This role will be pivotal in strategically deploying these AI tools as creativity and efficiency multipliers, augmenting the capabilities of our talented artists.
• SOTA Practices & Pipeline Management: Continuously research, evaluate, and implement State‑of‑the‑Art (SOTA) visual effects techniques, emerging software, innovative hardware solutions, and evolving workflows to ensure Complex.com remains at the absolute forefront of visual innovation in the youth media landscape.
• Design, meticulously document, and proactively manage efficient and scalable VFX pipelines. This includes ensuring crystal‑clear communication across teams, optimal resource allocation, and the consistent, timely delivery of all projects within budgetary constraints. This individual will be an architect of new systems, particularly for virtual production and AI integration within Complex.com.
• Provide expert on‑set supervision during principal photography for all sequences involving visual effects. This includes managing complex virtual production shoots on LED stages or with green screens, overseeing lighting setups, camera configurations, and critical data capture processes to ensure flawless integration with digital elements. A key aspect will be bridging traditional VFX methodologies with real‑time virtual production workflows.
• Team Collaboration & Mentorship: Foster a highly collaborative, innovative, and positive environment within the VFX team and across other interacting departments (e.g., editorial, production, art).
• Provide strong technical guidance, dedicated mentorship, and inspiring creative leadership to VFX artists, animators, and technical staff, nurturing their growth and collective capabilities. This is a hands‑on leadership role, requiring the ability to both direct and execute.

Who You Are

• Core Experience & Leadership: A minimum of 7‑10+ years of progressive, hands‑on experience as a Visual Effects Supervisor. This experience should be in high‑volume, fast‑paced production environments such as broadcast media, streaming content creation, feature film, or AAA game development. A strong portfolio showcasing successfully shipped titles and projects is essential.
• Demonstrable and proven leadership capabilities, including experience managing, mentoring, and inspiring teams of VFX artists, animators, and technical staff. A track record of fostering a culture defined by creativity, robust collaboration, and unwavering commitment to excellence is required.
• Technical Expertise (Unreal Engine & Virtual Production Focus): Expert‑level proficiency with Unreal Engine (UE4/UE5). Deep, practical experience in designing, building, lighting, and optimizing complex virtual sets and environments for real‑time rendering and demanding virtual production scenarios (including ICVFX on LED stages and green screen compositing). Advanced proficiency in Blueprint visual scripting, Lumen, Nanite, Composure, Sequencer, and integration of camera tracking systems.
• Motion Capture & Animation: Proven expertise in motion capture technologies, hands‑on supervision of mocap shoots, full pipeline management from data acquisition to final integration. Strong proficiency in Blender for modeling, sculpting, UV mapping, texturing, rigging, and animation.
• AI Tool Proficiency: Hands‑on experience with Gemini, OpenAI Suite (Sora, DALL‑E, GPT), Anthropic Claude, Kling, Runway. Ability to critically evaluate AI outputs, guide application, and integrate into production pipelines.
• General VFX & Production Skills: Expert knowledge of the entire visual effects pipeline, pre‑production, on‑set supervision, and post‑production. Strong foundation in visual storytelling, cinematography principles, lighting techniques, and color theory.
• Exceptional problem‑solving, communication, collaboration, and interpersonal skills. Authorized to work in the United States and available to work full‑time in New York City.
• Commitment to continuous learning, adaptability, and mastery of emerging technologies.

Nice‑to‑Haves

• Strong, diverse, and current portfolio showcasing high‑quality visual effects work, especially in Unreal Engine virtual production and AI tools.
• Prior experience working on content aligned with Complex.com’s unique style, tone, and target audience (youth culture, streetwear, music, sneakers, pop culture, unscripted series, branded content).
• Familiarity with industry‑standard VFX and animation software (Maya, Houdini, Nuke, Substance Suite, ZBrush, After Effects, Photoshop). Broad tool knowledge enhances problem‑solving.
• Experience with cloud‑based VFX pipelines and remote collaboration tools.
• Scripting abilities (Python for Blender, Unreal Engine, or pipeline tool development) for automation and workflow enhancement.

Reporting Structure

• The Visual Effects Supervisor will report directly to the Vice President (VP) of Production. This senior reporting line underscores the strategic importance of the role and its direct impact on Complex.com’s production strategy, technological adoption, and overall visual execution. This position involves close and continuous collaboration with creative directors, producers, art directors, and various production and post‑production teams to ensure a unified vision and seamless execution.

What We Offer

• Best in class health, dental, and vision insurance
• Healthcare FSA
• Dependent Care FSA
• Commuter Benefits FSA
• Short‑term/long‑term disability and life insurance
• Paid Parental leave
• 401k with 4% match
• Pet Insurance
• Legal and Identity Theft Plans
• Vacation time and sick days

$120,000 - $135,000 a year

The Pay Range, which consists of salary and commission, for this position is listed. Actual pay will vary based on factors including, but not limited to location, experience, and performance. The range listed is just one component of Complex Total Rewards offerings for employees.

We’re an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.

The above statements cover what are generally believed to be principal and essential functions of the job. Specific circumstances may allow or require some incumbents assigned to the job to perform a different combination of duties.

Complex 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.

Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the U.S. without the need for visa sponsorship.