Summer 2027 | UI Motion Artist Intern

Nex (Playground); San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 25,000 - 39,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation package

Flexible working hours and vacation

Product-driven culture

Front-row seat to cutting-edge gaming

Job summary

Nex Playground, based in San Jose, CA, is seeking a UI Motion Artist Intern to bring our games and experiences to life with expressive UI motion. You will shape motion for multiple projects, collaborating with designers and artists, and aim for polished, engaging interactions that resonate with a broad audience.

Work across goofy, playful styles and clean fitness interfaces, taking ideas from concept to Unity implementation.

Qualifications

• Must be currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate degree program at an accredited college or university.
• Strong foundation in UI motion design and animation with a good understanding of timing, pacing, easing, and visual feedback.
• Ability to bring static UI designs to life through engaging transitions, motion, and VFX.
• Familiarity with Unity and basic understanding of implementing UI animation and VFX in a game engine.

Responsibilities

• Create UI motion, transitions, button interactions, and visual effects for games and experiences.
• Adapt motion design to different visual styles, from goofy playful games to clean fitness interfaces.
• Turn static UI designs into dynamic experiences through animation and VFX.
• Prototype different motion concepts, timing, transitions, and treatments to find the right feel.
• Collaborate with UI/UX designers, artists, and game designers to align motion with direction and player experience.
• Take UI motion from concept and prototyping through final implementation in Unity.
• Create and maintain reusable UI animation and VFX assets while following production guidelines.

Skills

UI motion design

Animation

Timing/pacing

Unity familiarity

Prototyping

Communication

Education

Enrollment in undergraduate or graduate degree program

Tools

Unity

After Effects

Photoshop

Illustrator

Job description

Nex is on a mission to help families rediscover the joy of movement. Created by parents for parents, Nex combines technology and play to deliver fun, social, and interactive experiences powered by natural body motion, encouraging kids and adults to move more, play more, and have fun together. Nex Playground, the company's award-winning active play system, is purpose-built to get families moving year-round, with safety and privacy as core considerations in its intentional design. It is certified kidSAFE+ COPPA compliant and built to support healthy, active play for all ages and abilities.

Nex Playground features a growing library of 50+ experiences, including motion and dance games, fitness and educational experiences, and Nex Originals. Content includes collaborations with partners like Hasbro, Sesame Workshop, and NBCUniversal. Nex has been recognized by Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies, TIME's Best Inventions, and Parents' Best Entertainment System for Families, and has earned Red Dot, IDEA, and Core77 international design awards. We encourage you to explore Have Fun and Is Motion Gaming Back?, as they offer a deeper look into our culture, values, and explain how our approach to motion gaming differs from previous generations.

Nex employees may be expected to collaborate with colleagues across different time zones. Depending on the role and location, occasional travel may also be required for company events, external meetings, and other business-related activities.

Important Notice: To protect yourself from recruitment scams, please note that Nex communicates through official company emails ending in @nex.inc. If you receive a suspicious email or message, please do not respond and report it immediately to us.

Location: San Jose, CA
Type: Full Time Internship

The Role

As a UI Motion Artist Intern, you'll help bring our games and experiences to life through expressive, polished, and engaging UI motion. You'll work across a variety of projects, each with its own unique visual style and audience.

One day, you might be creating goofy, playful, and personality-driven UI animations for one of our games; the next, you could be designing clean, energetic, and polished motion for a fitness experience. From screen transitions and button interactions to UI animations and visual effects, you'll learn how to adapt your motion design to support the tone, style, and goals of each project.

With multiple projects across our team, you'll have the opportunity to explore a wide range of UI motion styles, collaborate closely with artists and designers, and take your work from early ideas and prototypes through final implementation in Unity. This isn't just portfolio work. Your work has the opportunity to ship in a real commercial product and be seen by over 500k+ users every day.

What You'll Do

• Create UI motion, transitions, button interactions, and visual effects that make our games and experiences feel polished, responsive, and engaging.
• Work across a variety of projects and adapt your motion design to different visual styles—from goofy, playful, and personality-driven games to clean and polished fitness experiences.
• Turn static UI designs and game screens into dynamic, expressive experiences through thoughtful animation and VFX.
• Explore and prototype different motion concepts, timing, transitions, and visual treatments to find the right feel for each project.
• Collaborate closely with UI/UX designers, artists, and game designers to ensure motion supports both the visual direction and the player experience.
• Take UI motion from concept and prototyping through final implementation in Unity.
• Create and maintain reusable UI animation and VFX assets while following established art and production guidelines.

Should Have

• Must be currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate degree program at an accredited college or university.
• Strong foundation inUI motion design and animation, with a good understanding of timing, pacing, easing, and visual feedback.
• Ability to bring static UI designs to life through engaging transitions, button interactions, motion, and VFX.
• Ability to adapt to different visual styles, from goofy and playful game experiences to clean and polished fitness interfaces.
• Familiarity with Unity and a basic understanding of implementing UI animation and VFX in a game engine.
• Comfortable exploring multiple ideas, prototyping quickly, receiving feedback, and iterating toward a polished result.
• Communicates well, is eager to learn, and takes ownership of assigned tasks and responsibilities.
• A portfolio or demo reel showcasing UI motion, animation, motion graphics, VFX, or other relevant interactive work.
• Passionate about playing, making, and learning about video games! :)

Nice to Have

• Familiarity with creating and working with shaders and materials, particularly for real-time game UI and VFX.
• Proficiency with relevant 2D and motion design tools, particularly Adobe After Effects, Photoshop, and Illustrator.
• Experience using or designing for AR, VR, fitness, or other motion-based games and interactive experiences.

We Offer

• Competitive compensation package.
• Flexible working hours and vacation policy.
• Product-driven culture that treasures talents and individual growth.
• Front-row seat and hands-on experience with cutting edge technologies in the evolving gaming field.

Nex is located inSan Jose, California, USAandHongKong. Learn more about us at https://www.nexplayground.com/about.
We encourage applications even if you don't meet more than 50% of the requirements - we believe that experience comes in many forms!

Nex is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, ancestry, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. This policy applies to all individuals at every stage of the employment relationship, including all current and prospective employees, and covers all employment decisions including recruitment, hiring, job assignment, promotion, compensation, benefits, training, discipline and termination.

We are committed to providing a workplace free from discrimination and harassment and to fostering an inclusive environment for all employees.