Senior Creative Director, AI VFX Innovation - 154572-1

Job Title:Senior Creative Director, AI VFX Innovation - 154572-1
Location: REMOTE (PST hours preferred)
Schedule: M-F (40/HR)
Duration/Start Date: 7/31/2025
Salary: $55.69 /hourly

Note: Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States.

Candidates with previous experience at Microsoft Corporation as a full-time employee (FTE) or contractor are preferred.

Creative Director, AI VFX Innovation
Contract | Remote | Reports to: VP of Global Advertising & Brand
Supports: Global Advertising & Brand asset creation and innovation
Location: Remote PST hours preferred

Summary
We're seeking a visionary Creative Director, AI VFX Innovation to play a pivotal role in shaping the visual storytelling of film, video, and digital media within our global advertising campaign creative, helping drive the future creative vision for artistic and technical execution of visual effects leveraging current and emerging AI tools across production. 

This role is designed for someone with deep advertising experience, a passion for quality and creative excellence, a drive for continual experimentation and learning, and an immersive in AI creation. This role blends artistic innovation with cutting-edge technical expertise to deliver visually compelling and narratively cohesive effects.

You'll partner with the newly formed Frontier Creative team that serves as an extension of Microsofts in-house Global Advertising and Brand teams, focused on building new AI creation capabilities and innovative assets that extend the breadth and creativity of global campaigns and content for our premier brands (Microsoft, Copilot, Windows, etc.). 

You'll partner closely with internal team leads, including strategy, design, creative, and campaign management, as well as with the Vice President of Global Advertising & Brand and executive stakeholders to ensure that all visual effects align with the story, tone, and aesthetic of the project. You will help us break new ground in embedding AI into our campaign creation workflows in a way that amplifies creativity, uncovers the best.

What You'll Do

• Define and communicate the creative vision for all VFX elements.
• Collaborate with creative directors, producers and campaign managers to integrate AI VFX innovation seamlessly into the storytelling.
• Supervise the development of concept art, storyboards, and previsualization.
• Oversee the execution of VFX sequences from pre-production through post-production including emerging AI tools.
• Provide creative direction and feedback across stakeholder groups.
• Ensure visual consistency and high-quality standards across all AI VFX shots.
• Participate in production planning when AI VFX integration is required.
• Stay current with emerging technologies and techniques in visual effects and share knowledge with internal teams.

Who You Are

• A seasoned creative leader with a deep understanding of brand and campaign development
• Fluent in emerging AI tools and creative technologies
• Strategic, curious, and collaborative, comfortable working across disciplines and teams
• A thoughtful voice in shaping the future of human-AI creative collaboration

Candidate Requirements:

• Years of Experience Required: 8+ years of experience required for the role
• Degrees or certifications required: No particular degree required for the role.

Disqualifiers:

• Resumes without VFX experience will not be eligible.

Best vs. Average: The ideal candidate is proficient in creative/campaign agency experience, experience with Microsoft products ex: Copilot, Adobe Creative Cloud + Gen Studio, Microsoft 365, and Runway, Midjourney, DALL·E, Firefly, ChatGPT

Qualifications:

• 8+ years of experience in VFX production, with a strong portfolio of completed projects.
• Deep understanding of the VFX pipeline, including compositing, 3D modeling, animation, and simulation. (+5 years)
• Proficiency in industry-standard software (e.g., Maya, Houdini, Nuke, After Effects) and hands-on experience with prompt engineering and emerging AI tools. (+5 years)
• Ability to write, test, and refine prompts that reflect brand tone, visual identity, and campaign messaging 2-4
• Strong artistic sensibility, including composition, color theory, and cinematic language.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder alignment skills
• Ability to work under tight deadlines and adapt to evolving creative needs.

Preferred Experience:

• Creative / Campaign agency experience
• Experience with Microsoft products and services, including Copilot
• Bachelor's or master's degree in visual Effects, Animation, Film Production, or a related field (preferred but not required)

Preferred Tools & Platforms

• Deep understanding of the VFX pipeline, including compositing, 3D modeling, animation, and simulation.

Top 3 Hard Skills Required + Years of Experience
1. Minimum 5+ years of experience with a deep understanding of the VFX pipeline, including compositing, 3D modeling, animation, and simulation.
2. Minimum 5+ years proficiency in industry-standard software (e.g., Maya, Houdini, Nuke, After Effects) and hands-on experience with prompt engineering emerging AI tools.
3. Minimum 2-4 years of ability to write, test, and refine prompts that reflect brand tone, visual identity, and campaign messaging

Hard Skills Assessments
1. Expected Dates that Hard Skills Assessments will be scheduled: Between 7/23-7/25
2. Hard Skills Assessment Process: The assessment process will include 1-2 round- 30 minutes.
3. Required Candidate Preparation: Candidates will need to speak on prior experience.