Software Quality Assurance & Maya Specialist, Animation Production Technology, Dreamworks Animation SKG (formerly Dreamworks SKG)

Responsibilities include:

• Authoring, maintaining, and executing automated test suites (primarily in Python) to ensure Maya stability for multiple feature film and television productions in active R&D environments.
• Software Quality Assurance (QA) pre-release testing of core proprietary and third party animation tools.
• Isolating difficult-to-reproduce problems and wrapping them up in solidly defined workflows and problem definitions to enable resolution from R&D.
• QA-based performance measuring and evaluation for internal and third party software toolsets.
• Promotion of QA engineering needs and specification authoring for new R&D project teams.
• Managing ongoing development of a visually based render farm throughput optimization tool. This project was initially the result of 6 week sabbatical granted in 2008.
• Coordination, support, and standardization of Maya within feature film production needs.
• Prioritizing new Maya feature development with the Autodesk Custom Engineering office in Santa Barbara.
• Defining Maya problems, workarounds, and solutions for production artists.
• General testing of internal proprietary and third party 3d animation software packages, as well as associated hardware.
• Facilitating solutions with internal development as well as 3rd party vendors Autodesk (Formerly Alias), nVidia, HP and Red Hat.

Linkedin page

1998 - 2002

Quality Assurance Product Specialist for Maya, Alias Systems (formerly Alias|Wavefront,) Santa Barbara, Ca. In 2003, Maya won an Oscar for scientific and technical achievement from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Responsibilities:
Authoring and executing test plans for Maya software and hardware; authoring and publishing qualification pages; defining application feature user view requirements, oversight and education of interns; describing software problems and verifying solutions with developers both internal and external to the company; individual and team production testing of Maya; verifying readiness of software for release engineering process; customer issue escalation participation and resolution.

Quality Assurance Projects at Alias|Wavefront:
Maya 1.0 IRIX, Maya 1.0 (Windows NT port), Maya 2.0, 2.5, 3.0 Trax Nonlinear Animation, 3.0.1 (Linux port), 4.0, Maya 3.5 (Mac OS X port), Maya Personal Learning Edition, Maya 4.5.

Maya Skills:
Polygonal and NURBS modeling, Rendering/IPR, MEL, Cloth, Particle Dynamics, Rigid Body Dynamics, Expressions, Paint Effects. Examples in the Gallery.

Shrek Forever After - Software Quality Assurance
How To Train Your Dragon - Software Quality Assurance
Monsters vs. Aliens - Software Quality Assurance
Madagascar 2 - Software Quality Assurance
Kung Fu Panda - Software Quality Assurance
Bee Movie - Software Quality Assurance
Shrek The Third - Software Quality Assurance
Flushed Away -Software Quality Assurance / Triage
Over the Hedge -Software Quality Assurance / Triage
First Flight - Modeler
Madagascar - Software Quality Assurance / Triage
Kelso Loco - Director, Digital Effects Artist
Shark Tale - Software Quality Assurance / Triage
Shrek 2 - Glendale Animation Technology (DVD only)
Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas - Software Quality Assurance / Triage

(Peter C. Miller: IMDb)

Megamind
Kung Fu Panda 2 - The Kaboom of Doom
Puss in Boots
The Croods (Working title)
Guardians (Working title)
Madagascar 3

3D - Maya 1.0 - 2010 on IRIX, Linux, Windows and OSX.
2D - Photoshop
Compositing - After Effects, Shake
Web Page Authoring - Dreamweaver
Number Crunching - Excel

Languages:

• Python - Automated regression testing and Maya execution
• MEL (Maya Embedded Language) for automated build methods and runtime 3d manipulations in Maya.
• C++
• Assembler for IBM TPF facility mainframes while maintaining core seat inventory software of United Airline's 'Apollo' reservation system.

FAA issued Commercial Pilot License - Glider/Sailplane rating. Most recent Biennial review completed 22-AUG-2009, currency valid to 22-AUG-2011. 1050 flights, 370 hours as of August 2009.

• Photos of me Gliding in Santa Ynez, California.
• Southern California Soaring Academy @ Crystalaire
• Photos of Gliding.
  

USHGA issued Paragliding License - P3 rating. Rob Sporrer, Instructor 153 flights, 29 hours as of August 2005.

• About Paragliding
• Movies of me Paragliding at Don Pedro Lake, California
  

National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS)

• Wind River Wilderness Course, Wyoming, 30 days.
• Cascade Wilderness Course, Washington, 30 days.

Soaring Society of America
United States Hang Gliding Association