Staff Designer Jobs
Staff Designer jobs are open across technology, consumer products, fintech, and healthcare, from mid-level to principal, with specializations in product design, systems design, and design operations. Find a role that fits from the openings below and apply directly.
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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.
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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
Staff Designer Jobs by Experience Level
Top Cities Hiring Staff Designers
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Who's Hiring
- Affirm30

- Burns & McDonnell15

- Google12

- Stripe5

- Datadog4

Top Industries Hiring
- Banking & Financial Services36
- Technology & Software31
- Consulting & Professional Services18
- Education5
- Investment & Asset Management5
What Employers Look For
The qualifications that appear most often in staff designer jobs.
- 5 or more years of product or UX design experience with a portfolio demonstrating systems-level thinking
- Proficiency in Figma, including component libraries, auto layout, and collaborative design workflows
- Experience defining or contributing to a design system used across multiple product surfaces
- Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional design projects with engineering and product managers
- Strong written and verbal communication skills for presenting work to senior stakeholders
- Bachelor's degree in design, human-computer interaction, or a related field, or equivalent experience
Tips for Your Staff Designer Job Search
Prove system thinking in your portfolio
Staff designers are expected to scale solutions, not just ship screens. Show work where you defined patterns, built reusable components, or drove alignment across multiple product teams. Reviewers want evidence you operate above the feature level.
Target companies with mature design orgs
Staff roles rarely exist at early-stage startups. Search for companies with dedicated design systems teams, a VP or Chief Design Officer, and publicly shared design resources. Those signals tell you the organization is structured to support staff-level scope.
Apply early to roles that fit
Migrate Mate lists staff designer openings from across the United States in one place, so you can find roles that match and apply directly to each listing.
Tailor your resume to cross-functional impact
Hiring managers for staff roles scan for influence beyond your immediate team. Rewrite bullet points to name the product areas, engineering partners, or business outcomes you shaped. Avoid framing your work as individual deliverables.
Prepare a strategy narrative, not just case studies
Staff designer interviews often include a 30-minute presentation on how you approached a complex, ambiguous problem. Practice walking through your reasoning, the stakeholders you aligned, and what you changed mid-project, not only the final outcome.
Negotiate scope before you negotiate salary
Before your final offer call, ask specifically what the staff role owns: team size, reporting structure, and whether design systems or research are in scope. Misaligned expectations at this level lead to quick frustration, and clarifying upfront is fully expected.
Staff Designer Jobs: Frequently Asked Questions
Which companies are hiring the most staff designers?
The companies hiring the most staff designers right now include Affirm, Burns & McDonnell, and Google, with the largest share of openings in California, New York, and Illinois, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of September 2026. Technology, fintech, and healthcare companies tend to post staff-level roles most consistently.
How many staff designer jobs are remote?
About 75% of staff designer openings are fully remote or hybrid as of September 2026, reflecting how design has adapted to distributed teams. Roles focused on design systems, design operations, and research tend to be the most remote-friendly, while those with heavy in-person collaboration requirements are more likely to require regular office presence.
How do you become a staff designer?
You become a staff designer by building a consistent record of scoping and delivering complex, cross-functional design work, not just polished interfaces. Start by leading projects that require aligning multiple stakeholders or defining reusable patterns. Seek out opportunities to mentor other designers, contribute to a design system, and document your decision-making process clearly enough that others can build on it.
Can you get hired as a staff designer with little experience?
Getting hired directly into a staff designer role with little experience is difficult because the title carries an expectation of organizational influence, not just craft skill. The practical path is to reach a strong senior level first, take on staff-scoped work informally, and build a portfolio that shows system thinking and cross-team collaboration before applying to titled staff roles.
What does the staff designer interview process look like?
The staff designer interview process typically includes a recruiter screen, a portfolio presentation to the design team, and a series of working sessions or case study discussions with cross-functional partners including product managers and engineers. Many companies also include a take-home prompt or a live problem-solving exercise focused on ambiguity and prioritization. The process usually runs across several rounds over two to four weeks.
Where can I find and apply to staff designer jobs?
You can find and apply to staff designer jobs on Migrate Mate, which lists current openings from across the United States in one place. Search the listings to find roles that match your experience and specialization, then apply directly to each one that fits. No detours or redirects, just the listings and a direct path to applying.
See All 213+ Staff Designer Jobs
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