Sr. Motion Designer

Cursor
New York +1 more
On-site

Who this role is best for

Geared toward motion design professionals comfortable with AI-assisted workflows and brand systems thinking, with a preference for candidates who have experience in fast-growing tech environments and can work in-person in San Francisco or New York.

Best fit for

  • Candidates with a background in building motion systems for tech brands and a strong AI-first approach to creative work
    — “Define and document the brand's motion language”
  • Individuals who can lead cross-functional teams and translate design principles into scalable tools
    — “Turn recurring motion work into repeatable, AI-assisted templates”
  • Professionals who have experience in multi-channel campaigns and can deliver end-to-end motion design
    — “Concept and produce motion end to end, from storyboards through final delivery”

Things to consider

  • Onsite presence is mandatory in either San Francisco or New York, with no remote flexibility
    — “must be able to work in person at the [San Francisco or New York] office”
  • Candidates need to be fluent in AI coding tools and have experience integrating them into production workflows
    — “Fluency in AI coding tools, especially Cursor”

How to stand out

  • Showcase motion system work and tools you built in your reel and portfolio
    — “A reel and portfolio that show both motion system work and shipped campaigns”
  • Highlight experience with AI video and image generation within real production contexts
    — “Hands-on experience with AI video and image generation tools as part of a real production workflow”
  • Demonstrate a systems mindset by emphasizing how you scale creative processes in your past roles
    — “A systems mindset: you naturally turn one-off tasks into reusable processes”
  • Include examples of collaboration across marketing, product, and engineering teams in your resume
    — “Collaboration at speed: Partner with marketing, product, engineering, and leadership”
  • Emphasize your ability to direct agencies and freelancers with clear creative direction
    — “Direct agencies, animators, and freelancers with clear briefs and candid feedback”
Pace · SteadyCollaboration · HighAutonomy · MediumDecision Impact · Team

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

  • define brand motion language
  • produce motion end to end
  • partner with product designers
Typical background
motion design experiencebranding expertise

Skills & requirements

Required

Motion DesignBrandingCreative Direction3D ToolsAI Integration

Preferred

ScriptingWeb Development

Stack & domain

After EffectsCinema 4DBlenderCreative DirectionCollaborationBrandingProduct Design

About the role

Original posting from Cursor via Ashby

SpaceX was founded under the belief that a future where humanity is out exploring the stars is fundamentally more exciting than one where we are not. Today, SpaceX is actively developing the technologies to make this possible, with the ultimate goal of making life multiplanetary and expanding consciousness to the stars.

SpaceXSI is building Super Intelligence to help humanity understand the universe. Our teams are building the full Super Intelligence stack: from our Colossus supercomputers, to Grok models, to our suite of applications, including Grok Bot, Grok Build, Grok Imagine, Grok Voice, and X. We're creating a powerful flywheel where more compute trains better models, better models power more useful products, and what we learn from people using those products shapes what we build next.

SR. MOTION DESIGNER

We are looking for a Senior Motion Designer to help shape how SpaceXSI moves and shows up in the world. This role is built for someone who has built motion systems in fast-moving environments, cares deeply about craft, and brings an AI-first mindset to how creative work gets made. You'll join the Brand Studio, the team behind the brand across the entire SpaceXSI ecosystem (from Grok and Grok Bot to X), and help define both the motion language of the brand and how it comes to life in our campaigns and products. This is a hands-on role with significant ownership, from first concept through final delivery.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

  • Motion system: Define and document the brand's motion language (timing, easing, transitions, logo animation, typography in motion, and graphic behaviors) so other teams can apply it correctly
  • Workflows & toolkits: Turn recurring motion work into repeatable, AI-assisted templates, tools, and generators that let marketing, product, and other teams produce on-brand motion without you in the room
  • Campaigns: Concept and produce motion end to end, from storyboards through final delivery, across launch films, product videos, social, paid, web, and out-of-home
  • Product motion: Partner with product designers and engineers to bring brand motion into product surfaces, from interactions and transitions to onboarding and launch moments
  • Creative direction: Direct agencies, animators, and freelancers with clear briefs and candid feedback so the output meets the bar you'd set yourself
  • Collaboration at speed: Partner with marketing, product, engineering, and leadership, present your thinking clearly to senior stakeholders, and move between projects quickly while keeping a high bar and improving the process

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

  • Minimum of 6 years of motion design experience, in-house or at an agency or studio
  • Professional experience with After Effects and at least one 3D tool (Cinema 4D or Blender)
  • A reel of shipped motion design work

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

  • Fluency in AI coding tools, especially Cursor. You can build your own tools, scripts, prototypes, and simple web pages instead of waiting on engineering
  • Hands-on experience with AI video and image generation tools as part of a real production workflow
  • A reel and portfolio that show both motion system work and shipped campaigns. Bonus if they include tools or workflows you built
  • Sharp instincts for timing, rhythm, typography in motion, and storytelling, from concept and storyboard through execution
  • A systems mindset: you naturally turn one-off tasks into reusable processes and think about how creative work scales
  • Conviction in your design decisions and the ability to explain why they matter, to designers, marketers, and leadership alike
  • Fluency in Figma and Adobe Creative Cloud
  • Self-directed, fast, and energized by variety and ambiguity
  • Experience building or relaunching a brand's motion identity at a fast-growing tech company
  • Experience with real-time or code-based motion, such as Rive, Lottie, or WebGL
  • 3D modeling, lighting, and rendering skills
  • Sound design sensibility, enough to work closely with audio partners
  • Experience leading agencies on large, multi-channel campaigns

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

  • Onsite role: must be able to work in person at the [San Francisco or New York] office

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:

The annual compensation range for this role is listed below.

Annual Salary:

$172,000 - $250,000 USD

Your actual level and base salary will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: job-related knowledge and skills, education, and experience.

Base salary is just one part of our total rewards package at SpaceXSI, which also includes equity, comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage, access to a 401(k) retirement plan, short & long-term disability insurance, life insurance, and various other discounts and perks.

Source: Cursor careers (Ashby)

Similar roles

More roles at Cursor