Senior Motion Graphics Designer — Independent Contractor
Scarab Digital | Vancouver-based | Hybrid | Remote- across Canada considered
A senior contract role for a highly accountable designer who can shape visual direction, mentor others, and carry the hardest builds without losing the story.
The opportunity
We are looking for a Senior Motion Graphics Designer to join Scarab Digital as a freelance independent contractor on active productions. This role is for a high-trust senior who can carry difficult builds, help shape visual direction, interpret evolving vision needs, and strengthen the team around them while still being deeply hands-on.
This is project-based contract work, but not one-off thinking. We are looking for someone we can bring back repeatedly because the work gets better when they are involved.
What the work is
Scarab Digital builds story-driven on-screen graphics for film and television: phones, text conversations, social interfaces, laptop screens, search results, dashboards, surveillance visuals, broadcast graphics, radar systems, and speculative UI/FUI. The work needs to read instantly on screen, feel native to the world of the story, and help move the narrative forward.
At the senior level, this role goes beyond personal output. We need someone who can help define the right visual direction inside a moving production, translate abstract ideas into systems the team can execute, and mentor through context, feedback, and example.
What you will do
- Design and animate complex UI/FUI and on-screen graphics systems for film and television.
- Help shape, clarify, and elevate artistic direction in collaboration with production and other creatives.
- Interpret vision needs early, especially when the brief is still forming, and turn them into something the team can build from.
- Take on the most challenging builds and step in when a project needs stronger direction, stronger judgment, or stronger execution.
- Use sketches, references, motion studies, mockups, and examples to direct work clearly.
- Mentor other designers through direct feedback, practical support, and high standards.
- Push design beyond the expected when it strengthens the scene, while still protecting the brief, story need, and production reality.
- Own outcomes, not just deliverables.
You will do your best work here if you…
- lead through doing, not just by having opinions.
- can collaborate on vision, direct vision, and also interpret vision when it is still emerging.
- have taste, range, and restraint; you know when to push and when to simplify.
- are someone other people look up and get sharper around.
- hold yourself accountable and naturally raise the bar for the work around you.
What usually does not work here
- Seniority without follow-through.
- A work style that depends on distance rather than collaboration for output.
- Beautiful work that does not actually serve story, readability, or production constraints.
- Protecting ego more than protecting the quality of the outcome.
- Isolated work style without the willingness to share knowledge and mentor to elevate the work of the team in its entirety.
Core requirements
- 7+ years of relevant experience, with a portfolio that clearly supports senior-level judgment and execution. For candidates carrying substantial direction/mentorship weight, 8–10+ years is typical.
- Expert command of After Effects, Illustrator, Protopie, Figma, Cinema 4D and Photoshop.
- High-end design fundamentals across typography, layout, composition, color, rhythm, and motion.
- Strong portfolio in film, television, games, title work, or comparable narrative interface work.
- Ability to move fluidly between concept, art direction, build, revision, and final delivery.
Strongly preferred
- Demonstrated experience mentoring or leveling up other designers.
- Comfort across both grounded contemporary UI and more speculative FUI worlds.
- Confidence in client- or stakeholder-facing creative conversations when occasional consultation is necessary.
- Evidence of systems thinking: not just great frames, but coherent visual logic.
How we work with contractors
- This is freelance independent-contractor work with project-based scopes, schedules, and deliverables.
- We are looking for a true senior collaborator: someone who can be trusted with meaningful responsibility quickly.
- Our strongest contractor relationships tend to become long-running because trust, judgment, and consistency matter here.
- We reward reliability with continued opportunity, deeper trust, and more meaningful work.
Our Inclusive approach
We are not looking for one stereotype of a senior creative. We value people with strong instincts, different strengths, and distinct ways of leading; as long as they are generous with context, accountable in the work, and serious about excellence. We want the best person for the role, not the most predictable résumé.
What strong candidates usually bring
Category - Senior Motion Designer
Typical level - Typically 7+ years; 8–10+ common when direction and mentorship are central
Core tools - Expert After Effects, Illustrator, Photoshop, Protopie, Figma
Strong indicators - Vision interpretation, leadership through example, sophisticated taste, accountability
Application process
Stage
What we’re looking for
Portfolio + short application
Relevance, judgment, communication, and whether the candidate understands the role they are applying for.
Structured questions
Ownership, taste, film/UI/FUI relevance, collaboration style, accountability.
CliftonStrengths and Team interview
CliftonStrength Assessment and Interview to ensure a good overall team fit
A note from us
If you are the kind of senior who brings vision, clarity, accountability, and strong execution into the room. People trust you more once they have worked with you; we would like to see your work. This is a role that truly matters!
