LAIKA is a Portland-based animation studio operating a hybrid technical stack spanning Maya, Houdini, and RenderMan for 3D production, alongside Perforce and ShotGrid for pipeline management. Current hiring is weighted toward interns and seniors—a pattern typical of studios cycling between junior production labor and specialized technical roles—with active projects centered on theatrical release campaigns, 3D printing workflows, and production-management tooling. The studio's pain points (fixed deadlines, workflow efficiency, build-time reduction) map directly to pipeline and infrastructure work underway.
LAIKA produces stop-motion and CG animated feature films, with five releases earning Academy Award nominations since 2009 (Coraline, ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls, Kubo and the Two Strings, Missing Link). The studio is currently in production on Wildwood and developing three additional feature projects, plus a Live Action subsidiary with multiple projects in development across drama and action genres. With 201–500 employees based in Hillsboro, Oregon, the company operates a full production pipeline from creative development through final delivery, supported by in-house tool development, digital fabrication, and publishing operations.
LAIKA's primary 3D tools are Maya and Houdini, rendered with RenderMan. Production and pipeline management rely on ShotGrid, Perforce, and Git-based workflows, with editing in Avid Media Composer.
Current projects include the theatrical release of Wildwood, 3D printing workflow innovation (including surface-texture painting for color printing), digital fabrication tool development, production-management platforms, and CI/CD pipeline implementation.
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