Production Manager (AI Studio Ops)

About

Studio Jadu is a next generation animation studio founded by ex‑TikTok and ex‑YouTube leadership team and backed by Khosla Ventures. We are building an end‑to‑end production‑to‑distribution model powered by a hybrid workflow where humans control the AI, harnessing the best of both worlds and keeping creative decision‑making firmly in the hands of human artists. Studio Jadu’s operations are based in California, Zurich and Bangalore.

The Role

This isn't your standard "Update the Excel and Follow‑up" role. For a Production Manager at Studio Jadu, we’re looking for a "Workflow Architect." In a traditional studio, this person manages the linear flow of hand‑drawn frames. At Jadu, they are managing a high‑velocity, non‑linear loop of compute, human creativity, and iterative AI cycles. You will be designing and managing production sprints that incorporate AI generation, human cleanup, and rapid‑response editorial. You are responsible for the health of the team and the efficiency of the "Compute‑to‑Creative" ratio.

Key Responsibilities

• Pipeline Orchestration: Design and maintain the end‑to‑end production schedule, from concept art to final AI‑render and post‑production.
• Resource Allocation: Manage the 'dual‑budget', balancing human artist hours with GPU compute costs and software licensing.
• Sprint Management: Lead daily stand‑ups and 'Sync‑and‑Solve' sessions to clear bottlenecks in the AI generation process.
• Cross‑Functional Liaison: Act as the primary bridge between the Creative Leads (Concept/Edit) and the AI Engineering team to ensure tech tools are meeting production needs.
• Quality Control (QC) Tracking: Implement systems to track AI Iteration Cycles, ensuring we aren't spinning our wheels on prompts and are moving toward final "locked" shots.
• Vendor & Talent Management: Manage relationships with external vendors and creators.

Who You Are

• Strong communicator: You write and speak very clearly. Your communication leaves no room for ambiguity or guesswork.
• You love a good Gantt chart, but you love an automated Shotgun/ShotGrid (or Notion/Monday) workflow even more. You think in "systems," not just tasks.
• 5+ years of experience in software project management and love animation, VFX, or gaming pipelines.

OR

• 5+ years of experience in production management animation, VFX, or gaming pipelines, but you also have a strong understanding of software development.
• You know how a traditional "pipe" works and exactly why it needs to be disrupted.
• You understand the vocabulary of Generative AI and how these variables impact a timeline.
• Startups are fast. AI is faster. You have the emotional intelligence to keep a team motivated when a model update changes the workflow overnight.

Technical Requirements

• Expertise in project management
• Experience with Agile/Scrum methodologies
• The ideal candidate will own the entire production process. They will strategize with other internal teams to ensure operational excellence. The will also run quality assessment to ensure customer satisfaction.

Additional Responsibilities

• Manage and evaluate entire production process
• Contribute to production planning and budgeting
• Lead and monitor quality assessments to ensure customer satisfaction
• Maintain a safe production environment
• Coordinate with key internal and external production stakeholders

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience
• Strong organizational skills