Job Description: Sr. Manager – Digital Asset Creation
Location: Kohler India Corporation Private Limited, Magarpatta, PUNE
Function: ESS&AD, India Technical Center
Reports To: Director – Engineering
Kohler Co. is a global leader in the kitchen and bath industry, known for elevating gracious living through world-class design, engineering excellence, and continuous innovation. For over a century, Kohler has pushed the boundaries of creativity and craftsmanship, delivering products and experiences that inspire how people interact with their spaces.
Kohler is seeking an accomplished and visionary Sr. Manager – Digital Asset Creation (Lead - DAC) to spearhead the global Digital Asset Creation function at the India Tech Center (ITC). This senior leadership role oversees a multidisciplinary Design Studio responsible for 3D visualization, creative direction, production operations, digital content creation, and brand‑aligned visual storytelling.
In this role, you will define and lead the execution of a scalable, technology‑forward visualization pipeline that delivers photorealistic quality at speed, supports both NPD and legacy product portfolios, and fuels high‑impact content for digital marketing, commerce, and customer communication across global stakeholders.
As the Lead – DAC, you will guide teams producing Kohler’s most critical digital assets—from digital twins and high‑fidelity renders to interactive and marketing‑ready content—ensuring uncompromising quality, strong brand alignment, operational excellence, and strategic business value.
You will collaborate extensively with Product Management, Marketing, Brand, Engineering, Industrial Design, and Global Creative teams to drive product launch readiness, amplify Kohler’s digital presence, and elevate customer‑facing communication through world‑class content.
- Leadership & Organization Development
- Lead the Digital Asset Creation organization including CG/3D teams, creative designers & art directors, Unreal artists, production artists, producers and workflow coordinators.
- Attract, develop, and retain top creative and technical talent; build clear career paths, succession plans and capability roadmaps to keep the team future‑ready
- Shape team maturity through clear role definitions, skill matrices, mentorship, and performance frameworks.
- Foster a culture grounded in design excellence, brand stewardship, operational discipline, continuous learning, and innovation.
- Design Studio Leadership & Kohler Brand Stewardship
- Govern the Design Studio charter for ITC; ensure every asset upholds Kohler’s brand identity, premium aesthetic, and design language
- Translate brand guidelines into structured creative systems that ensure consistency in styling, color/material application, and visual storytelling across all media.
- Serve as a key guardian of Kohler’s brand expression, establishing approval criteria, review gates, and creative standards for CGI and digital content.
- CG & 3D Visualization Excellence
- Lead creation of photoreal 3D models, renders, animations, and digital twins across product categories.
- Drive best practices across a multi‑tool ecosystem (e.g., Blender, 3ds Max/Maya, Substance, KeyShot, Unreal/Unity, Adobe CC) and ensure interoperability for speed and reuse.
- Orchestrate real‑time–ready content (materials/shaders, LOD strategies, performance budgets) and configurator‑friendly assets for web/e‑commerce and interactive showcases.
- Ensure scalable asset pipelines supporting NPD, legacy asset refresh, and global marketing content needs.
- QA, Process Optimization & Execution Excellence
- Establish rigorous QA gates for fidelity, accuracy, optimization, taxonomy/metadata, and brand compliance at intake, look‑dev, and pre‑delivery.
- Standardize asset libraries, naming conventions, versioning, look‑dev templates, and review cadences to minimize rework and cycle time.
- Scale production via automation (template‑ and script‑driven tasks), render optimization, and workflow tooling.
- Enhance operational efficiency using automation, render optimization, asset libraries, and workflow tools.
- Track and publish KPIs: cycle time, rework %, SLA adherence, throughput, asset reuse %, and stakeholder satisfaction.
- Creative Art Direction & Production Leadership
- Provide creative direction for product imagery, hero visuals, CGI storytelling, motion/animation, and marketing‑ready content
- Lead production management including intake, scoping, resourcing, timelines, and stakeholder alignment.
- Oversee styling, set design, visual themes, and creative execution to ensure consistent world-class output across stills, motion, real‑time, and interactive formats—balancing speed, quality, and scalability.
- Champion consistent visual standards and empower teams to make informed creative decisions.
- Strategic Business Partnering & Content Enablement
- Serve as the strategic DAC representative with Product, Marketing, Brand, Industrial Design, Engineering, and regional teams.
- Collaborate with marketing and communication teams to shape content strategies for product launches, campaigns, digital marketing, and commerce.
- Influence upstream content plans for launches, campaigns, landing pages, social, and e‑commerce, advising where interactive/configurator experiences add measurable value.
- Communicate progress, risks, trade‑offs, and capacity constraints with clarity; ensure on‑time, on‑brand delivery.
- Represent DAC capabilities in global leadership conversations to drive alignment, visibility, and long‑term roadmap development.
- Technology Adoption & Innovation
- Lead evaluation, piloting, and scaling of emerging technologies including:
- AI/Generative AI for asset creation and automation.
- Real-time rendering pipelines.
- Workflow automation and next-generation production technologies.
- Define future‑ready visualization pipelines, standards, and governance models.
- Maintain a forward view of CG/3D and creative‑tech trends; institutionalize proven tools, infrastructure and methods.
Qualifications & Experience
Required:
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Animation, Industrial Design, Engineering, Architecture, Computer Graphics, or related disciplines.
- 12–18 years of experience in Digital Asset Creation, CG/3D visualization, creative studio leadership, or related fields.
- Proven experience leading multidisciplinary creative and technical teams at scale.
- Strong portfolio demonstrating high-quality digital visualization, creative direction, and visual storytelling.
- Deep hands-on understanding of visualization tools and creative production software tools and ecosystems (Unreal/Unity; 3ds Max/Maya/Blender; Substance; KeyShot; Adobe CC) and pipeline interoperability.
- Excellent communication, stakeholder management, and executive influencing capabilities.
Preferred / Good-to-Have:
- Experience working with immersive technologies (AR/VR/XR) for product visualization or interactive experiences.
- Background in premium consumer products, luxury brands, or design-led industries.
- Exposure to digital marketing content creation pipelines and campaign visuals.
- Understanding of NPD and product engineering workflows.
- Experience with automation, cloud rendering, or production workflow management tools.
- Strong design and brand sensibility.
- Strategic thinking with operational discipline.
- Creativity + technical problem solving.
- High stakeholder influence and executive presence.
- Innovation and technology curiosity.
- Team development and inspirational leadership.
- Quality & brand alignment of DAC outputs (stills, motion, interactive).
- Speed & efficiency: reduced cycle time, lower rework %, SLA adherence.
- Scalability: asset reuse %, coverage for launches/campaigns, configurator‑ready content.
- Stakeholder satisfaction and adoption of DAC deliverables.
- Technology modernization: automated tasks in pipeline, real‑time standards adopted, AI‑assisted wins.
- Team capability growth and engagement.
Organizational Relationships
Supervisory Relationship:
- Reports to Director – Engineering.
- Leads Managers, Team Leads, CG/3D Artists, Look‑Dev/Material Artists, Real‑Time/Unreal Artists, Creative Designers, Producers, Production Artists.
Professional Relationships:
- Close collaboration with global CGI teams in WI and ITC.
- Regular interaction with Product Managers, Product Engineers, Marketing, Brand, Industrial Design, Set Designers, and Photographers.
External Relationships:
- Engage with software vendors, technology partners, creative agencies, and production partners
- Research and evaluate new tools/technologies to evolve Kohler’s DAC capabilities.
