Michael McCarthy

Michael McCarthy has a diverse work experience in the fields of product design, 3D animation, and software design.

Michael currently holds the position of Head of Product Design at Foundry, where they have been working since November 2021. Prior to this role, they served as the Lead Product Designer from December 2020 to November 2021 and as a Product Designer from June 2019 to December 2020.

Before joining Foundry, Michael worked as a Hair Pipeline TD at Encore in April and May 2019 and as a Grooming Artist for Feathers and Hair at FuseFX in January and February 2019.

From June 2017 to January 2019, they were a Senior 3D Artist at Encore. Before that, they held the role of Lead Software Designer and Training Specialist at Ephere Inc. for ten years, from May 2009 to 2019. In this role, they worked with a team of developers to create software for 3D production, provided feature sets for Zookeper and Ornatrix, and also led QA for these products.

In addition, Michael served as a Training Specialist and Software Designer at AXYZ design S.R.L. from March to December 2017 and as an Associate Academic Specialist in Animation - Art + Design at Northeastern University from September 2015 to September 2017. Michael was responsible for leading the Animation program and concentration, driving innovation in technology and curriculum to meet industry standards.

Earlier in their career, Michael held positions at New England Institute of Art as the Director of Media Arts from September 2013 to September 2015 and as a 3D Animation Instructor from January 2003 to September 2013. At this institute, they taught various 3D animation classes, developed content and syllabi, and led student-led Siggraph teams.

Lastly, Michael worked as a UX/UI Software Designer at Chaos Group from October 2012 to November 2013 and as a CG Training and Content Creation specialist at CGTraining from March 2003 to June 2012.

Michael McCarthy completed their Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in Animation and Visual FX from the Academy of Art University from 2011 to 2014. Prior to that, they obtained a BA degree in Media Arts and Animation from The New England Institute of Art.