Founding Design Lead

About the role

Apollo Studio makes video for B2B software companies — animated and hybrid explainers, product tours, and customer testimonial videos for SaaS, AI, and fintech teams.

We're hiring our first Design Lead. This is a creative direction and leadership role. You'll set the direction for our video work, guide a team of designers and motion artists through execution, and lead projects in front of clients. You won't be building every frame yourself, but you'll be responsible for the quality of what goes out the door.

What you'll do

• Turn client discovery calls and brand materials into a clear story and a strong concept
• Design storyboards that communicate the idea before a single frame is animated
• Set the visual direction for each project: type, color, illustration style, motion language
• Direct the designers and motion artists doing the build — give feedback, run reviews, hold the standard
• Present and defend the work directly to clients, and translate their feedback into clear direction for the team
• Help shape how we work: process, standards, and who we hire next

What we're looking for

Storyboarding

This is the most important skill in the role. You can take a concept and design a board that sells it — to us, to the client, and to the team building it.

Storytelling

You understand structure, pacing, and how to make a technical product make sense to a human audience.

Design craft

Genuinely strong visual design: layout, typography, illustration, and systems thinking.

Motion and video fluency

You don't have to animate everything yourself, but you need to understand motion and edit well enough to direct it.

Creative direction and leadership

Experience guiding other designers and running projects, not just executing your own.

Client presence

Comfortable leading a call, presenting work, and handling feedback in real time.

Strong working knowledge of Figma and After Effects is expected. Illustration ability is a significant plus.

Details

Full-time and remote. Our clients are US-based, so you'll need consistent overlap with US Mountain time for client calls and reviews.

Compensation is competitive, with meaningful upside as the studio grows. As our first design hire in this seat, you'll have real influence over how the creative side of Apollo Studio is built.

How to apply

Send your portfolio or reel, along with a short note about one project you led. Tell us what the client needed, what you made, and the thinking behind it. Storyboard work is especially welcome.