Associate Creative Director, Motion & Design

Highwire offers a compelling compensation and benefits package for senior designers and motion professionals. Expect a competitive salary in the range of USD 110,000 to 150,000 per year, plus a flexible hybrid work model, generous vacation with extended summer and winter breaks, and early Friday Empower Hours. The 401(k) with employer matching, comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with FSA options, paid parental leave, commuter benefits, and a monthly technology stipend support work-life balance and growth. You’ll join a culture built on team empowerment, a growth mindset, inclusion, and fierce differentiation. This onsite opportunity is based in San Francisco, CA, with hybrid options that suit your schedule.

Responsibilities

• Creative Assessment & Execution: Lead the conceptualization and delivery of high-impact design and motion concepts for web, social campaigns, event experiences, brand video, and digital products.
• Motion Pipeline Ownership: Establish and refine motion design standards and scalable asset systems (templates, modular components, reusable frameworks) to sustain high-volume output without compromising brand integrity or craft. Own end-to-end workflows from storyboarding to post-production, including capacity forecasting, escalation protocols, and bottleneck prediction across multiple projects.
• AI Integrated Production: Work within AI-supported production workflows, collaborating with technical and AI-focused teammates under human-in-the-loop guardrails to balance speed, scale, and creative quality.
• Client & Pitch Leadership: Lead creative presentations for major client accounts and high-stakes new business pitches. Communicate the strategic rationale behind creative and motion choices to non-creative stakeholders.
• Account-Creative Alignment: Manage tensions between creative timelines and account or client demands, protecting production quality and team capacity while maintaining cross-functional collaboration.
• Team Management & Mentorship: Directly manage a team of motion designers and brand designers, including formal performance reviews and development planning. Foster continuous learning, creative experimentation, and technical growth while upholding delivery and craft standards.
• Brand Guardianship: Serve as the primary steward of Highwire's visual brand while ensuring clients' visual systems remain cohesive and forward-looking across channels.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with Digital Strategy and Copy leads to ensure copy and visuals work in harmony to drive measurable business results.

Requirements

• Experience: 8+ years in professional design and motion, with at least 3+ years in a dedicated creative leadership or player-coach role (agency experience heavily preferred). Proven people-management experience, including formal performance evaluations.
• Portfolio: A body of work showing ownership of brand, motion, and video storytelling at a campaign or systems level, not just individual pieces, plus strong typography, layout, and UI/UX fundamentals.
• Technical Mastery: Expert proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (After Effects, Premiere, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign) and Figma. 3D software experience (Cinema 4D or Blender) is a major plus. Familiarity with Final Cut Pro and DaVinci Resolve is helpful.
• Design Systems: Deep experience creating, scaling, and maintaining comprehensive digital and motion design systems.
• Strategic Intuition: Solid understanding of UX/UI principles, digital accessibility standards, and multi-platform social media optimization.
• Culture Fit: Ability to thrive under pressure with sound judgment for managing competing priorities across multiple projects. Familiarity with AI-integrated workflows and operating within human-in-the-loop guardrails.

Technologies

• After Effects
• Premiere
• Photoshop
• Illustrator
• InDesign
• Figma
• Cinema 4D
• Blender
• Final Cut Pro
• DaVinci Resolve

Benefits

• Competitive salary with merit-based opportunities for growth
• Flexible hybrid work model tailored to your schedule and lifestyle
• Generous vacation policy, including extended summer and winter breaks
• Early log-off on Fridays through Empower Hours
• 401(k) plan with employer matching
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, plus FSA options
• Paid parental leave benefits
• Commuter benefits
• Annual Growth Mindset stipend for books, events, or learning experiences
• Monthly technology reimbursement
• Wellness benefit program for mental and physical health
• 501c3 donation matching program
• Mentorship and ongoing professional development opportunities
• Monthly recognition and team celebrations
• Employee referral and new business referral bonuses
• Quarterly Highwire events and team gatherings
• Dog-friendly office environment
• A supportive, inclusive, and collaborative workplace where you can grow and do your best work

About Highwire

• Team Empowerment
• Growth Mindset
• Inclusion Always
• Fierce Distinction

Location & Work Environment

Hybrid option available for candidates within commuting distance of the New York, NY or San Francisco, CA offices, with three in-office days per week. Fully remote roles are available in the following states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Washington, D.C. Candidates must reside in one of these locations at hire.

Join the Highwire Team

If you are excited by shaping meaningful stories and growing alongside a team that values innovation, accountability, and inclusion, apply to start a conversation. This posting may be used to build our talent pipeline, connect with top professionals, or extend reach across multiple locations. We welcome all interested candidates to apply and explore opportunities at Highwire.