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UX Animator (Only W2, no C2C/1099)

San Francisco, CA - Hybrid

6-months contract role

Overview

The Team focuses on making products more engaging, expressive, and enjoyable. The goal is to transform user experiences from functional to memorable by creating moments of surprise, delight, and emotional connection across search and emerging AI-driven surfaces.

As a UX Animator, you will ideate, design, and deliver motion and visual experiences that enhance product storytelling and elevate user engagement.

Key Responsibilities

• Ideate, execute, iterate, and deliver visual assets for static and interactive delight features across search and AI-driven surfaces
• Collaborate closely with engineers to communicate, negotiate, and refine design intent for implementation
• Develop and guide design specifications including mockups, design systems, and product models
• Drive design improvements based on UX testing, data insights, and stakeholder feedback
• Build alignment across cross-functional teams and influence design strategy decisions
• Apply and evolve motion and visual design frameworks including principles, patterns, and systems
• Translate product requirements into high-quality motion prototypes and visual narratives
• Ensure adherence to accessibility standards, design systems, and platform guidelines
• Propose innovative ideas by anticipating user needs and solving product/design constraints

What Makes This Role Unique

• Focus on crafting emotionally engaging, delightful user experiences at scale
• Work in deeply collaborative environments involving designers, engineers, product managers, and cross-functional partners
• Opportunity to influence experiences seen by hundreds of millions of users globally
• Emphasis on experimental, expressive, and unconventional motion design thinking
• Strong culture of design storytelling and post-launch user impact visibility (“joy-driven impact feedback loops”)
• High creative ownership with space for artistic exploration and independent thinking

Top Skills & Requirements

• 4+ years of experience in animation and/or motion design
• Strong portfolio demonstrating motion design and animation expertise (web/vector-based work preferred)
• Strong visual design sensibility with modern aesthetics and expressive style
• Proficiency in animation tools such as After Effects, Rive, and vector-based animation tools
• Experience designing interactive experiences for web or product interfaces
• Fluency across multiple illustration and motion styles
• Understanding of gaming UX principles and interactive flow design (preferred)
• Ability to independently create prototypes and design explorations
• Strong creativity, originality, and ability to bring personality and humor into design work
• Portfolio must demonstrate:
• Web-based motion design and animation (vector focus)
• Modern visual design sensibilities
• Range of visual tone, style, and experimentation
• Independent/self-initiated creative work

Role Description (UX Design Level Expectation)

This role sits within a senior UX design scope where you are expected to own outcomes for complex or emerging product areas. You will define scalable design approaches in areas with limited precedent and help shape long-term product and experience strategy.

You will influence across teams by guiding design direction, challenging assumptions, and introducing alternative perspectives that improve product outcomes.

Core Responsibilities (Expanded UX Scope)

• Collaborate with engineers to define and refine design implementation details
• Use data and metrics to evaluate design impact and understand user behavior, trends, and ecosystem dynamics
• Drive UX improvements through testing, research insights, and stakeholder collaboration
• Build consensus across teams and communicate design rationale effectively
• Contribute to prioritization and planning of design work aligned with product goals
• Create solutions based on user needs, business goals, and market trends
• Lead holistic design systems, frameworks, or languages across products or teams
• Conduct or guide UX research to inform design direction and validation
• Translate insights into prototypes, concepts, and scalable design solutions
• Ensure accessibility, usability, and consistency across all deliverables
• Continuously improve UX practices by identifying opportunities and constraints

Core Competencies

• Data analysis, synthesis, and planning
• Product design principles and systems thinking
• UX research methodologies
• Understanding product development lifecycle
• Strong aesthetic and visual craftsmanship
• User behavior analysis
• Presentation and storytelling skills
• Interactive technology awareness
• Ability to balance creativity with product and business constraints
• Design system thinking and scalability mindset

Thanks,

Nandit