Research & Development (R&D) Specialist - Creative Technologies

JOB DESCRIPTION
Position: Research & Development (R&D) Specialist – Creative Technologies
Department: Creative Innovation / R&D
Location: Hybrid / Quezon City (or as applicable)
Reports To: Head of Production / Studio Director

Job Purpose

The Research & Development (R&D) Specialist is responsible for identifying, evaluating, and integrating emerging technologies, tools, trends, and workflows that can enhance the studio's creative production capabilities. This role focuses heavily on exploring advancements in AI, automation, digital art, e-commerce content creation, game development, animation, and illustration, providing strategic recommendations that improve quality, efficiency, and competitiveness.

The R&D Specialist acts as the studio's innovation driver—bridging creative, technical, and operational teams to ensure the company stays ahead of industry trends and leverages the best tools available.

Key Responsibilities
Research & Trend Analysis

• Continuously monitor global trends in AI, automation, creative tools, game development, animation, illustration, and graphic design.
• Evaluate emerging technologies relevant to e-commerce creative production, including AI-generated imagery, product rendering tools, and workflow automation platforms.
• Conduct competitive analysis and benchmark studies on how other studios and industries adopt new tools.

Tool and Technology Exploration

• Explore, test, and validate new software, plugins, AI models, pipelines, and tools that can improve workflow efficiency or elevate creative output.
• Assess potential ROI, cost, impact, and usability of new technology solutions for various teams (animation, game art, illustration, e-commerce, design).
• Create test cases and pilot studies to evaluate real-world application and production readiness.

Workflow Development & Optimization

• Recommend improvements to existing pipelines by integrating modern tools or optimized processes.
• Collaborate with production leaders to introduce new tools for game art, animation, e-commerce content, and design work.
• Develop documentation, usage guides, and prototype workflows for newly evaluated technologies.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with Creative Leads, Project Managers, Team Leaders, and the Operations team to validate feasibility and compatibility of new tools.
• Train or brief internal teams on tool capabilities, potential impact, and recommended use cases.
• Support teams in adapting new technologies into their daily workflow.

Innovation Strategy

• Build and maintain an innovation roadmap aligned with the studio's goals—particularly for e-commerce creative production, game design, and art services.
• Present regular reports and recommendations to leadership about promising technologies and industry shifts.
• Identify areas where automation and AI can reduce operational costs while maintaining quality.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Game Development, Multimedia Arts, Computer Science, Animation, Graphic Design, or a related field (or equivalent experience).
• 1–3 years of experience in R&D, tech exploration, pipeline development, or creative-technical roles in a game design, animation, digital marketing, or e-commerce environment.

• Demonstrated knowledge of:

• AI tools for art, animation, and content creation

• Creative software (Adobe Suite, Blender, Unity/Unreal, Clip Studio, etc.)
• Game development or game art production pipelines
• E-commerce content trends, tools, and automation platforms
• Strong analytical, research, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to translate technical findings into simple, actionable insights.
• Passion for new technology and a proactive mindset for innovation.

Preferred / Advantageous Qualifications

• Experience in creative R&D, technical art, prototyping, or pipeline design.
• Working knowledge of AI image/video tools, model training, or prompt engineering.
• Background in e-commerce creative production (product imagery, lifestyle renders, catalog content).
• Familiarity with 3D rendering tools and asset optimization workflows.
• Basic scripting or automation experience (Python, C#, JS, or tool-specific scripting).

Key Attributes

• Tech-savvy and highly curious
• Innovative and forward-thinking
• Strong communicator, able to bridge tech + creative needs
• Organized researcher with excellent documentation skills
• Comfortable experimenting, testing, and presenting results
• Adaptable in a fast-paced, creative environment

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