Director, Motion Graphics & Design Intercollegiate Athletics

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Departmental Overview

The Department of Intercollegiate Athletics consists of more than 275 staff members and coaches and sponsors 30 varsity sports programs. These 30 programs include more than 850 student-athletes who participate in the various sports programs annually within the National Collegiate Athletics Association.

Position Summary

The Director, Graphics & Design is a key member of the Athletics Department's re-imagined Strawberry Canyon Studios and leads the conceptualization and execution of high-impact visual assets that define the Cal identity across various sports and amplifies Cal's brand narrative consistent with the external strategy that overlays the unit. This position captures the energy of live sporting events, produces access-driven content, and develops personalized digital content to promote external revenue generation. The Director, Graphics & Design requires a fast-paced, solution-oriented mindset to achieve brand storytelling that resonates across all Cal Athletics digital platforms, traditional marketing, and in-venue videoboards. This role works independently and proactively to pitch high-level storytelling concepts with leadership and is responsible for bespoke graphic design execution on tight timelines. The position is innovative in its approach and leverages emerging technologies like AI to achieve speed and scale while also maintaining brand guidelines. The Director, Graphics & Design is responsible for recruiting, building, and supervising a consistent workforce of students and interns to scale digital content creation across the department. This position also requires the creation of a comprehensive digital content creation program for student staff, mentoring them in the execution of professional-level storytelling, ensuring a consistent brand story across Athletics.

Application Review Date

The First Review Date for this job is: June 22, 2026. For full consideration, please apply on or before the first review date.

Responsibilities

Content Conceptualization & Strategic Pitching

• Working independently and proactively to pitch high-level storytelling concepts to Cal Athletics leadership.
• This includes developing content calendars that align with specific recruiting cycles, retention goals, and revenue-generation windows.

• Leading the end-to-end execution of visual assets, including graphic design, photography, motion graphics, and identity design.
• This involves capturing the "energy" of live events and producing behind-the-scenes features that define the Cal brand identity for social and digital platforms.

• Developing AI-generated personalized digital content and templates specifically tailored to attract elite recruits, enhance the student-athlete experience, and drive external revenue.
• This ensures a consistent brand narrative that aids in both player acquisition, internal program loyalty, and fan affinity.

• Developing AI-generated personalized digital content and templates for speed and scale that are specifically tailored to attract elite brands and elevate the Cal Athletics brand.
• This ensures a consistent brand narrative that aids in both traditional and new revenue streams and building fan loyalty.

• Leveraging emerging technologies, such as Generative AI and advanced editing tools, to achieve speed and scale in content production.
• This responsibility focuses on maintaining University brand guidelines while modernizing the studio's workflow for faster digital turnaround.

• Manage content creation budgets, track expenses, and evaluate the content effectiveness via feedback and data to improve future work.

• Govern the post design review process by analyzing feedback and performance; implement continuous improvements to maintain Power 4 conference excellence.

• Advanced knowledge of program activity and best practices.
• Problem-solving skills; multi-task, work with frequent interruptions, and effective listener.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in the English language.
• Proficiency in the use of computer applications relevant to job duties and/or the ability to learn.
• Technical expertise in capturing high-speed sports action and producing content specifically formatted for stadium videoboards and social platforms.
• Ability to interpret digital performance metrics (engagement, reach, conversion) to refine content strategy and prove ROI for revenue generation.
• The ability to pitch "big picture" concepts to executive leadership and translate them into a cohesive brand narrative.
• Skills in recruiting, training, and mentoring a large student/intern workforce while maintaining quality control.
• Experience managing production budgets and navigating tight, deadline-driven schedules common in collegiate athletics.
• Ability to work independently while remaining aligned with internal teams.
• A solution-oriented mindset capable of integrating emerging technologies into traditional brand guidelines without compromising quality.
• Mastery of the Adobe Creative Cloud and cinematic camera operation.
• Deep understanding of AI tools for automated workflows, asset scaling, and creative brainstorming and visualization.
• Strong skills in coaching and mentoring lower level staff.
• Time and project management skills to effectively establish priorities and meet competing deadlines both for themself and the team.
• Interpersonal communications and people management skills to interact effectively with a variety of clients, staff and vendors.
• Strong skills in collaboration to best meet goals and objectives of the client.
• A strong working knowledge of visual asset design, brand development, and the creative process.
• Knowledge of NCAA/Power 4 landscape, including recruiting cycles, NIL trends, and student-athlete retention drivers.
• Must maintain current knowledge of applicable rules and standards of the Pacific-12 Conference, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), as well as other associations and agencies to which the Berkeley campus of the University of California adheres, and, at all times avoid any and all violations of these rules and standards and/or the ability to learn.

• Bachelor's degree in related area and / or equivalent experience / training

• This is an exempt, monthly-paid position.
• This is a full-time (40 hours/week) Career position eligible for UC benefits.

• This is not a visa opportunity. This position does not include sponsorship of a new consular H-1B visa petition that would require payment of the $100,000 supplemental fee.
• This position is covered by the collective bargaining agreement between UAW (United Auto Workers) and the University of California Regents for CM