Staff Motion Designer - 3D

Job description

In 1958, graphic designer Saul Bass opened Alfred Hitchcock's *Vertigo* with a spiral of color and line that told you everything about obsession before a single line of dialogue was spoken. Bass didn't think of the title sequence as a formality before the "real" movie started — he treated it as its own act of storytelling, one built entirely from motion, typography, and rhythm. He went on to define the opening moments of *Psycho*, *North by Northwest*, and *Anatomy of a Murder*, proving that how something moves can carry as much meaning as what it shows. Mercury believes that level of care and craft in design has been lost in modern finance and we're building a brand that brings it back. We're a financial technology company building products that feel extraordinary to use. We help people and businesses accomplish more with their money by turning banking\* from a frustration into a catalyst for their ambitions. We're looking for a Staff Motion Designer to own motion at Mercury, from the launch films and product videos that introduce our biggest bets, to the systems and standards that define how motion looks and feels across every surface. This is the most senior craft role on the team: someone who sets the bar through their own work. You'll move fluidly between 3D worlds, materials, and textures for our highest-profile brand moments, and the day-to-day motion, UI, and interaction work that makes Mercury feel considered everywhere it shows up. You'll also help define how AI fits into a motion practice at Mercury — using it to move faster on pre-vis, iteration, and asset generation, while knowing exactly where craft still has to be done by hand. \*Mercury is a fintech company, not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided through Choice Financial Group and Column N.A., Members FDIC. ### In this role, you'll: - Lead motion concepts for major product launches, campaigns, and brand moments, with strong 3D capability across product visualization, environments, objects, and brand worlds. - Build 3D worlds, materials, and textures that give Mercury's biggest launches and brand moments a distinct, recognizable feel. - Lead product storytelling, title design, typography, transitions, diagrams, and UI motion, turning complex products into simple, compelling visual stories. - Define and build out Mercury's motion design system: principles for typography, pacing, transitions, product UI, sound, and interaction, plus reusable behaviors and templates that don't feel templated. - Explore motion in interactive contexts, and bring an informed point of view on where AI tooling can extend the team's speed and craft without flattening it. - Build and champion AI-assisted workflows for motion and 3D, from generative pre-vis and storyboarding to texture, world, and asset generation, and share what's working with the rest of Brand Studio. - Evaluate new AI creative tools as they emerge and make the call on which are worth adopting into the team's pipeline versus which compromise craft. - Partner with Design, Writing, Narrative, and Production from concept through delivery, and act as a key cross-functional player on the brand's biggest moments. - Personally lead high-level 3D and motion craft while art-directing specialist animators, 3D artists, and studios when additional depth or scale is needed. - Raise the motion craft of the broader Brand Studio through partnership, critique, and example: set the standard by doing the work, not just defining it. - Protect craft and coherence across every moving expression of the brand, from a 30-second launch film to a UI micro-interaction. ### What you'll bring: - 10+ years of professional experience in motion design, with a portfolio that shows mastery across 3D and 2D: not just execution, but conceptual thinking about how motion should move, feel, and unfold over time. - Advanced proficiency in Cinema 4D, Houdini, Blender, or similar 3D tools, including materials, texturing, lighting, and world-building. - Advanced proficiency in After Effects or similar 2D motion tools, with deep command of timing, easing, composition, and finishing detail. - Experience building and documenting motion systems or brand guidelines, not just one-off deliverables. - Comfort moving between big, high-craft brand moments and faster-moving product/UI and social work without losing quality. - A track record of art-directing or mentoring other designers, animators, or outside studios. This is a craft-first role, but you lead by example and raise the bar for everyone around you. - Genuine fluency with AI tooling as part of a creative practice, and a clear sense of where it helps and where craft still wins. - Exposure to scripting or procedural workflows (expressions, Houdini VEX, Python) is a strong plus. - Strong communication skills, able to clearly articulate concepts and creative decisions to internal teams, leadership, and external partners. - A natural leader: someone who thrives in a highly collaborative environment where the best ideas drive progress, not the most powerful voices in the room. Mercury values diversity & belonging and is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. All individuals seeking employment at Mercury are considered without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, marital status, ancestry, physical or mental disability, veteran status, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other legally protected characteristic. We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations throughout the recruitment process for applicants with disabilities or special needs. If you need assistance, or an accommodation, please let your recruiter know once you are contacted about a role. #LI-SE1 **Total Rewards** The total rewards package at Mercury includes base salary, equity (stock options/RSUs), and benefits. Our salary and equity ranges are highly competitive within the SaaS and fintech industry and are updated regularly using the most reliable compensation survey data for our industry. New hire offers are made based on a candidate’s experience, expertise, geographic location, and internal pay equity relative to peers. Our target new hire base salary ranges for this role are the following**:** US employees in New York City, Los Angeles, Seattle, or the San Francisco Bay Area: $189,400—$236,700 USD US employees outside of New York City, Los Angeles, Seattle, or the San Francisco Bay Area: $170,400—$213,000 USD Canadian employees (any location): $179,000—$223,700 CAD