Freelance Animation Contract Jobs (NOW HIRING)

About the Role
As an Executive Producer, you lead the planning, execution, and delivery of complex video, film, animation, and multimedia productions for a diverse portfolio of clients. You serve as the driving force behind production excellence, ensuring projects are delivered on time, on budget, and at the highest creative standards.
This role combines production expertise, business acumen, and leadership. You oversee the full production lifecycle-from creative brief and pre-production planning through final delivery-while partnering closely with clients, creatives, strategists, project managers, production partners, and agency leadership to bring ambitious ideas to life.
You are equal parts problem-solver, relationship-builder, and operational leader. Whether managing budgets, leading production teams, navigating on-set challenges, or building client confidence, you play a critical role in ensuring every production delivers exceptional creative work and measurable business value.
As AI continues to evolve production workflows, you embrace tools that improve planning, efficiency, and collaboration while recognizing that leadership, creative judgment, relationship management, and decision-making remain essential to successful production outcomes.
Responsibilities
Here are some, but not necessarily all, of your responsibilities:
Lead complex productions from concept through delivery.
You oversee the planning, budgeting, scheduling, execution, and delivery of video, film, animation, and multimedia productions. You ensure creative vision is achieved while balancing timelines, budgets, resources, and client expectations. You continuously refine production processes, workflows, and best practices to support high-quality execution across projects.
Serve as a trusted client partner.
You act as the primary production contact for assigned clients, building confidence through proactive communication, transparency, and reliable delivery. You help guide clients through production decisions, anticipate challenges, and provide thoughtful solutions that support both creative goals and business objectives.
Own production budgets and financial performance.
You develop and manage project budgets, ensuring productions are scoped accurately and delivered profitably. You oversee cost tracking, purchase orders, vendor payments, and production expenditures while proactively identifying risks and opportunities throughout the production lifecycle. You partner closely with agency leadership and finance teams to maintain financial accountability and operational efficiency.
Manage production partners, vendors, and talent.
You oversee relationships with production crews, freelance talent, studios, animators, editors, photographers, voice actors, and other production partners. You negotiate scopes, contracts, and agreements while ensuring projects have the resources required for success. You maintain a strong understanding of talent usage rights, licensing, releases, union requirements, and industry best practices.
Ensure production compliance and risk management.
You coordinate permits, insurance requirements, location approvals, legal clearances, and production documentation. You help ensure all productions meet regulatory, contractual, licensing, and client-specific requirements while minimizing risk and protecting both clients and the agency.
Lead and develop production teams.
You provide leadership, mentorship, and direction to producers and production team members. You establish clear expectations, support professional development, and foster a collaborative environment that encourages accountability, growth, and production excellence.
Leverage AI and emerging technologies thoughtfully.
You use AI-powered tools to improve production planning, automate workflows, support scheduling, streamline reporting, and enhance operational efficiency. You understand that technology can accelerate execution, but exceptional productions still depend on human leadership, creative problem-solving, and relationship management.
What You'll Need

• 10+ years of experience leading video, film, animation, broadcast, commercial, or multimedia productions
• Proven experience managing complex productions from concept through final delivery
• Strong understanding of production budgeting, forecasting, cost management, and resource planning
• Experience leading production teams, freelancers, vendors, and external partners
• Exceptional organizational, project management, and problem-solving skills
• Experience serving as a senior-level client partner and managing production-related communications with stakeholders
• Strong understanding of production workflows, post-production processes, and creative development
• Knowledge of talent agreements, licensing, usage rights, releases, and production contracts
• Familiarity with permitting, insurance requirements, and production compliance standards
• Agency experience preferred
• Experience managing multiple productions and competing priorities simultaneously
• Familiarity with AI-powered production, planning, or workflow tools is a plus
• Exceptional communication, leadership, and relationship-building skills
• A passion for producing outstanding work while developing teams and driving operational excellence

What makes TrendyMinds a great place to work
We believe a happy team is a solid team; it's as simple as that.

• Fully remote: We believe the best team is one that isn't limited by proximity to a physical location. Whether it's the West Coast or the East Coast, we work with team members across all of the U.S. time zones.
• Collaborative team environment: Your voice is important, and we believe the best projects include contributions from everyone.
• Great benefits: 30 paid days off and 401(k) matching. What more could you ask? Oh yeah, we cover 100% of health insurance premiums for all team members and 50% for their spouses and dependents.
• Flexible schedule: Some people are early birds who love collaborating in person at our offices. Others are night owls who enjoy working from home. We are flexible to accommodate different work styles, times, and locations- within reason and the needs of our clients - of course!
• New equipment: In order to produce incredible work, we have to have incredible equipment. Sorry if you were hoping for a 7-year-old PC. That's just not our style.
• Philanthropy: We like to do our part to help our community. With our philanthropy committee and donation matching system, we offer you the resources you need to make a difference.

Our Values
At TrendyMinds, we aim to hire people who share our values. They are at the center of how we treat each other and our clients, and they act as our guideposts for every decision.
Know the Why behind the What.
We aim to be as honest and transparent as possible with our team and clients. The idea of Why lives at the heart of our LOGIQ process and grounds us with clear reasons for the decisions we make. (You will learn more about our LOGIQ process if you join our team.)
Put relationships first.
We not me. For more than 25 years, we've grown a business built on strong relationships with clients. But we also know that developing trust and a collaborative spirit is equally important to cultivate a healthy team that loves having fun.
Think Ahead and push boundaries.
Our tagline isn't Think Ahead for nothing. We bring a contagious passion to our craft, always searching for creative ways to challenge ourselves and deliver results, even though things don't always go according to plan. Don't be afraid to make mistakes, improve, and try again.
Bring your full self.
Show up. Each of us has something unique to contribute. In all that we do, we celebrate diversity and strive to create an equitable, inclusive environment so that everyone feels a sense of belonging.
Equal Opportunity Employer Statement
TrendyMinds is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees and applicants. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.
Reasonable Accommodation Statement
TrendyMinds is committed to providing reasonable accommodations throughout the recruiting process. If you require an accommodation to participate in the application or interview process, please contact us and let us know how we can support you.