Group Creative Director

Designer Jobs; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 143,000 - 331,000; Full time

Job summary

Microsoft’s Creative, Advertising & Integrated Marketing team seeks a Group Creative Director - Art & Film to lead creative vision and craft for advertising and video storytelling across Windows, Devices and Services.

The role partners with cross-functional teams and agency partners to shape major campaigns and hero creative, informed by audience and performance insights and guided by world-class filmmaking judgment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree or Certificate in Design, Fine Arts, Human Computer Interaction, Visual Communications or related art field AND 8+ years experience in art design or a related art field working on computer games or entertainment OR equivalent experience.
• 5+ years people management experience (e.g., leading teams as a Creative Director).
• 12+ years of experience in advertising, creative direction, art direction, film or related creative disciplines at leadership level.

Responsibilities

• Set the creative ambition for major Windows, Surface and Services campaigns.
• Originate and shape breakthrough ideas with directors and agency partners.
• Lead creative development of film and moving-image storytelling across live action, animation, motion design and VFX, from concept to final delivery.
• Present and defend creative work with senior leaders, articulating central ideas and decisions.

Skills

Creative leadership

Campaign ownership

Mentoring

Executive presentation

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in Design or related field

Job description

Microsoft’s Creative, Advertising & Integrated Marketing team seeks a Group Creative Director - Art & Film to lead creative vision and craft for advertising and video storytelling across Windows, Devices and Services. The role partners with cross-functional teams and agency partners to shape major campaigns and hero creative, informed by audience and performance insights and guided by world-class filmmaking judgment.

Creative leadership and campaign ownership

• Set the creative ambition for major Windows, Surface and Services advertising campaigns, launches and cultural moments, leading work from brief and insight through concept, script, production and final delivery.
• Originate and shape breakthrough ideas with Copywriters, Art Directors, Creative Directors and agency partners.
• Create work that can extend across film, social, digital, OOH, DOOH, retail and emerging formats.
• Lead creatively through production and post-production, protecting the strength of the idea while improving distinctiveness, surprise and craft.
• Hold ideas, storytelling and execution to world-class standards, knowing when exceptional craft elevates and when simplicity and restraint strengthen.

Film and moving-image storytelling craft

• Lead creative development of film and moving-image storytelling across live action, animation, motion design and VFX.
• Bring advanced judgment to narrative structure, shot selection, editorial rhythm and pacing, color and grade, music, sound design and finishing.
• Make clear creative decisions that shape emotional impact from concept through final delivery.

Audience insights and creative performance signals

• Understand modern viewing behavior across broadcast, streaming, YouTube, social and emerging platforms.
• Use audience-retention curves, drop-off points, completion rates, qualitative research and other creative-performance signals to understand how audiences experience the work.
• Translate signals into creative hypotheses around openings, narrative clarity, pacing, product integration and emotional payoff.
• Balance evidence with creative instinct, using data to sharpen judgment rather than replace it.

Partnering, talent development, and team culture

• Partner with creative production leadership to identify and engage exceptional directors, production companies, cinematographers, editors, VFX artists, animators, composers and sound designers.
• Lead and mentor Creative Directors, Editors and Motion Graphics artists.
• Provide hands-on, specific creative direction that materially improves both the idea and its execution.
• Build a culture of rigorous critique focused on not only what should change, but why.
• Develop talent with deep expertise in advertising, filmmaking, art direction and motion storytelling.
• Champion ambitious ideas while knowing when subtraction, restraint and simplicity strengthen the work.

Cross-functional collaboration and executive presentation

• Partner closely with creative leaders across copy, design, production, strategy, IMC and advertising to create work where idea, story, craft and brand expression reinforce one another.
• Collaborate with Creative Strategy to translate customer, cultural and business insight into creative opportunity.
• Work with creative production leadership across development, production and post to realize the creative ambition at the highest level of craft.
• Partner with Integrated Marketing, Advertising, Media, Product Marketing, Social, Retail and Communications to turn ideas into connected customer experiences.
• Present and defend creative work with senior leaders, articulating the central idea and the creative reasoning behind key executional decisions.

Minimum requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree or Certificate in Design, Fine Arts, Human Computer Interaction, Visual Communications or related art field AND 8+ years experience in art design or a related art field working on computer games or entertainment OR equivalent experience.
• 5+ years people management experience (e.g., serving as a Lead Artist, Art Manager, Creative Director, etc.).
• 12+ years of experience in advertising, creative direction, art direction, film or related creative disciplines, including significant experience at Creative Director, Group Creative Director or Executive Creative Director level.
• An exceptional portfolio of advertising and filmmaking demonstrating both outstanding ideas and a highly developed command of filmmaking craft, including compelling storytelling, performance, cinematography, editorial judgment and pacing, color and grade, music, sound design and finishing.
• A body of work showing the ability to turn strong creative ideas into beautifully crafted films that hold attention, create emotion and leave a lasting impression.

Additional qualification areas

• Deep experience developing integrated campaigns for globally recognized consumer brands.
• Demonstrated creative leadership across the complete filmmaking process, from concept and script through production, editorial and finishing.
• Experience collaborating directly with directors, production companies, cinematographers, editors, VFX studios, composers, sound designers and other specialist creative partners.
• Ability to give precise, constructive creative direction across multiple disciplines while protecting the central idea.
• Strong understanding of contemporary culture, entertainment, social platforms and changing audience behavior.
• Exceptional taste, creative judgment and communication skills.
• Experience at a creatively recognized advertising agency, production-led creative company or equivalent in-house creative organization.
• A portfolio that includes recognized, culturally resonant or category-defining advertising and film work.
• Experience leading creative for technology, entertainment, gaming, consumer electronics or other highly competitive consumer categories.
• Fluency in interpreting creative-effectiveness research and behavioral signals, including audience-retention data and attention patterns, with the judgment to distinguish meaningful creative insight from optimization noise.
• Experience with emerging production techniques and AI-assisted creative workflows across ideation, pre-visualization, production and post-production.
• Strong relationships across the advertising and film-production community.
• A track record of attracting, developing and inspiring exceptional creative talent.

Location and compensation

• Location: Seattle, WA (onsite)
• Compensation: USD 142,800 - 331,200 per yearly