Walt Disney Animation Studios Character Technical Director Intern, Summer 2026
About the Role & Program
The role of a Character TD at Disney Animation includes Technical Animation (also known as Creature Dev, Character Finaling, or Character Effects), Simulation Setup, and Rigging. Each craft is highly collaborative and viewed as both a technical and an artistic role.
To apply for this position you must upload a resume and a single reel of no longer than 2 minutes that demonstrates your understanding or passion for Anatomy, Tailoring, Cloth in Motion, Hair in Motion, Simulation, and/or Rigging with a reel breakdown (if a breakdown is applicable). All examples should be in the context of performance and demonstrate your sense of appeal.
Examples of Character Simulation May Include:
- Cloth simulation rigs that demonstrate an understanding of tailoring, fitting and fabric properties under a broad range of motion
- Hair simulation rigs that demonstrate an understanding of groom structure and hair texture under a broad range of motion
- An artist friendly intuitive interface for working with simulation rigs
- An understanding of the principles of animation and how they apply to cloth and hair motion
- An understanding of creating appeal in cloth and hair performance
- Creative problem solving ability
- Examples of art-directed cloth and hair simulations
- Demonstration of real world tailoring and/or hair styling knowledge
Examples of Rigging May Include:
- Multiple rig examples that demonstrate appealing articulation through the motion and performance of a character or item, please do not just wiggle your controls or distort your rig without purpose
- An intuitive, animator-friendly interface for interacting with and posing characters or elements to be animated
- An understanding of anatomy and design principles, realistic and/or stylized
- An understanding of collaboration with animators in the development and use of a rig
- Creative problem solving ability in creation of a rig and addressing animators’ needs
*The approximate dates of this internship are May-August 2026. Interns must be fully available for the duration of a 11-week assignment.
Walt Disney Animation Studios General TD Intern, Summer 2026
At Walt Disney Animation Studios we have a deep commitment to the philosophy that creativity inspires technology, and technology inspires creativity. Our Technical Directors (Pipeline TDs) are responsible for providing support to our artist teams in a variety of areas including writing tools to facilitate the CG animation process, acting as a liaison to software and system engineers, and providing front-line artist support.
Technical Directors function as an integral part of the artist departments they’re associated with, designing or optimizing processes and tools to best fit production needs. They should look at production systems holistically and have an ability to visualize the larger pipeline, understand the impact of their actions, and how to optimize processes and tools. Technical Directors also have an important role in our ongoing efforts to push the boundaries of what we’re capable of producing in our various toolsets.
Examples of Projects Include:
- Novel interaction interfaces and models for artists
- Tools for procedurally generating worlds
- Creative workflows built on existing platforms to solve production-specific problems
- Evolutions and revolutions of our production data pipeline
As a Technical Director Intern, you will be paired with a mentor(s) who has identified a problem in need of a solution. Under the guidance of your mentor you will meet with end-users to identify requirements, propose a path to solving this problem, research necessary components of that solution, implement the solution by writing code that integrates into our studio pipelines and takes advantage of proprietary libraries where necessary, iterate with end-users to get and respond to feedback, and finally present the results of the project. Along the way you will get to interact with other interns and learn about life at Walt Disney Animation Studios.
* The approximate dates of this internship are May-August 2026. Interns must be fully available for the duration of a 11-week assignment.
CG Generalist Intern, Disney Animation – Winter 2026
As a CG Generalist Intern, you will be exposed to various departments within our pipeline. Learn more about our filmmaking process here. Within your internship program, you will be offered individualized mentorship as you explore the following disciplines:
- Animation – Character performance and acting
- Character TD – Rigging, hair and cloth simulation, technical animation
- Crowds – Background characters to populate scenes
- Effects – Elements like fire, smoke, rain, magic, and debris
- Layout – CG camera blocking for storytelling purposes
- Lighting – Illuminate scenes, characters, and objects
- Modeling – Greyscales and wireframes of natural terrain, architecture, vehicle or prop models, humans, and creatures
- Set Extension – Stylistically extend a digital environment, creating backgrounds and landscapes
- Texturing/Surfacing – Natural elements, foliage, sand, trees
- Interested in innovative and emerging technologies
Key Qualifications
- Working knowledge/understanding of software such as Maya, Houdini, Blender, ZBrush, Nuke, Photoshop or any other state-of-the-art tools
- Strong eye for visual appeal
- Scripting
- Background in art, animation, or filmmaking a plus
- Familiar with Linux systems a plus
The approximate dates of this internship program is set start in January of 2026 and end in March of 2026
Eligibility Requirements & Internship Information:
Candidates for this opportunity MUST meet all of the below requirements:
- Be enrolled in an accredited college/university pursuing a degree taking at least one class at time of application posting OR currently participating in a Disney College Program or Disney Internship
- Be at least 18 years of age
- Possess unrestricted work authorization
- Have not completed one year of continual employment on a Disney internship or Disney College Program
Additional Information
- Able to have a consistent, reliable work schedule throughout the internship
- Able to provide/have reliable transportation to/from work
- Familiar with Linux systems a plus and Maya
The pay rate for this role in Burbank, CA. is $22.50 per hour. Select benefits may be provided as part of the compensation package, such as medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the level and position offered. To learn more about our benefits visit: https://jobs.disneycareers.com/benefits.
Deadline is November 9, 2025