Senior Motion Designer

Stash Media Inc.; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 135,000; Full time

Job summary

Koto in New York is seeking an experienced motion designer who lives and breathes storytelling, typography, and system thinking. You will lead motion projects from concept through execution, collaborating across disciplines to push animation boundaries.

Bring strong craft in After Effects, Figma, and Final Cut Pro, with a passion for brand storytelling. The role is hybrid, with opportunities to travel to collaborate with global teams.

Qualifications

• Experienced motion designer with strong storytelling and typography sense.
• Proficient in creating 2D motion identities and animation systems.
• Ability to lead projects from concept to delivery and collaborate across disciplines.

Responsibilities

• Create brand-defining motion and animation systems that balance creativity with strategy.
• Own the creative process from exploration through final delivery, exploring multiple directions.
• Bring design to life with typography, timing, and motion principles across formats.
• Collaborate with designers, strategists, and leadership to integrate motion thinking early.

Tools

After Effects

Figma

Final Cut Pro

Job description

Koto

Posted November 01 / New York / Full time / Hybrid

Motion DesignerAfter EffectsFigmaFinal Cut Pro

The Role

You are an experienced motion designer who lives and breathes animation, storytelling, and systems thinking. You combine exceptional 2D animation craft with a sharp graphic design sensibility, creating motion work that is imaginative, purposeful, and seamlessly integrated into brand worlds. You have a natural instinct for typography, composition, rhythm, and movement, and understand how motion can bring a brand's personality to life. At Koto, you'll play an important role in shaping how brands move. You'll lead motion projects from concept through execution, collaborate across disciplines, and push the boundaries of what's possible through thoughtful storytelling, experimentation, and beautifully crafted animation.

Your Responsibilities

• Create brand-defining motion. You develop distinctive, high-quality 2D motion identities, animation systems, and brand expressions that balance creative ambition with strategic intent. You translate insights from our immersion and strategic phases into compelling motion principles and executions.
• Own the creative process. You confidently take projects from initial exploration and storyboarding through design, animation, and final delivery. You bring strong conceptual thinking, explore multiple creative directions, and maintain an exceptional standard of craft throughout.
• Bring design to life. You have a strong command of typography, composition, timing, transitions, and animation principles. You understand how to create expressive, cohesive motion systems that work across different formats, platforms, and brand touchpoints.
• Collaborate across disciplines. You work closely with designers, strategists, and creative leadership to integrate motion thinking into the brand process early and often. You contribute ideas beyond your immediate discipline, respond thoughtfully to feedback, and help create cohesive brand experiences.
• Present with confidence. You articulate your creative thinking clearly and persuasively, helping build compelling presentations and communicating the rationale behind your work to internal teams and clients.
• Lead through craft. You elevate the quality of work around you, sharing knowledge, offering constructive feedback, and supporting the development of other designers. You're curious, experimental, and continually exploring new techniques and approaches to animation.
• Stay hands-on and organized. You spend significant time designing and animating, with advanced proficiency in After Effects and a strong working knowledge of Figma, Final Cut, and Pitch. Experience with 3D tools is a plus. You manage your time and priorities effectively, balancing creative exploration with project timelines.
• Bring the Koto spirit. You're excited to join our New York studio, contribute to our creative culture, and occasionally travel to collaborate with our global teams.

Our Responsibilities

• We’ll ensure you have regular access to your manager and team leads to support your development and career path.
• We actively reward strong performance with promotions, salary increases, and a discretionary annual bonus of up to 10%.
• We’re committed to creating an inclusive and equitable workplace for all employees.
• We support family leave and offer significant paid maternity and paternity time
• We encourage you to take your time off: 25 vacation days annually, 10+ U.S. holidays, and a full studio closure between Christmas and New Year
• We offer a 401(k) with a 4% company match
• We provide a monthly $105 “employee wellness” budget through Juno.
• We give you access to YCN and fund relevant training and development opportunities
• We reward tenure with $5,000 and five extra days off at five years, and $10,000 and four weeks off at ten years
• We support work-from-anywhere opportunities across our five global studios, with advanced planning.

Our Culture

At Koto, we encourage our team to be ‘rationally optimistic’ about the potential of our work, our clients, their businesses, and the power of brand. We pursue the best briefs, aim to inspire meaningful work, and for those interested, provide an opportunity to make the work of their lives. We are actively cultivating leadership, culture, and spaces to encourage this. We work in person with an optional WFH day on Friday, and an additional two weeks of remote work a year. We believe this produces the best work, mentoring opportunities, collective learning, and culture. We encourage autonomy for each team member, allowing them to manage their time, hours, and personal commitments to complete their work.

Salary: 120,000 - 135,000/year