Remote (US-based, Pacific hours) · Full-time · $105,000–$120,000 annually, DOE Applications accepted on a rolling basis until the position is filled.
About Red Door Collaborative
Red Door Collaborative is a creative agency serving enterprise tech organizations and SMBs with visual design, content, and motion work. We're a small, human-centered team — highly collaborative, quietly intense, and genuinely good at what we do. We're also evolving: AI is reshaping our industry, and we're leaning into it as a tool that enhances our work rather than replaces the people doing it. We're rooted in SoCal and the PNW, but we're a fully remote team of creatives. We work Pacific hours and meet in person rarely — this is a real remote role, not a "remote for now" situation. This role requires someone who can lead motion design with craft and conviction in a remote environment — directing a team of animators, representing the discipline to clients, and delivering work that moves without the benefit of being in the same room.
About the Role
We're hiring a Senior Lead Motion Designer to own motion design at Red Door — leading the discipline, setting the quality bar, and representing motion to our clients and prospects. In this role you'll lead a small team of full-time animators and a rotating group of individual collaborators, and you'll also get your hands into the work when capacity and complexity demand it. The split between directing and doing will flex with project load — this isn't a role where you've fully stepped back from the craft. But your primary responsibility is the discipline: the team, our standards, and the client relationships. On the client side, this role goes beyond execution. You'll be a key voice in how Red Door presents and sells motion design — identifying opportunities to expand motion work within existing accounts, articulating the value of motion in client conversations, and helping prospective clients understand what's possible. You'll report to our Associate Creative Director and work alongside Creative Project Managers, discipline leads in Visual Design and Content, and our small but mighty team of creatives delivering excellent work, day after day.
What You'll Do
- Discipline leadership and mentorship: Lead, direct, and develop a team of animators and several contracted collaborators. Set expectations, give direct and constructive feedback, and establish what "excellence" looks like within the motion discipline. You're building a team that does great work consistently — not just when you're in the room.
- Motion production: Stay hands-on with motion work when project load or complexity requires it. Create and direct animatics, motion graphics, branded motion pieces, and UI/interface animation to a high standard. Your work sets the bar your team reaches toward.
- Creative direction and quality control: Review work across the motion discipline before it leaves the team. You're not checking boxes — you're evaluating whether the animation serves the client's intent, tells the story clearly, and clears our quality bar. Flag what needs another pass and explain why.
- Client representation and motion evangelism: Be a credible, compelling voice for motion design in client-facing settings. Identify opportunities to expand motion work within existing accounts, participate in new business conversations, and help clients understand what motion can do for their marketing and communication needs. This is a material part of the role — not a secondary responsibility.
- Creative standards and process: Establish and maintain creative standards, workflows, and production practices for the motion discipline. Partner with Creative PMs to keep motion work moving through production phases without losing quality. When standards drift, you bring them back.
- Cross-discipline collaboration: Work closely with the ACD, CD, and other discipline leads (Visual and Content design). Motion doesn't live in isolation — you'll collaborate across disciplines on integrated projects and contribute to how Red Door's creative output comes together.
Who You Are
- You have 7+ years of professional motion design experience — creating animatics, motion graphics, and branded motion for real clients in a production workflow. Not adjacent to the work but doing it.
- You've led or mentored other animators or motion designers — this isn't a first-time leadership role. You've given hard feedback, helped someone develop their craft, and know what it takes to build a discipline that produces consistent work.
- You have agency experience — not adjacent to agency work but embedded in it. You know the pace, the client dynamics, and the particular pressure of delivering motion work on deadline.
- You have strong proficiency in Adobe After Effects and working familiarity with Cinema 4D, Maya, Premiere, and Frame.io. You don't need to be equally expert in all of them, but you understand the ecosystem and can speak to it credibly.
- You're comfortable in client-facing settings — presenting work, fielding questions, and identifying opportunities to expand the scope of what motion can do for a client. This isn't a stretch for you; it's energizing.
- You have a reel and portfolio that shows both your craft and your range — work you made, projects you directed, and examples that demonstrate how your motion thinking serves a client's communication goals.
- You've worked with enterprise clients — tech organizations, professional services, large-scale marketing campaigns. You understand the complexity, the stakeholder layers, and the long timelines that come with large clients.
- You have an open, growth-oriented mindset about AI and are curious about how AI-assisted tools and workflows might expand what your team is capable of. We're exploring this actively — we need someone who wants to be part of that exploration.
Before You Apply
Consider the following before applying:
- If you're at your best as an individual contributor, and leading and directing others' output feels like a step away from the work you love...
- If client conversations, presentations, and upselling motion design feel more uncomfortable than energizing...
- If you're looking for a role where creative standards are already set and your job is to execute within them, rather than establish and own them...
- If you haven't led other animators or motion designers and are looking for your first leadership role...
Then this probably isn't the right role for you.
To Apply
In your cover letter, tell us about a time you pushed a piece of motion work — yours or someone else's — to a level it wouldn't have reached without your involvement. What was the work, what did you see that needed to change, and how did you get there? We're more interested in how you think about craft and leadership than a polished answer. During the interview process, we'll ask you to walk us through your reel — not just what you made, but how you directed it, where you pushed back, and what you'd do differently. Finalists will be asked to provide references from animators or motion designers who've worked with them directly.
Compensation & Benefits
This is a salaried, exempt position with an annual salary of $105,000–$120,000, depending on experience. We offer a full benefits package: PTO, paid holidays, health coverage (medical, dental, vision — plus HSA/FSA options), 401(k) with match, life and disability insurance, a charitable matching program, and stipends to support your remote setup and ongoing work-from-home costs.
Equal Opportunity
Red Door Collaborative is committed to building an inclusive team where everyone is valued and respected. We don't discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other protected status. We don't just welcome diverse perspectives — we actively seek them out. People from different cultures and experiences, solving problems together, is how we do our best work.
