Senior Art Director, Illustration & Motion (Product)

Expedia is hiring a Senior Art Director, Illustration & Motion (Product) to own the craft layer that shapes how users experience the company’s products. In this onsite role, you set and maintain the visual standard for illustration, icons, pictograms, and UI motion, working closely with product design, design systems, and engineering to build scalable asset workflows, including AI-assisted production.

What you’ll do

• Create icons, pictograms, spot illustrations, and illustrated system assets used across iOS, Android, and web
• Maintain and evolve Expedia’s visual language to keep assets consistent, accessible, and scalable
• Design UI animations, micro-interactions, and animated illustrations that improve clarity and add delight
• Prepare assets and motion specifications so engineers can implement accurately using tools such as Lottie, Rive, and native animation
• Review builds and provide feedback to ensure the shipped experience matches design intent
• Design and maintain scalable systems for icons, pictograms, illustration, and motion, including structure, naming, tokens, and versioning
• Build organized Figma libraries and components so designers can find, use, and customize assets efficiently
• Partner with design system and engineering teams on how assets are packaged, delivered, and implemented across platforms (for example, icon fonts or SVG pipelines, asset catalogs, and animation files)
• Create documentation and guidelines for correct adoption of assets, including processes for contribution, updates, and deprecation
• Build repeatable AI-assisted workflows for illustration, iconography, and motion production that increase output without lowering quality
• Evaluate, adopt, and teach new AI tools, setting quality, brand, and ethical standards for their use
• Automate repetitive production work such as asset generation, variations, exports, QA, and Figma-to-code handoff
• Provide art direction and critique to designers, freelancers, and partners to keep work cohesive and high quality
• Translate product and brand goals into clear creative direction
• Manage multiple projects from concept through delivery

Key requirements

• A strong portfolio demonstrating illustration and motion in a product context, including icons, pictograms, and UI animation
• Hands-on expertise in tools such as Illustrator, Figma, After Effects, Rive, or equivalents
• High AI fluency with examples showing experience using AI tools and automation to scale creative work while maintaining craft, taste, and brand consistency
• Systems thinking with experience building or contributing to scalable asset systems in Figma, plus an understanding of how assets are implemented in code
• Experience art directing or providing creative feedback to other designers, freelancers, or agencies
• Strong foundations in composition, color, shape, and timing, with attention to detail at small sizes
• Working knowledge of how illustrated and animated assets are handed off and implemented across iOS, Android, and web
• Clear communication and the ability to present work and rationale to cross-functional partners
• Bachelor’s degree in Design, Motion, HCI, User Experience, or a related field (or equivalent experience)
• 5–10+ years of experience in product design or related disciplines

Technologies you may use

• iOS, Android, web, Illustrator, Figma, After Effects, Rive
• Lottie, native animation, Figma-to-code handoff
• Icon fonts, SVG pipelines, asset catalogs, animation files
• Python, JavaScript, Figma plugins, Blender, Cinema 4D

Compensation

USD 173,000 - 299,000 per year.

Locations

• New York
• San Francisco
• San Jose
• Los Angeles (West Hollywood)
• Chicago
• Austin

Benefits

• Medical/dental/vision
• Paid time off
• Employee Assistance Program
• Wellness & travel reimbursement
• Travel discounts
• International Airlines Travel Agent (IATAN) membership

What success looks like

• Expedia products have a cohesive, recognizable system of icons, pictograms, and illustration
• Assets are easy to find, use, and implement in both Figma and code with minimal rework
• UI motion feels polished and consistent, and ships as designed
• Teams produce more high-quality assets faster through AI-enabled workflows
• Creative quality stays high as production scales

Preferred qualifications

• Experience working directly within a design system, including tokens, variables, and component architecture
• 3D skills (for example, Blender or Cinema 4D) and experience blending 3D with illustration or motion
• Scripting or tooling skills (for example, Python, JavaScript, or Figma plugins) to build automations and asset pipelines
• Experience in travel, consumer marketplaces, or high-volume consumer products
• Video editing and sound design experience