Motion Designer

PlayOn Sports is the parent company of NFHS Network, GoFan, and MaxPreps. As we continue to unify GoFan, NFHS, and MaxPreps from a brand perspective, our creative team is searching for a Motion Designer to join us in our mission to be the only destination for all things high school sports.

This Motion Designer lives and breathes motion graphics and digital sports culture. You aren't just making mind-blowing motion graphic content; you are building visual systems that help our brand(s) and content series(s) feel branded and authentic. Whether it is high-energy motion graphics for a highlight reel, the next NFHS product video, or the motion bible for the next evolution of the MaxPreps brand, you’ll be the gatekeeper of all things Playon Motion graphic content.

The outcomes you’ll deliver:

• Elevate the brand perception of the NFHS Network and MaxPreps by delivering high-quality, consistent motion assets across all social and internal channels.
• Drive new subscriber growth and improves subscriber retention.

In this role, you can expect to

• Bring Brand to Life with Motion: Develop motion graphics elements, including lower thirds, title cards, transitions, and animated overlays, to make our video content feel like a major sports broadcast.
• Build and Maintain Motion Identity Systems: Help maintain and expand our brand guidelines, ensuring we use motion correctly across all touchpoints.
• Collaborate Cross-Functionally: Work closely with the Social Media and Performance Marketing teams, and the B2B and Broadcast teams to develop creative that actually converts.
• Stay Ahead of the Curve: Proactively research design trends and emerging social formats to keep our brand relevant to Gen Z and Millennial audiences.

To thrive in this role, you have

• 3-6 years of experience in motion graphics and social content creation (agency or in-house sports-related companies)
• A Killer Portfolio: Show us you can do short-form and long-form motion, preferably in sports. Brand development experience is a plus.
• Compositing & Post-Production: Seamlessly integrate 3D elements with 2D motion graphics, live-action footage, and typography using Adobe After Effects and Premiere Pro.
• Mogrt & Template Architecture: Expertise in developing robust After Effects templates, Premiere Pro MOGRTs, and Essential Graphics panels with clean, intuitive custom controls.
• Advanced Expressions: Deep command of After Effects expressions (JavaScript) for building responsive text bounding boxes, automated layout scaling, and conditional property rigs.
• Pipeline Optimization: Streamlining handoffs between motion design and editing workflows with lightweight, fast-rendering, and foolproof multi-aspect-ratio assets.
• 3D Design & Motion Graphics: Conceptualize, model, texture, light, and animate complex 3D assets and visual effects using software such as Cinema 4D (with Redshift/Octane) or Blender.
• Social Fluency: An innate understanding of what works on TikTok vs. Instagram vs. YouTube—and the ability to design specifically for those nuances.
• Speed and Precision: The ability to balance high-quality craftsmanship with the fast-paced nature of an in-house creative team, manage deadlines, and handle multiple projects simultaneously.
• Passion for High School Sports! You understand why a buzzer-beater in a small-town gym matters just as much as a pro championship.

HOW YOU PLAY

• Ownership over Participation – You don’t just "make things move"; you solve problems. You take responsibility for the final visual outcome, even on tight deadlines.
• Team over Stars – You accept feedback gracefully and collaborate to ensure the work meets business goals, not just your personal aesthetic.
• Growth over Comfort – You’re eager to learn new tools (like AI design workflows or new animation plugins) to keep your skills sharp and our brand evolving.
• Fairness over Popularity – You make design decisions based on what’s best for the brand and the audience, even if it means moving away from a "cool" trend that doesn't fit our mission.