Director / Principal Motion Designer, Expedia Design

11105 Expedia, Inc.; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 232,000 - 387,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical/dental/vision benefits

Wellness & travel reimbursement

Travel discounts

IATAN membership

Paid time off

Job summary

Expedia Group is seeking a Director/Principal Motion Designer to define our motion language across product and brand. You will partner with product, engineering, brand, and marketing to elevate motion from concept to shipped experiences.

You'll lead editorial motion work, mentor teams, contribute to the design system, and advocate for motion that enhances usability and storytelling across Expedia's consumer and partner platforms.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Design, Motion, HCI, UX, or related field (or equivalent).
• 5–10+ years in product design or related disciplines with leadership of large teams.
• Proven ability to define and drive customer experience strategy with cross-functional partners.

Responsibilities

• Define and evolve motion language across product and brand.
• Build motion into design system for scale and consistency.
• Design UI motion for product and ensure usability and delight.
• Create editorial motion work like brand films and promotional content.
• Mentor designers, influence stakeholders, and raise the craft bar.

Skills

UI motion design

Engineering-ready specs

Cross-functional collaboration

Leadership & mentorship

Storytelling

Communication

Design systems

Education

Bachelor's degree in Design, Motion, HCI, UX, or related field

Tools

After Effects

Figma

Principle

Rive

Lottie

Job description

At Expedia Group, we help travelers explore the world, one journey at a time. As a global travel company powered by passionate people, trusted partnerships, and leading technology, we connect travelers, partners, and advertisers through our consumer brands, B2B network, and travel advertising business. Here, you'll do meaningful work that helps millions of people discover, book, and experience travel with more ease, confidence, and joy. Our five Behaviors-Traveler First, Think Big, Operate with Excellence, Ownership Mindset, and Succeed Together-help foster a supportive environment where people can grow their careers and have the flexibility, benefits, and support to do their best work. Join us and build for travelers everywhere. Locations: San Francisco, Seattle, New York, Los Angeles, or Austin

About the Role

Motion is how our products feel and how our stories land. As Director / Principal Motion Designer, you'll define Expedia Design's motion language and raise the bar for both product and brand. You are equally at home refining a micro-interaction in the app and directing a sizzle reel for a major campaign. You'll partner closely with product designers, engineers, brand, and marketing. You'll also act as the connective tissue between design intent and what actually ships.

What You'll Do

• Define and evolve our motion language
• Establish motion principles, patterns, and guidelines that make our products feel delightful, clear, and unmistakably Expedia
• Build motion into our design system so teams can use it consistently and at scale
• Design UI motion for product
• Craft the details that make an app feel polished: transitions, micro-interactions, state changes, loading and success moments, and moments of delight
• Prototype to explore and validate ideas, and advocate for motion that serves usability, not just decoration
• Bridge design and engineering Write clear, implementable motion specs for engineers (timing, easing, springs, choreography, triggers) across iOS, Android, and web
• Partner with engineering on implementation and review builds to make sure the shipped experience matches the intent
• Stay current on motion implementation approaches across tech stacks (e.g., native animation frameworks, Lottie, Rive, CSS/JS animation) and advise teams on the right approach for each use case
• Create editorial and promotional motion Design, build, or direct sizzle reels, product launch videos, and promotional and storytelling pieces; develop concepts, storyboards, and narratives, and guide them through production, whether you execute them yourself or direct internal teams and external partners
• Lead and elevate: Be the go-to expert and voice for motion across Expedia Design, setting the quality bar and giving thoughtful, constructive critique
• Mentor designers and partners on motion craft, and build motion capability across the organization; influence stakeholders, from product leadership to brand and marketing, on why and how motion matters

What You Bring

Must have:

• Deep expertise in UI motion design, with a portfolio that shows polished, purposeful product animation
• Proven ability to create engineering-ready motion specs and hand off across iOS, Android, and web
• Strong working knowledge of how motion is implemented in code across different tech stacks, and the practical constraints of each
• Mastery of industry-standard motion and prototyping tools (e.g., After Effects, Figma, Principle, Rive, Lottie workflows, or equivalent)
• Demonstrated ability to design, build, or direct editorial motion work such as brand films, sizzle videos, and promotional content
• Strong storytelling, art direction, and sense of timing, rhythm, and craft
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with experience influencing cross-functional partners at a senior level
• Experience raising the craft bar for a team or organization, through mentorship, standards, or leadership

Nice to have:

• 3D design skills (e.g., Cinema 4D, Blender) and experience integrating 3D into product or brand storytelling
• Experience building or contributing to a motion system within a design system
• Experience in travel, consumer marketplaces, or other high-volume consumer products
• Hands-on familiarity with front-end or native animation code, enough to prototype or contribute directly

What Success Looks Like

• Our products have a recognizable, cohesive, and delightful motion identity
• Engineers have clear specs and ship motion that matches design intent
• Brand and campaign storytelling is elevated through compelling motion work
• Motion craft and capability grow across the design organization

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Design, Motion, HCI, User Experience, or related field (or equivalent experience). 5-10+ years of experience in product design or related disciplines, including leadership of large-scale teams. Proven ability to define and drive organization-level customer experience strategy. Demonstrated ability to operate as a player-coach, balancing leadership with direct engagement in design work. Strong communication skills across design, research, and content strategy practices. Experience integrating customer insights, data, and AI-driven systems into design solutions.

Preferred Qualifications

• Track record of executing a large-scale customer experience vision.
• Experience building and scaling design systems.
• Success coaching senior creatives while maintaining craft quality.
• Expertise in storytelling and stakeholder influence.
• Experience leading AI/ML-enabled product design efforts.
• Passion for craft, with a history of personally influencing design outcomes through hands-on involvement, not just direction-setting.

Expedia Group is proud to offer a wide range of benefits to support employees and their families, including medical/dental/vision, paid time off, and an Employee Assistance Program. To fuel each employee’s passion for travel, we offer a wellness & travel reimbursement, travel discounts, and an International Airlines Travel Agent (IATAN) membership. View our full list of benefits.

Locations and Pay

• San Francisco: $242,000.00 to $338,500.00, potential to increase up to $387,000.00
• New York: $242,000.00 to $338,500.00, potential to increase up to $387,000.00
• Beverly Hills: $224,000.00 to $313,500.00, potential to increase up to $358,500.00
• Seattle: $224,000.00 to $313,500.00, potential to increase up to $358,500.00
• Austin: $224,000.00 to $313,500.00, potential to increase up to $358,500.00

Starting pay for this role will vary based on multiple factors, including location, available budget, and an individual’s knowledge, skills, and experience. Pay ranges may be modified in the future.

Benefits and perks: Expedia Group offers benefits and perks designed to support employees and their families, including medical, dental, and vision coverage, paid time off, an Employee Assistance Program, wellness and travel reimbursement, travel discounts, and International Airlines Travel Agent Network (IATAN) membership. Learn more about life at Expedia Group at https://careers.expediagroup.com/life.

Accommodation requests: Expedia Group is committed to providing an inclusive and accessible recruiting experience. If you need an accommodation or adjustment due to a disability during the application or recruiting process, please submit a request at https://expedia.service-now.com/askeg?id=job_accommodation.

About Expedia Group: Expedia Group includes three flagship consumer brands - Expedia, Hotels.com, and Vrbo - along with a leading B2B travel business and travel advertising offerings. Across our brands and business, we help travelers explore the world with confidence and ease.

Equal Opportunity

Expedia is committed to creating an inclusive work environment with a diverse workforce. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. This employer participates in E-Verify. The employer will provide the Social Security Administration (SSA) and, if necessary, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with information from each new employee's I-9 to confirm work authorization.