Director / Principal Motion Designer, Expedia Design

Locations: San Francisco, Seattle, New York, Los Angeles, or Austin

About the Position

At Expedia Group, we help travelers explore the world, one journey at a time. As a global travel company powered by passionate people, trusted partnerships, and leading technology, we connect travelers, partners, and advertisers through our consumer brands, B2B network, and travel advertising business.

Here, you'll do meaningful work that helps millions of people discover, book, and experience travel with more ease, confidence, and joy. Our five Behaviors-Traveler First, Think Big, Operate with Excellence, Ownership Mindset, and Succeed Together-help foster a supportive environment where people can grow their careers and have the flexibility, benefits, and support to do their best work. Join us and build for travelers everywhere.

About the Role

Motion is how our products feel and how our stories land. As Director / Principal Motion Designer, you'll define Expedia Design's motion language and raise the bar for both product and brand.

You are equally at home refining a micro-interaction in the app and directing a sizzle reel for a major campaign.

You'll partner closely with product designers, engineers, brand, and marketing. You'll also act as the connective tissue between design intent and what actually ships.

Responsibilities

• Define and evolve our motion language

  • Establish motion principles, patterns, and guidelines that make our products feel delightful, clear, and unmistakably Expedia
  • Build motion into our design system so teams can use it consistently and at scale

• Design UI motion for product

  • Craft the details that make an app feel polished: transitions, micro-interactions, state changes, loading and success moments, and moments of delight
  • Prototype to explore and validate ideas, and advocate for motion that serves usability, not just decoration

• Bridge design and engineering

  • Write clear, implementable motion specs for engineers (timing, easing, springs, choreography, triggers) across iOS, Android, and web
  • Partner with engineering on implementation and review builds to make sure the shipped experience matches the intent
  • Stay current on motion implementation approaches across tech stacks (e.g., native animation frameworks, Lottie, Rive, CSS/JS animation) and advise teams on the right approach for each use case

• Create editorial and promotional motion

  • Design, build, or direct sizzle reels, product launch videos, and promotional and storytelling pieces
  • Develop concepts, storyboards, and narratives, and guide them through production, whether you execute them yourself or direct internal teams and external partners

• Lead and elevate

  • Be the go-to expert and voice for motion across Expedia Design, setting the quality bar and giving thoughtful, constructive critique
  • Mentor designers and partners on motion craft, and build motion capability across the organization
  • Influence stakeholders, from product leadership to brand and marketing, on why and how motion matters

Requirements

• Must have:

  • Deep expertise in UI motion design, with a portfolio that shows polished, purposeful product animation
  • Proven ability to create engineering-ready motion specs and hand off across iOS, Android, and web
  • Strong working knowledge of how motion is implemented in code across different tech stacks, and the practical constraints of each
  • Mastery of industry-standard motion and prototyping tools (e.g., After Effects, Figma, Principle, Rive, Lottie workflows, or equivalent)
  • Demonstrated ability to design, build, or direct editorial motion work such as brand films, sizzle videos, and promotional content
  • Strong storytelling, art direction, and sense of timing, rhythm, and craft
  • Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with experience influencing cross-functional partners at a senior level
  • Experience raising the craft bar for a team or organization, through mentorship, standards, or leadership

• Nice to have:

  • 3D design skills (e.g., Cinema 4D, Blender) and experience integrating 3D into product or brand storytelling
  • Experience building or contributing to a motion system within a design system
  • Experience in travel, consumer marketplaces, or other high-volume consumer products
  • Hands-on familiarity with front-end or native animation code, enough to prototype or contribute directly

We Offer

• Competitive salary range: $242,000.00 to $338,500.00 (varies by location)
• Opportunity to increase pay up to $387,000.00 based on performance
• Comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, paid time off, wellness & travel reimbursement, travel discounts, and more
• Inclusive and accessible recruiting experience

About the Company

Expedia Group includes three flagship consumer brands - Expedia, Hotels.com, and Vrbo - along with a leading B2B travel business and travel advertising offerings. Across our brands and business, we help travelers explore the world with confidence and ease.

Important notice

Employment opportunities and job offers at Expedia Group will always come from Expedia Group's Talent Acquisition and hiring teams. Never share sensitive personal information unless you are confident of the recipient. Expedia Group does not extend job offers via email or messaging tools to individuals with whom we have not made prior contact. Our email domain is @expediagroup.com. The official place to find and apply for roles is https://careers.expediagroup.com/jobs/.

Equal Opportunity

Expedia is committed to creating an inclusive work environment with a diverse workforce. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. This employer participates in E-Verify. The employer will provide the Social Security Administration (SSA) and, if necessary, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with information from each new employee's I-9 to confirm work authorization.