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Creative Project Manager Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Senior Performance Creative

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$96K - $130K/yr

You can work at speed and scale, managing multiple projects and tight turnarounds without dropping quality. About the team Canva's Growth Creative team sits at the intersection of creativity ...

CA · On-site

$35 - $37/hr

We are currently looking for a Project Manager, Creative Operations to work for a leading Greater Orange County area biotechnology company. Pay Rate: $35-37/hr Contract: 6 months temp-to-hire Summary:

Creative Producer

Irvine, CA · On-site

$130 - $150/hr

Reporting to the Design PMO, you're the operational backbone of the studio: scoping work, allocating resources, tracking timelines, and making sure premium creative actually ships on schedule. You'll ...

You own the day-to-day production of creative technology projects, managing timelines, budgets, and vendor relationships while keeping creative vision and technical reality in sync. You work closely ...

This role bridges high-level creative project management with tactical production logistics-ensuring all visual assets, from matchday digital coverage and brand campaigns to partnership deliverables ...

Project Manager

Los Angeles, CA · On-site

$90 - $120/hr

Negotiate and communicate with creative, account management, and production team members throughout projects * Create, implement, and manage detailed workflow schedules for each project * Manage ...

New

Project Manager

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$50 - $70/hr

With a background in structuring and delivering creative marketing campaigns, mobile app builds or ... Monitor project costs, track expenses and manage budgets to ensure profitability. * Risk Management ...

You'll manage project execution, optimize workflows, and ensure seamless collaboration between creative, brand, and production teams, serving as the operational backbone of the creative department ...

Project Manager

Carlsbad, CA · On-site

$85 - $95/hr

Creative/ ecomm/ marketing Main Purpose and Major Challenges of the Role Outerknown, Firewire Surfboards and Slater Design is seeking a highly organized, proactive, and collaborative Project Manager ...

Showing results 41-60

Creative Project Manager information

See California salary details

$37.5K

$95.4K

$129.8K

How much do creative project manager jobs pay per year?

As of Sep 7, 2026, the average yearly pay for creative project manager in California is $95,372.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $80,900.00 and $109,500.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is a creative project manager?

A creative project manager oversees all the elements of a creative project. These creative projects usually fall under the marketing department, but there are opportunities in other sections of a company. As a creative project manager, your job duties are to shape the ideas of the project, define clear goals and objectives in consultation with other departments, organize your team, and keep them on task. The creative project manager needs to maintain a balance between allowing the creative talent freedom to explore ideas while still making sure the team meets deadlines and creates a strong project, so you need excellent interpersonal and negotiations skills for this career.

How does a creative project manager typically collaborate with cross-functional teams during a project?

A Creative Project Manager serves as a bridge between creative teams, such as designers and copywriters, and other departments like marketing, product, and client services. They facilitate communication by clearly outlining project goals, timelines, and deliverables, ensuring everyone is aligned. Regular check-ins, status updates, and collaborative meetings are common, allowing the manager to address any blockers quickly and keep the project on track. This collaborative structure fosters a dynamic environment where feedback and ideas flow openly, ensuring that creative outputs meet both strategic objectives and client expectations.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a creative project manager, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Creative Project Manager, you need strong project management abilities, experience in creative industries, and typically a bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications, or a related field. Familiarity with project management tools like Asana, Trello, or Wrike, and design software such as Adobe Creative Suite, is highly valued. Exceptional communication, organization, and leadership skills help you coordinate teams and manage client expectations effectively. These competencies are crucial for delivering high-quality creative projects on time and within budget while maintaining strong team collaboration.

What is the difference between Creative Project Manager vs Graphic Designer?

AspectCreative Project ManagerGraphic Designer
Required credentialsBachelor's in marketing, communications, or related field; project management certifications often preferredBachelor's in graphic design, visual arts, or related field; design software proficiency
Work environmentCollaborates with teams, manages timelines, oversees projects from concept to completionFocuses on creating visual content, working primarily in design studios or freelance settings
Employer and industry usageUsed in advertising agencies, media companies, marketing departmentsCommon in design firms, advertising agencies, freelance work

The Creative Project Manager oversees the entire project lifecycle, coordinating teams and managing deadlines, while the Graphic Designer focuses on creating visual content. Both roles require creative skills, but the project manager emphasizes organization and leadership, whereas the designer emphasizes technical design expertise.

What are the most commonly searched types of Creative Project jobs in California?

The most popular types of Creative Project jobs in California are:

What are popular job titles related to Creative Project Manager jobs in California?

For Creative Project Manager jobs in California, the most frequently searched job titles are:

What cities in California are hiring for Creative Project Manager jobs?

Cities in California with the most Creative Project Manager job openings:

Infographic showing various Creative Project Manager job openings in California as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 90% Full Time, 9% Part Time, and 1% Contract. Highlights an 81% Physical, 2% Hybrid, and 17% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $95,372 per year, or $45.9 per hour.

Senior Performance Creative

Canva

San Francisco, CA • On-site

$96K - $130K/yr

Full-time

Medical, Retirement

Posted 7 days ago


Key responsibilities

  • Turn campaign briefs, audience insights, and performance data into creative concepts for paid social across multiple channels.

  • Write and produce high-performing hooks, scripts, static copy, carousels, and video content to capture attention and drive action.

  • Review creative performance metrics and use insights to inform the next round of creative development.


Job description

Company Description
Job Description
Join the team redefining how the world experiences design.
Hello, g'day, mabuhay, kia ora, 你好, hallo, vítejte!
Thanks for stopping by. We know job hunting can be a little time consuming and you're probably keen to find out what's on offer, so we'll get straight to the point.
Where and how you can work
Our global HQ is in Sydney, Australia, and as we continue to grow in our largest global market, we've made our way from down under to San Francisco.
Our Jackson Square campus blends the neighborhood's vibrant downtown charm with Canva's signature flair. The space is designed for both deep work and collaboration, along with spaces for Canvanauts to relax, recharge, and connect. We offer flexibility in how and where you work. We trust our Canvanauts to choose the balance that empowers them and their team to achieve their goals.
What you'd be doing in this role
As Canva scales change continues to be part of our DNA. But we like to think that's all part of the fun. So this will give you the flavour of the type of things you'll be working on when you start, but this will likely evolve.
At the moment, this role is focused on:
  • Turning campaign briefs, audience insights and performance data into distinctive creative concepts for paid social across Meta, TikTok, YouTube and other channels.
  • Writing high-performing hooks, scripts, static copy, carousels and longer-form video content designed to capture attention and drive action.
  • Planning and running self-directed shoots for UGC-style, creator-led and direct-to-camera content, including sourcing and directing talent.
  • Editing and iterating high volumes of short-form video quickly, using strong judgement around pacing, structure, captions, sound and storytelling.
  • Reviewing creative performance across metrics such as hook rate, hold rate, CTR and conversion, and turning those insights into clear hypotheses for the next round of work.
  • Remixing and repurposing existing creative into new variations, testing different angles, formats and messages to improve performance.
  • Partnering closely with strategists, marketers and media partners to keep creative decisions connected to campaign goals and audience needs.
  • Raising the creative bar by bringing strong craft judgement, sharing learnings generously and helping turn successful experiments into repeatable playbooks.

You're probably a match if
    • You have 5+ years of experience across performance creative, copywriting, video production, or content creation, with a strong focus on paid social.
    • You have a portfolio of YouTube, Meta, or TikTok ads that demonstrate strong performance. You've got the polish, and the results.
    • You have experience creating and remixing UGC-style content into ads that convert.
    • You're analytically minded: comfortable in dashboards, confident with performance metrics, and able to connect creative decisions to outcomes.
    • You have a deep understanding of platform dynamics, formats, and what actually makes people stop scrolling.
    • You're a strong communicator who can present creative rationale clearly to stakeholders.
    • You can work at speed and scale, managing multiple projects and tight turnarounds without dropping quality.

About the team
Canva's Growth Creative team sits at the intersection of creativity, performance, and scale. We create high-performing work across video, copy, static, UGC-style content, and everything in between - always with a clear focus on what drives impact.
We move quickly, test often, and use performance data to sharpen our thinking and improve the next piece of work. Great creative and great data go hand in hand here, and the team is constantly learning, experimenting, and raising the bar.
You'll join a team that values strong craft, curiosity, and momentum with plenty of opportunity to shape how performance creative evolves at Canva.
What's in it for you?
Achieving our crazy big goals motivates us to work hard - and we do - but you'll experience lots of moments of magic, connectivity and fun woven throughout life at Canva, too. We also offer a range of benefits to set you up for every success in and outside of work.
Here's a taste of what's on offer:
  • Equity packages - we want our success to be yours too
  • Health benefits plans to support you and your wellbeing
  • 401(k) retirement plan with company contribution
  • Inclusive parental leave policy that supports all parents & carers
  • An annual Vibe & Thrive allowance to support your wellbeing, social connection, office setup & more
  • Flexible leave options that empower you to be a force for good, take time to recharge and supports you personally

Check out lifeatcanva.com for more info.
At Canva we value fairness, and we strive to provide competitive, market-informed compensation whilst ensuring internal equity within the team in each region. We make hiring decisions based on your skills, experience and our overall assessment of what we observed and learnt in the hiring process. The target salary range for this position is $172,000 to $199,000. When calculating offers, we make salary decisions based on market data and candidates' skills and experience.
Other stuff to know
We make hiring decisions based on your experience, skills, merit and business needs, in compliance with applicable local laws.
We celebrate all types of skills and backgrounds at Canva so even if you don't feel like your skills quite match what's listed above - we still want to hear from you!
When you apply, please tell us the pronouns you use and any reasonable adjustments you may need during the interview process. Please note that interviews are conducted virtually.
Check out lifeatcanva.com for more info.