Motion Designer

Location: London

Reporting to: The Executive Creative Director - Art & Design

Closing date: Wednesday, 21st October at 5pm

About Starling 

At Starling, we are on a mission to provide people with a fairer, smarter, and more human alternative to traditional banks. We are building a leading digital bank, driven by fast technology, fair service, and honest values. Our vision is to create a banking industry that serves everyone, which we accomplish by developing best-in-class proprietary technology, offering an exceptional customer experience, and establishing a strong, sustainable business.

Our five core values – Listen, Keep It Simple, Do The Right Thing, Own It, and Aim for Greatness – are at the heart of everything we do, guiding our strategy and shaping our culture. We're a branchless, largely paperless bank, committed to responsible banking, sustainability, and fostering an inclusive environment where everyone can thrive.

Working Hours: You will work a 37.5 hour week, with shifts between 9am - 5:30pm, Monday - Friday.

Hybrid working: All Starling colleagues spend a minimum of 10 days per month in the office with flexibility to work the rest from home.

The Opportunity

As a Motion Designer, you’ll help shape how Starling comes to life through motion. Working across brand, marketing, campaigns and social, you’ll create thoughtful, expressive and beautifully crafted work that brings our ideas and personality to life.

Motion is an important part of our brand identity. We’ve developed a distinctive motion language built around confidence, clarity and a playful human touch. You’ll help build on this foundation, finding new and interesting ways to bring consistency, character and creativity to everything we make.

You’ll have an exceptional eye for motion, with a strong instinct for timing, rhythm, typography and storytelling. Whether it’s a big campaign or the smallest animated detail, you’ll understand how purposeful movement can make an idea more engaging, memorable and effective.

You’ll work closely with designers, writers and marketers, taking ideas from initial concept through to final execution. You’ll be curious, collaborative and passionate about your craft, always looking for opportunities to push the work further.

What You'll Do:

Motion Design and Creative Craft

• Create high-quality motion design and animation across brand, marketing, campaigns and social
• Translate creative ideas and static designs into compelling, beautifully crafted motion
• Bring an exceptional level of attention to timing, pacing, transitions and animation detail
• Develop and present motion concepts, storyboards and creative explorations
• Take ownership of projects from initial concept through to final delivery

Collaboration and Team Contribution

• Work closely with brand designers, writers, marketers and other creative teams
• Contribute ideas, references and creative thinking throughout the design process
• Collaborate with designers to explore how motion can elevate and strengthen their work
• Respond positively to feedback and develop ideas through iteration
• Share knowledge, techniques and inspiration with the wider studio

Brand Expression and Consistency

• Apply and evolve Starling’s motion identity across a wide range of touchpoints
• Bring our brand’s confident, purposeful and playful personality to life through movement
• Understand how timing, easing and composition can communicate character and emotion
• Maintain consistency in how the brand moves while finding opportunities for creative expression
• Help develop and refine our motion principles, behaviours and guidelines

Creative Thinking and Development

• Explore different animation techniques and approaches to solve creative challenges
• Stay curious about developments in motion design, animation and emerging creative technologies
• Bring fresh ideas, creative references and new perspectives into the team
• Experiment with new tools and workflows, including 3D and AI where appropriate
• Take initiative in developing your own skills and pushing the quality of your craft

Requirements

What You'll Bring:

• A standout portfolio or showreel demonstrating exceptional motion design, creativity and attention to detail
• Advanced proficiency in Adobe After Effects, with exceptional 2D animation skills and a good understanding of animation principles
• An exceptional eye for timing, rhythm, movement and visual storytelling
• Experience with video editing would be desirable 
• Strong design fundamentals, particularly typography, composition and colour
• Experience creating motion for brand identities, campaigns, digital and social content
• An understanding of how motion can communicate brand personality, not just add visual interest

Behaviours & Competencies:

• Ability to develop ideas independently and take work from concept to final delivery
• Familiarity with Adobe Creative Suite and wider design workflows
• Experience with 3D software such as Cinema 4D or Blender would be a plus
• Curiosity about emerging creative tools and techniques
• Attention to detail, a collaborative mindset and a genuine passion for motion design

Benefits

Why Join Starling?

• Make an Impact: Work on projects that directly shape the future of banking and improve the financial lives of our customers. Starling is technology-led, and you'll have the freedom to accomplish your goals in innovative ways.
• Culture of Excellence: Be part of a collaborative, empowered, and forward-thinking team. We encourage experimentation, ownership, and a relentless focus on "doing the right thing.”
• Growth and Development: We are committed to your professional growth, offering opportunities to learn new technologies, take on new challenges, and own interesting things from day one.
• A Bank That Cares: We're a Living Wage employer, committed to flexible working, and dedicated to creating a fair, open, and safe working environment with compassion and inclusion at its core.
• Comprehensive Benefits: We offer a competitive salary and a comprehensive benefits package, including:
• Company-enhanced salary sacrifice pension scheme (7% employer contribution) 
• Private Medical Insurance with Vitality including mental health support and cancer care. Partner benefits include discounts with Waitrose, Mr&Mrs Smith and Peloton.
• 25 days holiday (plus take your public holiday allowance whenever works best for you)
• An extra day’s holiday for your birthday
• Life Insurance at 4x your salary.
• 16 hours of paid volunteering time a year.
• Ability to buy or sell annual leave.
• Generous family-friendly policies.
• Annual leave is increased with length of service, and you can choose to buy or sell up to five extra days off
• Incentivised refer a friend scheme
• Perkbox membership giving access to retail discounts, a wellness platform for physical and mental health, and weekly free and boosted perks
• Access to initiatives like Cycle to Work, Salary Sacrificed Gym partnerships and Electric Vehicle (EV) leasingOur Commitment to Equality

Starling Bank is an equal opportunity employer, and we’re proud of our ongoing efforts to foster diversity & inclusion in the workplace. Individuals seeking employment at Starling Bank are considered without regard to race, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, medical condition, ancestry, physical or mental disability, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. When you provide us with this information, you are doing so at your own consent, with full knowledge that we will process this personal data in accordance with our Privacy Notice. By submitting your application, you agree that Starling Bank will collect your personal data for recruiting and related purposes. Our Privacy Notice explains what personal information we will process, where we will process your personal information, its purposes for processing your personal information, and the rights you can exercise over our use of your personal information.

We use AI tools to support various parts of our recruitment process, helping our team manage applications and assessments more efficiently. These tools are strictly used for support and do not replace human judgment with all final hiring decisions being made by our team. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please reach out to us.