Motion Designer

PlayOn Sports is the parent company of NFHS Network, GoFan, and MaxPreps. As we continue to unify GoFan, NFHS, and MaxPreps from a brand perspective, our creative team is searching for a Motion Designer to join us in our mission to be the only destination for all things high school sports.

This Motion Designer lives and breathes motion graphics and digital sports culture. You aren't just making mind-blowing motion graphic content; you are building visual systems that help our brand(s) and content series(s) feel branded and authentic. Whether it is high-energy motion graphics for a highlight reel, the next NFHS product video, or the motion bible for the next evolution of the MaxPreps brand, you’ll be the gatekeeper of all things Playon Motion graphic content.

The outcomes you’ll deliver:

• Elevate the brand perception of the NFHS Network and MaxPreps by delivering high-quality, consistent motion assets across all social and internal channels.
• Drive new subscriber growth and improves subscriber retention.

In this role, you can expect to 

• Bring Brand to Life with Motion: Develop motion graphics elements, including lower thirds, title cards, transitions, and animated overlays, to make our video content feel like a major sports broadcast.
• Build and Maintain Motion Identity Systems: Help maintain and expand our brand guidelines, ensuring we use motion correctly across all touchpoints.
• Collaborate Cross-Functionally: Work closely with the Social Media and Performance Marketing teams, and the B2B and Broadcast teams to develop creative that actually converts.
• Stay Ahead of the Curve: Proactively research design trends and emerging social formats to keep our brand relevant to Gen Z and Millennial audiences.

To thrive in this role, you have 

• 3-6 years of experience in motion graphics and social content creation (agency or in-house sports-related companies)
• A Killer Portfolio: Show us you can do short-form and long-form motion, preferably in sports. Brand development experience is a plus.
• Compositing & Post-Production: Seamlessly integrate 3D elements with 2D motion graphics, live-action footage, and typography using Adobe After Effects and Premiere Pro.
• Mogrt & Template Architecture: Expertise in developing robust After Effects templates, Premiere Pro MOGRTs, and Essential Graphics panels with clean, intuitive custom controls.
• Advanced Expressions: Deep command of After Effects expressions (JavaScript) for building responsive text bounding boxes, automated layout scaling, and conditional property rigs.
• Pipeline Optimization: Streamlining handoffs between motion design and editing workflows with lightweight, fast-rendering, and foolproof multi-aspect-ratio assets.
• 3D Design & Motion Graphics: Conceptualize, model, texture, light, and animate complex 3D assets and visual effects using software such as Cinema 4D (with Redshift/Octane) or Blender.
• Social Fluency: An innate understanding of what works on TikTok vs. Instagram vs. YouTube—and the ability to design specifically for those nuances.
• Speed and Precision: The ability to balance high-quality craftsmanship with the fast-paced nature of an in-house creative team, manage deadlines, and handle multiple projects simultaneously.
• Passion for High School Sports! You understand why a buzzer-beater in a small-town gym matters just as much as a pro championship.

HOW YOU PLAY

• Ownership over Participation – You don’t just "make things move"; you solve problems. You take responsibility for the final visual outcome, even on tight deadlines.
• Team over Stars – You accept feedback gracefully and collaborate to ensure the work meets business goals, not just your personal aesthetic.
• Growth over Comfort – You’re eager to learn new tools (like AI design workflows or new animation plugins) to keep your skills sharp and our brand evolving.
• Fairness over Popularity – You make design decisions based on what’s best for the brand and the audience, even if it means moving away from a "cool" trend that doesn't fit our mission.

PlayOn is where high school sports come to life. Through GoFan, NFHS Network, and MaxPreps, we give every fan a front-row seat to the moments that matter most: the buzzer-beaters, the comeback wins, the senior nights, the rivalries that define a town.  

We built our technology for the people who live and breathe high school athletics — the parents who never miss a game, the alumni still cheering from across the country, the communities that show up week after week. From buying tickets to watching a live stream to reliving the highlights, we make it simple to stay close to the sports and the athletes you love most.

Backed by KKR, we build the technology that powers high school athletics from the inside out: Schools trust us to handle ticketing, streaming, fundraising, concessions, merchandise, and more so the people running programs can stay focused on the athletes and fans we all serve together.

We're a growth-stage company on a mission to make high school sports more accessible, more memorable, and more connected than ever before.

When being there means everything, we make sure you never miss a moment.

Why You'll Love Working at PlayOn   Product, potential, and people. We’re a leader in the high school event space, constantly evolving our product to meet the needs of administrators. We focus on solving real challenges, learning quickly, and creating impactful solutions.    This is a growth-stage company, meaning your contributions have real impact. You’ll have opportunities to grow your skills, tackle meaningful problems, and make a difference in the lives of schools and the students and fans they serve.    Our culture is built on accountability, collaboration, growth, and fairness. We don’t just show up—we show up for each other. Everyone wears the same jersey, and we play hard, make the extra pass, and cheer one another on. Losses teach us, challenges motivate us, and persistence drives us forward. We value integrity over shortcuts, choosing to do what’s right even when it’s hard. Together, we strive to be better every day—because we know that’s how we win as a team.      The Benefits We Offer    Multiple medical insurance plans to choose from  Dental, vision life and disability insurance  Employee Emergency Fund   Company equity (stock options)  Open PTO policy   401K plan with company match  Hybrid/flexible work environment    Note: Must be a full-time employee to participate in the company’s employee health benefit plan. Part-time employees and interns are not eligible to participate