Sr. Creative Designer (Performance Marketing) - Static & Motion

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Sr. Creative Designer (Performance Marketing) - Static & Motion

Company: Kraken

Location: United States

Job Type: FULL_TIME

Category: Marketing Operations / Creative Operations

Date Posted: 2026-09-16

Experience Level: 5-10 Years

Remote Status: Fully Remote

🚀 Role Summary

• Spearhead the creation and execution of high-impact static and motion creative assets for performance marketing campaigns across diverse digital channels, including Meta, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, Reddit, and X.

• Drive the ideation and production of AI-generated and AI-assisted video and imagery, integrating generative AI as a core production methodology for efficient and innovative ad creation.

• Translate performance data and test results into actionable creative insights, informing future iterations of hooks, concepts, and cuts to optimize campaign effectiveness and ROI.

• Collaborate closely with Product Marketing, Performance Marketing, Compliance, and regional teams to ensure creative assets meet brand standards, regulatory requirements, and market-specific needs.

• Maintain a high standard of craft and file organization, ensuring creative assets are clean, scalable, and easily adaptable for localization and multi-market deployment.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role sits within the Consumer Creative & Design team, focusing on performance marketing creative for Kraken Consumer and Krak. The emphasis is on a hybrid creative skillset, prioritizing paid static design while also requiring proficiency in motion graphics and AI-driven content creation. The role is an individual contributor with a focus on craft and automation leadership within the paid static domain.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Own the end-to-end creative development for paid static advertisements across product launches, overarching campaigns, promotional activities, and always-on initiatives for Kraken Consumer.

• Conceptualize and produce performance video creative, ensuring campaigns are delivered as complete cross-format sets, ranging from 9:16 sound-on formats to 1:1 and 4:5 aspect ratios suitable for various platforms.

• Leverage generative AI tools for video and image production, strategically applying AI where it offers the most efficient path to compelling advertising content.

• Develop culturally relevant, internet-native creative concepts that resonate with target audiences, and iterate on successful concepts to build robust creative pillars.

• Manage the versioning and localization of creative assets at scale, accommodating different markets, languages, formats, and evolving regulatory landscapes, often managing a dozen workstreams concurrently.

• Proactively analyze creative testing results, forming informed opinions on variant performance and translating data-driven insights into improved creative strategies and execution.

• Partner effectively with Product Marketing, compliance departments, and regional leads to secure approvals for creative assets while preserving the integrity and impact of the original concepts.

• Ensure all creative outputs maintain a high level of visual design, typography, and composition that performs effectively across various digital placements and at thumbnail size.

• Contribute to a culture of continuous learning and improvement by staying abreast of emerging creative trends, platform updates, and AI advancements in performance marketing.

📝 Enhancement Note: The core responsibility revolves around paid static design, but the role demands a hybrid skillset. The candidate is expected to not only excel in static but also contribute significantly to motion graphics and AI-generated content. The emphasis on analyzing test results and iterating based on data points to a strong need for analytical thinking integrated with creative execution, a hallmark of effective performance marketing operations.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a strong understanding of design principles, marketing strategy, and digital media is essential, often gained through formal education or equivalent professional experience.

Experience: 5+ years of dedicated experience in performance creative production, with a proven track record in high-volume in-house teams or performance agencies, preferably within regulated industries such as fintech, crypto, or gaming.

Required Skills:

• Demonstrated expertise in paid static creative design, with a strong portfolio showcasing layout, hierarchy, typography, and composition skills that perform well at small sizes and across feeds.

• Proficient in platform-native creative development for Meta, TikTok, and YouTube, understanding how to tailor creative executions to each platform's unique requirements and user behavior.

• Strong video editing and production skills, capable of taking concepts from ideation through to a polished, sound-designed final cut.

• High-level command of generative AI video and image tooling, with demonstrable shipped work that showcases AI integration.

• Experience working within structured creative testing programs, with a fluent understanding of key performance metrics (e.g., thumb-stop rate, hook rate, CTR, CVR, CPA, ROAS).

• Ability to interpret A/B test results, identify winning creative elements, and translate data into actionable creative decisions for future iterations.

• Fluency in current internet culture, meme trends, and an innate sense of comedic timing and evolving aesthetics.

• Proven ability to work at speed without compromising quality, comfortable with fast turnarounds, multiple review cycles, and last-minute adjustments.

• Experience navigating and adhering to regulatory constraints in creative production, ensuring layouts are compliant with warnings and market-specific requirements.

• Solid copywriting instincts, with a focus on plain language, value-driven messaging, and the avoidance of hype or jargon.

• Proficiency in Figma and Adobe Creative Suite (After Effects, Premiere Pro, Photoshop).

• Demonstrable curiosity and understanding of investing and cryptocurrency, with the ability to communicate complex concepts clearly. Preferred Skills:

• Experience with additional digital advertising platforms beyond the core Meta, TikTok, and YouTube, such as LinkedIn, Reddit, and X.

• Familiarity with marketing automation platforms and their integration with creative asset deployment.

• Experience in cross-functional collaboration with performance marketing analysts and data scientists to deepen creative insights.

• Knowledge of internationalization and localization best practices in creative asset production.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement for a portfolio is critical and explicitly calls for paid static work, video cuts, AI-generated pieces with tooling notes, and a tested concept with data-driven insights. This indicates a strong preference for candidates who can not only create but also demonstrate the impact of their creative work through measurable results and strategic iteration.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• A comprehensive portfolio is mandatory for application. It must prominently feature paid static creative examples, clearly outlining the brief or objective for each piece and, where possible, the resulting performance metrics.

• Include at least two to three full video cuts that demonstrate motion design and editing capabilities.

• Showcase at least one AI-generated or AI-assisted piece, accompanied by a brief explanation detailing the specific AI tools used and the extent of human creative input.

• Present one concept that underwent testing, providing a narrative on the data insights derived from the test and the subsequent creative adjustments made. Process Documentation:

• Candidates are expected to demonstrate an understanding of workflow design and optimization for performance creative, particularly in high-volume, fast-paced environments.

• Evidence of process for implementing and automating creative production tasks, especially through the use of AI tools, will be highly valued.

• Ability to document and articulate processes for measuring creative performance, analyzing test results, and iterating on creative strategies based on data.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio requirements are highly specific and geared towards demonstrating a candidate's ability to execute, innovate with AI, and drive measurable results in performance marketing. The emphasis on "brief or objective alongside the work and the result" underscores the need for candidates to think strategically and link their creative output to business outcomes.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: The provided salary range for this role is between $83,400 and $166,800 USD annually. This range is competitive for a Senior Creative Designer position in the US market, particularly within the tech and crypto sectors, and accounts for the specialized skills in performance marketing, motion graphics, and AI creative.

Benefits:

• Comprehensive Health Insurance coverage.

• Dental Insurance plans.

• Vision Insurance coverage.

• 401(k) retirement savings plan.

• Equity Program participation.

• Bonus Program eligibility.

• Wellness Allowance to support employee well-being.

Working Hours: This is a full-time role, typically expected to involve around 40 hours per week. However, the nature of performance marketing creative often requires flexibility to meet campaign deadlines and respond to urgent needs, which may involve occasional extended hours.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range reflects a senior-level position with specialized skills in a high-demand area (performance marketing creative, AI). The benefits package is standard for a US-based tech company and includes elements like equity and bonus programs, which are attractive for senior roles. The mention of flexibility in working hours is typical for creative and marketing roles that often have project-driven demands.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: The company operates within the cryptocurrency and open finance sector, a rapidly evolving and highly regulated industry. This context necessitates creative that is not only engaging but also compliant and educational, balancing innovation with risk management.

Company Size: Kraken, as part of Payward Inc., is a significant player in the crypto space, indicating a dynamic, growth-oriented environment with established processes and a global reach. This size suggests opportunities for impact and collaboration across various departments.

Founded: Founded in 2011, Kraken has a long history in the crypto industry, positioning it as a stable and trusted platform. This longevity implies a culture that values resilience, innovation, and a deep understanding of the market.

Team Structure:

• The Consumer Creative & Design team is responsible for end-to-end creative execution for Kraken Consumer and Krak, encompassing performance ad creative, static and 3D design, motion design, AI video creative, and web design.

• This team works in close collaboration with Product Marketing, Performance Marketing, Content & Social, Lifecycle marketing, and regional leads, ensuring brand consistency and messaging quality across all creative output.

• The Senior Creative Designer will report to the Creative Lead, Consumer Creative & Design, operating as a senior individual contributor without direct reports. Methodology:

• Data analysis is central to the team's approach, with a focus on turning growth strategy into creative that converts across paid, owned, and organic channels.

• Workflow planning and optimization are crucial, especially given the high volume of creative production and the need for efficiency through AI and streamlined processes.

• Automation and efficiency practices are emphasized, with generative AI being a core production method to accelerate asset creation and iteration.

Company Website: https://www.kraken.com/

📝 Enhancement Note: The company culture emphasizes innovation within a regulated industry, a blend of creativity and compliance. The team structure highlights cross-functional collaboration, essential for aligning creative output with broader marketing and product strategies. The mention of "open finance" and "advancing an open, global financial system" suggests a mission-driven organization.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a Senior Individual Contributor role. In the context of a creative operations or marketing operations function, "Senior" signifies a high level of craft expertise, autonomy, and the ability to influence creative strategy and production processes. The role involves setting standards for paid static creative and acting as a go-to person for performance creative questions.

Reporting Structure: The role reports directly to the Creative Lead, Consumer Creative & Design. This structure provides mentorship and direction while allowing the Senior Designer to operate with significant independence on creative execution and concept development.

Operations Impact: The Senior Creative Designer's work directly impacts user acquisition, engagement, and conversion rates for Kraken's consumer products. By creating effective performance creative, they contribute significantly to the company's growth objectives and overall revenue performance by driving traffic and new customer sign-ups.

Growth Opportunities:

• Skill Specialization: Deepen expertise in performance creative, particularly in AI-driven content generation, advanced motion graphics, and platform-specific creative optimization.

• Creative Leadership: Grow into a lead role within the creative team, potentially mentoring junior designers or taking on more strategic creative direction for specific campaigns or product areas.

• Cross-Functional Influence: Expand influence across Product Marketing and Performance Marketing teams, contributing to broader go-to-market strategies and creative testing frameworks.

• Industry Expertise: Become a recognized expert in creative for regulated industries like fintech and crypto, a niche with high demand.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Senior" title here emphasizes both technical craft and strategic contribution. The growth opportunities are geared towards deepening specialized skills in performance creative and AI, alongside potential progression into leadership or more strategic advisory roles within the marketing and design functions.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: This is a fully remote position, allowing for flexibility in work location within the United States.

Office Location(s): Remote (United States). This designation means candidates can work from any location within the US, offering significant geographical flexibility.

Workspace Context:

• The remote nature of the role necessitates a self-disciplined approach to managing workflow and maintaining productivity.

• Collaboration will primarily occur through digital channels, requiring strong communication and proficiency with collaboration tools.

• Access to necessary software (Adobe Creative Suite, Figma, AI tools) is expected, either provided by the company or managed by the employee.

• The work environment is likely fast-paced and deadline-driven, typical of performance marketing teams, requiring adaptability and efficient time management.

Work Schedule: The role is full-time, generally around 40 hours per week. While remote work offers flexibility, the demands of performance marketing campaigns may require availability outside standard hours to meet critical deadlines or respond to urgent creative needs.

📝 Enhancement Note: As a fully remote role, the emphasis is on self-management and effective digital collaboration. The ability to adapt to a fast-paced, deadline-oriented environment is crucial, even with the flexibility that remote work typically affords.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: Review of application materials, including resume and, critically, the portfolio, to assess experience, skills, and alignment with performance creative requirements.

• Creative Assessment/Portfolio Review: A deeper dive into the candidate's portfolio, likely involving a discussion about specific projects, creative choices, process, and results. This may include a practical creative exercise or a presentation of a case study.

• Team/Hiring Manager Interview: Discussion with the Creative Lead and potentially other team members to evaluate creative thinking, collaboration style, cultural fit, and understanding of performance marketing principles.

• Final Interview: Potentially with higher-level stakeholders to assess strategic thinking, impact potential, and overall suitability for the Senior role.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Showcase Results: For each portfolio piece, clearly articulate the objective, your role, the creative strategy, and the measurable results (e.g., CTR, CVR, CPA improvements). Quantifiable outcomes are paramount for performance creative.

• Highlight AI Integration: Explicitly detail your use of generative AI tools. Explain the process, the specific tools used, and how AI contributed to efficiency or creative innovation.

• Demonstrate Hybrid Skills: Ensure your portfolio balances strong static design examples with compelling motion graphics and video edits.

• Platform Nuance: Provide examples that show an understanding of how creative needs to be adapted for different platforms (Meta, TikTok, YouTube, etc.).

• Iterative Process: Present a case study demonstrating how you used data and testing to iterate on creative, showing a clear thought process from initial concept to optimized versions.

• File Hygiene: Keep your digital files (e.g., Figma, Adobe files) organized and clean, as this demonstrates professionalism and consideration for potential collaborators.

Challenge Preparation:

• Be prepared to discuss your approach to creative testing and optimization, citing specific metrics and strategies.

• Practice articulating your creative process, especially how you translate briefs into compelling visual narratives that drive performance.

• Develop talking points around your experience with AI in creative production and your vision for its future application.

• Research Kraken's current marketing campaigns and creative to understand their brand voice and performance strategies.

📝 Enhancement Note: The application process heavily emphasizes the portfolio. Candidates must be prepared to not only showcase their work but also to dissect it, explaining the strategic thinking, creative execution, and quantifiable results, particularly concerning performance metrics and AI integration.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: Essential for collaborative design, prototyping, and creating scalable assets.

• Adobe Creative Cloud:

  • After Effects: For motion graphics, animation, and video compositing.
  • Premiere Pro: For video editing, cutting, and final assembly of video assets.
  • Photoshop: For image manipulation, static asset creation, and retouching.

• Generative AI Tools: Proficiency in various AI platforms for image and video generation (specific tools may vary, but understanding the capabilities and applications is key).

Analytics & Reporting:

• While not explicitly listed as a primary tool for the designer, an understanding of performance metrics (CTR, CVR, CPA, ROAS) is critical. Familiarity with how creative performance is tracked and reported within marketing analytics platforms is beneficial. CRM & Automation:

• Not directly a focus for this role, but an awareness of how creative assets are deployed through marketing automation and CRM systems within a performance marketing funnel is advantageous.

📝 Enhancement Note: The specified tools (Figma, Adobe CC, Generative AI) are core to the role's responsibilities. The emphasis on AI tools highlights a forward-looking approach to creative production and efficiency. While the designer may not directly manage analytics platforms, understanding the data they influence is crucial.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Data-Driven Creativity: A commitment to using performance data and testing results to inform and optimize creative output, ensuring that creative efforts are directly tied to business objectives.

• Innovation & Efficiency: Embracing new technologies like generative AI to streamline production processes, accelerate asset creation, and explore novel creative approaches.

• Craftsmanship & Quality: Maintaining a high standard for visual design, storytelling, and technical execution in all creative assets, ensuring brand consistency and professionalism.

• Collaboration & Communication: Working effectively with cross-functional teams (Product Marketing, Performance Marketing, Compliance, Regional Leads) to ensure creative aligns with broader strategies and meets diverse stakeholder needs.

• Adaptability & Speed: Thriving in a fast-paced environment, capable of handling rapid turnarounds, multiple review cycles, and evolving campaign requirements without sacrificing quality.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-Functional Integration: Actively partnering with marketing, product, and compliance teams to ensure creative is strategically aligned, compliant, and effective across all markets.

• Feedback-Oriented: Open to receiving and providing constructive feedback on creative work, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and shared learning.

• Proactive Communication: Maintaining clear and consistent communication with stakeholders, especially regarding project status, potential challenges, and creative decisions informed by data.

• Team-Oriented Problem Solving: Contributing to collective problem-solving, leveraging collective expertise to overcome creative or production challenges.

📝 Enhancement Note: The culture values a blend of artistic skill and analytical rigor, with a strong emphasis on efficiency and innovation through technology like AI. Collaboration is key, requiring strong communication skills to navigate diverse stakeholder interests within a regulated industry.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing Creativity with Compliance: Developing engaging and high-performing creative assets while adhering to strict regulatory requirements in the fintech and crypto space.

• Pace and Volume: Managing a high volume of creative workstreams across multiple markets and formats under tight deadlines, requiring exceptional organizational and time management skills.

• Data Interpretation: Effectively translating complex performance data and A/B test results into actionable creative insights and strategic adjustments.

• AI Integration Mastery: Staying ahead of the curve with rapidly evolving AI tools and effectively integrating them into production workflows to enhance efficiency and creativity.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Advanced AI Creative Techniques: Opportunities to explore and master cutting-edge AI tools for content generation, potentially leading to specialized AI creative roles.

• Performance Marketing Strategy: Deepen understanding of performance marketing principles, campaign optimization, and user acquisition strategies by working closely with the Performance Marketing team.

• Cross-Market Creative Adaptation: Gain expertise in localizing and adapting creative for diverse global markets, understanding cultural nuances and regulatory landscapes.

• Leadership Development: Potential for growth into creative leadership roles, guiding teams or taking ownership of major creative initiatives.

📝 Enhancement Note: The primary challenges revolve around the inherent complexities of performance marketing in a regulated industry, coupled with the need for high-volume, data-driven creative output. Growth opportunities focus on deepening specialized skills in AI and performance marketing, as well as potential leadership progression.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe your process for translating a performance marketing brief into a static creative concept that drives a specific KPI (e.g., CTR, CVR)."

• "How do you approach creative testing for paid social campaigns? Walk us through a time you used data to iterate on a creative concept and what the outcome was."

• "Given the regulated nature of crypto, how do you ensure your creative is both engaging and compliant?" Company & Culture Questions:

• "What excites you about Kraken and the crypto industry, and how does that influence your creative approach?"

• "How do you approach collaboration with performance marketers, product managers, and compliance teams?"

• "Describe a time you had to adapt your creative strategy based on unexpected performance data or market feedback." Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Tell a Story: For each piece in your portfolio, frame it as a narrative: the objective, your strategy, the execution, and the results. Emphasize the "why" behind your creative decisions.

• Quantify Impact: Use specific numbers and metrics (CTR, CVR, CPA, ROAS) to demonstrate the effectiveness of your work. Be prepared to explain how you measured success.

• Showcase AI Process: When presenting AI-generated work, clearly outline the tools used, your role in prompting and refining, and how AI contributed to the final asset. Be honest about the blend of AI and human input.

• Highlight Platform Nuances: For video examples, be ready to discuss why a particular format or style was chosen for a specific platform (e.g., TikTok vs. YouTube).

• Be Concise and Focused: Given the volume of work expected, be prepared to present a curated selection of your best and most relevant pieces, focusing on those that best align with the job requirements.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should focus on demonstrating a blend of creative talent, analytical acumen, and strategic thinking. Candidates must be prepared to articulate their process, justify their creative decisions with data, and showcase their ability to innovate with AI within a regulated environment.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this operations position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on Ashby HQ.

• Portfolio Customization: Tailor your portfolio to prominently feature your strongest paid static performance creative. Ensure each piece includes the brief/objective and, if possible, quantifiable results. Include your AI-generated/assisted work with clear explanations of tooling and your creative input.

• Resume Optimization: Highlight your 5+ years of experience in performance creative, specifically mentioning experience in regulated industries like fintech or crypto. Emphasize your proficiency with Figma, Adobe Creative Suite, and generative AI tools, and clearly state your understanding of performance metrics (CTR, CVR, CPA, ROAS).

• Interview Preparation: Practice articulating your creative process, especially how you use data and AI to drive performance. Prepare to discuss your experience with A/B testing and how you translate results into actionable creative. Research Kraken's current marketing and brand to understand their aesthetic and messaging.

• Company Research: Familiarize yourself with Kraken's mission, values, and recent marketing initiatives. Understand the competitive landscape of cryptocurrency platforms and how creative differentiation plays a role.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and operations industry-standard assumptions. All details should be verified directly with the hiring organization before making application decisions.