The Position:

We are seeking a mid-senior Backup and Storage Administrator to manage, maintain, and optimise our storage and backup infrastructure for a large-scale animated feature film production. This role ensures that our artists, production teams, and render farms have reliable, secure, and high-performance access to data throughout the production lifecycle.

The ideal candidate has a proven background in storage technologies, backup solutions, and high-throughput data workflows, with an understanding of the unique demands of animation and VFX production environments.

Key Responsibilities:

Storage Administration

Manage, monitor, and optimize on-premises and cloud-based storage systems supporting petabyte-scale production data.

Ensure high availability and performance of file systems used by animation, lighting, and rendering pipelines.

Implement tiered storage strategies (e.g., SSD, NAS, SAN, object storage, tape/archive) to balance cost and performance.

Oversee capacity planning, forecasting, and scaling strategies for current and future projects.

Backup & Recovery

Develop and maintain comprehensive backup, snapshot, and archival strategies for production data.

Monitor and verify backup jobs, ensuring successful recovery points are maintained.

Conduct regular disaster recovery drills and ensure business continuity plans are production-ready.

Manage secure long-term storage of project assets, including final deliverables and legacy content.

Pipeline & Production Support

Collaborate with pipeline engineers, render wranglers, and IT teams to troubleshoot data performance and availability issues.

Ensure storage systems integrate seamlessly with render farms, asset management systems, and version control tools.

Work closely with production to prioritize data access and optimize workflows for active shows.

Security & Compliance

Enforce data security policies, including access permissions, encryption, and secure transfer protocols.

Ensure compliance with studio policies, industry standards, and client contractual requirements

Monitor for vulnerabilities and implement patches and updates promptly.

Qualifications & Skills:

Essential

Proven experience as a Storage/Backup Administrator, Systems Administrator, or related IT role in media, VFX, or animation.

Demonstrable knowledge of enterprise storage systems (NetApp, Dell EMC Isilon/PowerScale, Qumulo, or equivalent).

Proficiency with backup and archive technologies (Veeam, Commvault, Bacula, IBM Spectrum Protect, or similar).

Familiarity with render pipeline workflows and the high-throughput demands of animation production.

Scripting and automation skills (Python, Bash, or PowerShell).

Knowledge of Linux and Windows server administration.

Desirable

Experience in the animation, VFX, or gaming industries.

Understanding of cloud storage and hybrid workflows (AWS S3/Glacier, GCP, Azure).

Knowledge of production asset management systems (ShotGrid, ftrack, etc.).

Familiarity with network infrastructure (NFS, SMB, Fibre Channel, Infiniband, 10/40/100GbE).

Experience with monitoring tools (Nagios, Grafana, Prometheus, or similar).

Personal Attributes

Avid problem solver with a desire for learning and continual improvement.

Excellent communicator with the ability to navigate both technical and creative teams.

Highly organized, detail-oriented, and proactive.

Team player with the ability to support a collaborative production environment.

Sound like the right fit for you?

Don't hesitate, hit that Apply button now!