Senior UX Motion Designer (Consumer Products)
San Francisco, CA (Hybrid)
6-Month Contract
Kindly apply only if you are local to San Francisco, CA (or at a drivable/commutable distance), no relocations.
About the Role
We are seeking a Senior UX Motion Designer to lead motion strategy and execution across large-scale consumer digital products. This role is focused on creating a cohesive motion language that enhances usability, storytelling, emotional engagement, and product consistency across mobile and web experiences.
The ideal candidate combines strong visual craft with systems thinking and can translate complex product interactions into intuitive, polished motion experiences. You will work closely with UX Designers, Product Managers, Engineers, and cross-functional stakeholders to define scalable motion patterns, prototype interactions, and support implementation across platforms.
This is a highly collaborative role requiring experience working in fast-paced product environments, balancing strategic thinking with hands-on execution.
What Exactly Is Needed
Core Motion Design Expertise
The client is specifically looking for someone who can:
- Design high-quality motion systems for consumer-facing digital products
- Create animations that improve UX, not just visual aesthetics
- Build transitions, micro-interactions, onboarding flows, loading states, and storytelling animations
- Define scalable motion guidelines and reusable animation patterns across products
- Use motion to simplify complex user journeys and reduce perceived latency
This is NOT a pure marketing animation or video-editing role.
This is product-focused UX motion design.
Required Skills & Experience
1. Product Motion Design Experience (Most Important)
The candidate must have:
- 6+ years of UX motion design experience
- Experience designing consumer apps/products
- Strong understanding of interaction design and user behavior
- Experience shipping motion experiences in live products
They want someone who has worked on:
- Mobile apps
- Web products
- Large-scale user platforms
- Cross-platform ecosystems (Android, iOS, Web)
2. Motion Systems & Design Language
The candidate should know how to:
- Build a scalable motion system
- Define animation standards and reusable behaviors
- Ensure consistency across teams and products
- Create motion documentation and implementation specs
This is more strategic than just “making animations.”
3. Advanced Prototyping & Animation Tools
Strong hands-on experience with:
- Adobe After Effects
- Figma
- Lottie
- Skottie workflows
- Interactive prototyping tools
The candidate must be able to:
- Create production-ready animation assets
- Hand off AE files for engineering implementation
- Work with JSON-based animation workflows
4. Engineering Collaboration
This role requires close partnership with engineers.
- The candidate should understand:
- How animations are implemented in products
- Lottie/Skottie workflows
- JSON animation structures
- Motion performance constraints
- Cross-platform implementation challenges
They do NOT need to be engineers but must speak the technical language well enough to collaborate effectively.
5. UX & Interaction Design Thinking
This is not only animation work.
The candidate should:
- Understand UX principles
- Solve interaction problems using motion
- Improve usability through transitions and feedback
- Create intuitive user flows
- Support accessibility and platform consistency
6. Storytelling & Communication
The client wants someone who can:
- Present concepts to leadership
- Explain motion rationale clearly
- Create narrative-driven user journeys
- Translate abstract ideas into relatable experiences
Strong stakeholder management is important.
7. Cross-Functional Leadership
The designer will work with:
- UX teams
- Product Managers
- Engineers
- Researchers
- Marketing teams
- Platform stakeholders
The ideal candidate has experience:
- Leading motion initiatives
- Managing multiple projects simultaneously
- Prioritizing high impact workstreams
- Driving alignment across teams
This is a senior product motion design role focused on UX, interaction systems, and scalable product experiences.
Thanks,
Nandit