Staff Motion Designer: AI-Driven Motion Leader

Pinterest; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 159,000 - 327,000; Full time

Job summary

Pinterest is seeking a Staff Motion Designer to define and evolve a comprehensive motion language across products and AI-forward experiences. You will lead motion strategy, partner with product and engineering, and build scalable design system contributions to improve consistency and velocity.

You will prototype using design tools, code, and AI-enabled workflows, mentor designers, and stay at the forefront of motion craft while balancing performance and accessibility across surfaces.

Qualifications

• Minimum 8 years of experience in motion design, product design, interaction design, or a closely related discipline.
• Staff/principal-level track record of influencing horizontally across teams, shaping a product or design-system direction, and raising quality.
• Deep command of motion and interaction design principles, including timing, choreography, easing, spring behavior, feedback, and transitions.
• Experience creating or evolving scalable motion systems, such as principles, token sets, pattern libraries, documentation, tooling, and governance.
• Proven collaboration with engineers to implement complex motion; fluency with performance, constraints, and QA.
• Design technologist mindset: prototyping tools, AI, and code to explore ideas and improve collaboration.
• Strong product and systems thinking: connect craft to user needs, strategy, accessibility, and impact.
• Excellent communication and storytelling; align cross-functional partners.
• Collaborative, low-ego working style; consider diverse user needs from start.
• Bachelor’s degree in design, animation, HCI, or related field.

Responsibilities

• Define and evolve motion language across surfaces and features.
• Lead motion direction for flagship and AI-forward experiences.
• Partner with designers, engineers, PMs, researchers, and content designers.
• Prototype and validate motion ideas using tools, code, or prototypes.
• Work with engineering to balance performance and accessibility.
• Develop tools and templates to speed motion exploration.
• Stay at the leading edge of AI-enabled motion tools.
• Conduct motion quality reviews and mentor teams in motion principles.
• Articulate rationale behind motion decisions to stakeholders.

Skills

Motion design

Design systems

Cross-functional collaboration

Prototyping & tools

Strong communication

AI in design

Systems thinking

Leadership influence

Education

Bachelor's degree in design

Tools

Design tooling

Code literacy

Job description

Pinterest is seeking a Staff Motion Designer to define and evolve a comprehensive motion language across products and AI-forward experiences. You will lead motion strategy, partner with product and engineering, and build scalable design system contributions to improve consistency and velocity.

You will prototype using design tools, code, and AI-enabled workflows, mentor designers, and stay at the forefront of motion craft while balancing performance and accessibility across surfaces.