Senior Lead Motion Designer

Remote (United States)

Job Details

Location: United States

Workplace: Remote

Employment Type: Full-time

Experience: 7+ years of professional motion design experience, including prior team leadership or mentorship

Schedule: Pacific Time working hours

Core Areas: Motion Graphics, Animation Production, Creative Direction, Adobe After Effects, Animatics, UI Animation, Motion Design Leadership, Branded Motion Content

Compensation: $105,000–$120,000 annually

About the Role

This Senior Lead Motion Designer opportunity focuses on leading motion design production, directing a team of animators, and maintaining high creative standards across client projects. The position combines hands-on animation, motion graphics development, creative direction, and mentorship with responsibility for production quality, team development, and motion design workflows.

The role involves creating and directing animatics, branded motion graphics, and UI/interface animations while guiding motion design work for enterprise technology organizations, professional services clients, and large-scale marketing campaigns. Responsibilities also include presenting creative concepts to clients, identifying opportunities to expand motion design services, and collaborating with creative directors, visual designers, content specialists, and project managers. The position reports to an Associate Creative Director and requires strong production expertise and client-facing leadership.

What You'll Do

• Lead, direct, and mentor a small team of full-time animators and contracted creative collaborators, establishing clear expectations and supporting professional development.
• Provide actionable creative feedback, guide animation execution, and help motion designers consistently deliver work that meets established quality standards.
• Develop and direct animatics, motion graphics, branded motion content, and UI/interface animations for client projects.
• Remain actively involved in hands-on motion design and animation production when project complexity, workload, or production capacity requires direct creative contributions.
• Establish the creative direction for motion design projects, ensuring animation techniques, visual storytelling, and motion graphics support client communication objectives.
• Review animation deliverables throughout production and before final delivery, evaluating creative quality, storytelling clarity, technical execution, and alignment with client expectations.
• Identify areas requiring additional refinement and communicate specific, constructive recommendations to animators and creative collaborators.
• Establish, document, and maintain motion design standards, creative workflows, and production practices that support consistent quality across projects.
• Partner with Creative Project Managers to guide motion design projects through production stages while maintaining creative consistency and delivery quality.
• Represent motion design expertise in client meetings, creative presentations, project discussions, and prospective client conversations.
• Explain the creative and communication value of motion graphics and animation to clients, including potential applications in marketing and brand communication.
• Identify opportunities to expand motion design services within existing client accounts and contribute motion expertise to new business discussions.
• Collaborate with the Associate Creative Director, Creative Director, visual design leads, and content teams on integrated creative projects.
• Contribute motion design expertise to cross-disciplinary creative development, ensuring animation integrates effectively with visual design and content deliverables.
• Explore AI-assisted creative tools and emerging workflows that may improve motion design production and expand the team's creative capabilities.

Qualifications

Required Experience

• At least 7 years of professional motion design experience producing animatics, motion graphics, and branded animation for client-facing projects within established production workflows.
• Previous experience leading, directing, or mentoring animators or motion designers, including providing constructive feedback and supporting creative development.
• Professional experience working within a creative agency environment, including managing client expectations, meeting production deadlines, and delivering motion design projects.
• Experience presenting creative work to clients, responding to project questions, and identifying opportunities to expand motion design services.
• Experience working with enterprise clients, including technology organizations, professional services businesses, or large-scale marketing campaigns involving multiple stakeholders and extended project timelines.
• A professional motion design reel and portfolio demonstrating hands-on animation skills, creative range, directed projects, and the ability to communicate client objectives through motion design.

Required Skills

• Strong proficiency in Adobe After Effects for professional motion graphics and animation production.
• Working familiarity with Cinema 4D, Maya, Adobe Premiere, and Frame.io, including an understanding of their roles within motion design and post-production workflows.
• Demonstrated ability to create and direct animatics, branded motion graphics, and UI/interface animations.
• Strong creative direction skills, including evaluating animation quality, visual storytelling, motion execution, and alignment with client communication objectives.
• Ability to lead motion design teams, establish creative expectations, mentor animators, and provide direct, constructive feedback.
• Knowledge of motion design production processes, creative quality control, project workflows, and the standards required for consistent client deliverables.
• Ability to balance hands-on animation production with creative leadership and oversight of multiple contributors.
• Strong client presentation skills and the ability to explain motion design concepts, creative decisions, and potential marketing or communication applications.
• Ability to identify opportunities for additional motion design work within existing client relationships and contribute to prospective client discussions.
• Experience collaborating with creative directors, visual designers, content teams, and creative project managers on integrated projects.
• Ability to work effectively in a distributed creative environment while maintaining production standards and providing direction to remote collaborators.
• Interest in AI-assisted design technologies and a willingness to explore emerging tools and workflows that may enhance motion design production.

Benefits

• Paid time off (PTO) and paid holidays.
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance coverage.
• Health Savings Account (HSA) and Flexible Spending Account (FSA) options.
• 401(k) retirement plan with employer matching contributions.
• Life insurance and disability insurance.
• Charitable donation matching program.
• Stipends supporting remote workspace setup and ongoing work-from-home expenses.
• Fully remote work arrangement with Pacific Time working hours and rare in-person meetings.