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Seniority Profile · New York

Lead / Director Special Effects Artists and Animators salary in New York

Roles that direct strategy, lead teams, or hold full functional ownership. Typically ten or more years of experience or a Director-class title with budget responsibility.

Adrian Serafin, founder and editor of RateOrchardBy Adrian SerafinFounderUpdated May 4, 2026
BLS percentile range
P75 to P90 of the New York OES distribution for Special Effects Artists and Animators.
DOL OFLC offered median
$175,000
Across 7 certified filings at this wage level.
Real disclosed salaries

Lead / Director Special Effects Artists and Animators in New York: actual employer-disclosed pay

Public records from 7 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications filed with the U.S. Department of Labor. Median offered wage: $175,000. Every figure below is an actual offered salary an employer attested to under federal law.

By DOL wage level

DOL classifies every offer into one of four wage levels based on the role's experience and skill requirements.

LevelFilingsMedian offer
Level IV — fully competent7$175,000

Top employers filing for this role

Companies with the most certified filings for Lead / Director Special Effects Artists and Animators in New York. Median offer is across all of that employer's filings.

EmployerMost-filed titleFilingsMedian
Framestore, IncVFX Supervisor2$193,750
Rockstar Games, Inc.Principal Tech Artist: Performance Capture Pipeline2$175,000
BlacksmithNY LLCCompositing Supervisor1$151,070
Bungie, Inc.Staff Concept Artist1$164,000
Notion Labs, Inc.Motion Designer1$200,000

Recent sample filings

A snapshot of recent certified offers. Each line is a real, public, verifiable record.

  • VFX Supervisor at Framestore, Inc
    $200,000
    New YorkWage Level IVDecided Aug 21, 2025I-203-25226-241985
  • Principal Tech Artist: Performance Capture Pipeline at Rockstar Games, Inc.
    $175,000
    New YorkWage Level IVDecided May 16, 2025I-200-25129-959568
  • Compositing Supervisor at BlacksmithNY LLC
    $151,070
    New YorkWage Level IVDecided May 7, 2025I-200-25120-923628
  • Staff Concept Artist at Bungie, Inc.
    $164,000
    AmherstWage Level IVDecided Apr 17, 2025I-200-25100-850546
  • VFX Supervisor/Head of Nuke at Framestore, Inc
    $187,500
    New YorkWage Level IVDecided Mar 19, 2025I-200-25071-768630
  • Motion Designer at Notion Labs, Inc.
    $200,000
    New YorkWage Level IVDecided Mar 11, 2025I-200-25063-742441
  • Design Producer: Gameplay Visualization at Rockstar Games, Inc.
    $175,000
    New YorkWage Level IVDecided Oct 21, 2024I-200-24286-403162

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Foreign Labor Certification. Disclosed wages reflect what employers attested to pay; actual paid wages may differ. Only certified filings are shown — denied and withdrawn cases are excluded.