3D & Animation Lead (Cape Town)

Arilo is hiring a 3D and Animation Lead to build its CGI Studio

Cape Town, South Africa 
Full-time, Permanent, In-office 

Arilo, the AI-native creative production and marketing agency with studios in Cape Town, New York and the Philippines, is building one of Africa's most advanced creative production capabilities and is now looking for a 3D & Animation Lead to establish and run its CGI, animation and digital visualisation offering.

Arilo works with ambitious global brands across beauty, healthcare, retail, FMCG and luxury, combining strong creative craft with AI, advanced production techniques and automation. This hire reflects a broader move in the agency's positioning: 3D and AI-enhanced visualisation are becoming central to how premium campaign imagery gets made, alongside and increasingly instead of traditional photography.

The Role:
The successful candidate will define Arilo's standard for photorealistic product visualisation, animation and AI-assisted rendering, from beauty pack shots to full CGI commercials. It's a hands-on production role in the near term, with a clear path to building and leading a dedicated CGI and Motion Studio as the agency scales — there are no direct reports initially, but real scope to grow a team.

Responsibilities Include

• Photorealistic CGI for product launches, campaign key visuals, retail, ecommerce and paid social.
• Product renders, lighting environments, material recreation and packaging visualisation.
• Motion content: product reveals, exploded views, fluid/particle simulations, CGI commercials.
• Embedding AI into the creative pipeline — concepting, compositing, rendering and automation.
• Close collaboration with Creative Directors, Designers, the AI Studio and Development team.
• 7+ years' experience in an agency or premium production environment, ideally client-facing.
• Strong CGI production and motion design track record, with expert-level Blender (Cinema 4D, Maya, 3ds Max or Houdini experience a plus).
• Rendering expertise across Cycles, Octane, Redshift, Arnold or Eevee, and animation/compositing in After Effects.
• Working familiarity with AI creative tools such as Midjourney, Runway, Kling or Flux.
• Beauty, luxury, FMCG, healthcare or retail experience is advantageous.