Motion Designer

About The Company

Millions of people around the world turn to Pinterest to discover creative ideas, envision new possibilities, and plan memorable experiences. As a leading platform for inspiration, Pinterest is dedicated to empowering users to create a life they love through innovative features and engaging content. The company’s mission is to bring everyone the inspiration to create a life they love, fostering a vibrant community where creativity and innovation thrive. Pinterest values diversity, inclusion, and a collaborative culture that encourages experimentation and continuous learning. The platform leverages cutting-edge technology, including artificial intelligence, to enhance user experience and deliver personalized content. Pinterest’s commitment to quality, trust, and coherence is reflected in its focus on craft and system-wide excellence, making it a trusted source for millions of Pinners worldwide.

About The Role

We are seeking a thoughtful, highly skilled Staff Motion Designer to join our Design Innovation team. In this pivotal role, you will define and evolve Pinterest’s motion design language, ensuring clarity, coherence, and delight across all surfaces and flagship features. This is a hands-on, cross-functional position that requires a unique blend of motion craft expertise, systems thinking, and design technology acumen. Your primary responsibility will be to establish reusable motion principles, patterns, tokens, and implementation guidance within the design system, working closely with product and engineering teams to solve complex interaction challenges. You will lead the creation of tools and prototypes that facilitate exploring and shipping exceptional motion at scale, impacting everything from detailed interactions to the overall user experience. Your work will influence how Pinterest’s products feel, ensuring they are intuitive, engaging, and aligned with the company’s high standards for craft and coherence. This role offers an exciting opportunity to shape the future of Pinterest’s product motion language and contribute to a platform that inspires millions of users globally.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in motion design, product design, interaction design, or a closely related discipline
• Portfolio demonstrating exceptional motion craft in shipped digital products or platforms
• Proven track record influencing cross-functional teams and shaping design or product systems
• Deep understanding 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, and documentation
• Practical fluency in partnering with engineers for complex motion implementation, considering performance and platform constraints
• Proficiency with prototyping tools, AI-enabled tools, and coding workflows for exploring ideas and improving design and build processes
• Strong product and systems thinking, with the ability to connect craft decisions to user needs and product strategy
• Excellent communication, storytelling, and collaboration skills
• Bachelor’s degree in design, animation, human-computer interaction, or related field, or equivalent experience

Responsibilities

• Define and continuously evolve Pinterest’s motion design language, including principles, interaction patterns, timing, tokens, and specifications
• Lead motion direction for flagship and AI-forward experiences to enhance clarity, hierarchy, feedback, and system responsiveness
• Collaborate horizontally with product designers, engineers, product managers, researchers, and content teams to align motion strategies and improve experience quality
• Transform high-level explorations into scalable contributions to the design system, reducing ad hoc implementation and increasing consistency
• Rapidly prototype and validate motion ideas using various mediums such as motion studies, design tools, code, and AI-enabled prototypes
• Work closely with engineering teams during implementation to address technical challenges while balancing performance, accessibility, and maintainability
• Develop and enable lightweight tools, templates, and workflows to facilitate quick exploration and reliable implementation of motion ideas
• Stay informed about AI-enabled motion and visual-creation tools, applying them strategically to improve ideation and production processes
• Conduct motion quality reviews, provide actionable feedback, and mentor team members in motion principles and system thinking
• Communicate the rationale, tradeoffs, and user impact of motion decisions to stakeholders, fostering alignment and high standards

Benefits

• Competitive salary aligned with experience and skills
• Equity options to share in the company's growth
• Flexible work arrangements supporting work-life balance
• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance plans
• Generous paid time off and holidays
• Opportunities for professional development and continuous learning
• Inclusive and collaborative company culture that values diversity

Equal Opportunity

Pinterest is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We consider qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, veteran status, disability, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law. We believe diverse teams drive innovation and excellence, and we welcome applicants from all backgrounds to join our community. If you require a medical or religious accommodation during the application process, please complete the appropriate support form.