Location Design Lead - Unannounced CG Series (Disney Television Animation)

We are seeking a highly creative location designer to generate and oversee the design of the world for a CG series. In this role, you will define the architectural and spatial language - creating visually engaging and story-driven locations. Driving a team of designers in executing cohesive worlds that support character action and narrative. Working in close collaboration with the Executive Producer and Art Director to bring vibrant and functional environments to life. Collaborating closely with other departments to bring a unique and cohesive visual identity while ensuring quality and consistency of style throughout the series and enhancing the storytelling to bring a seamless transition from concept to approved designs. 

 
Responsibilities:

• Work closely with Art Director to design and develop visually rich, functional, and stylistically consistent locations that support the story and character needs. 

• Create detailed location designs, including rough and clean line art, top-down layouts, and callouts for modeling and storyboards, ensuring CG pipeline compatibility. 

• Collaborate with Art Director to come up with creative solutions to optimize set counts. 

• Lead and mentor a team of location designers; review designs for consistency of look, scale, and storytelling clarity. 

• Work with Production Supervisor and Art Director to breakdown location design needs for each episode. 

• Assign and distribute location design assignments if Art Director is unavailable. 

• Assist Art Director on managing, execution, and/or distribution of tasks and revisions after art reviews. 

• Cover for Art Director in leading team and modeling reviews when they're unavailable. 

• Adhere to the production schedule provided by Line Producer and maintained by Production Supervisor to ensure cost effective, timely production. 

• Ensure that the high quality and style of show established by the Executive Producer and Art Director is achieved and maintained. 

• Communicate and problem-solve with partner animation studio. 

Qualifications:

• 5+ years of professional experience in environment or location design for animation, games, or visual development. 

• Experience leading a team preferred, with emphasis on strong communication, collaboration, and ability to manage timelines within creative vision. 

• Strong portfolio demonstrating exceptional spatial design, worldbuilding, architectural drawing, and environmental storytelling. 

• A broad knowledge of CG animation and understanding of perspective, scale, composition, and how environments function in CG animation production. 

• Expert in industry-standard digital drawing tools that include Photoshop, SketchUp, Blender, and a familiarity with 3D pipeline is a plus, where applicable. 

• Familiarity with asset management tools like ShotGrid, Ftrack, or similar. 

• Experience working with partner studios. 

• Knowledge of diverse cultural aesthetics and inclusive design practices. 

Education: 

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience 

Job Location: Glendale, CA