{"id":1671212,"url":"https://alion.io/job/microsoft-group-creative-director","title":"Group Creative Director","company":{"id":18,"name":"Microsoft","domain":"microsoft.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/microsoft","size_band":"5000+","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Eightfold","truth_index":{"grade":"B","score":75,"open_postings":44,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":1,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":null,"computed_at":"2026-10-05T05:45:15Z"}},"role":"Marketing","role_family":"Marketing","seniority":"head","employment_type":null,"work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Washington, United States","Mountain View, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":142800,"max":296400,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":296400},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":12,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"Windows","optional":false},{"name":"YouTube","optional":false}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-09-30T22:31:34Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-10-01","last_verified_at":"2026-10-06T00:57:15Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":5,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":5},"description":"OverviewMicrosoft’s Creative, Advertising & Integrated Marketing team is looking for a Group Creative Director - Art & Film, to lead the creative vision and craft of advertising and video storytelling across Windows, Devices and Services.\nThis is a senior creative leadership role for someone whose foundation is in advertising, art direction or filmmaking. Someone who understands how a powerful insight becomes an idea, how an idea becomes a story, and how every creative decision, from casting and cinematography through to edit, grade, music and sound, can make that story memorable.\nThe GCD Art & Film will lead the development of major advertising campaigns and hero creative, partnering with Copywriters, art directors, creative directors, strategists, producers, agencies and world-class production partners to create work that earns attention and builds our brands.\nThe role requires exceptional creative judgment and a highly developed feel for moving image. You should instinctively understand story, performance, visual storytelling, shot selection, editorial rhythm, pacing, music and sound design, and recognize when each of those elements is helping or hurting an idea.\nTo be successful, the GCD Art & Film should understand how audiences actually experience creative today. Combining creative instinct with curiosity about audience behavior and performance signals, from qualitative research to attention/audience-retention curves, using data as a key input into creative judgment rather than allowing it to replace judgment.\nAbove all, this is a role for someone who cares deeply about the work and the craft to make it excel.\nResponsibilities\nKey Responsibilities\nLead advertising and film\nSet the creative ambition for major Windows, Surface and Services advertising campaigns, launches and cultural moments, leading work from brief and insight through concept, script, production and final delivery.\n\nOriginate and shape breakthrough ideas with Copywriters, Art Directors, Creative Directors and agency partners, creating work that can extend across film, social, digital, OOH, DOOH, retail and emerging formats.\n\nLead the creative development of film and moving-image storytelling across live action, animation, motion design and VFX, with a sophisticated understanding of story, performance, cinematography, production design and visual storytelling.\n\nBring exceptional judgment to filmmaking craft, including narrative structure, shot selection, editorial rhythm and pacing, color and grade, music, sound design and finishing, understanding how each decision shapes the emotional impact of a story.\n\nPartner with creative production leadership to identify and engage exceptional directors, production companies, cinematographers, editors, VFX artists, animators, composers and sound designers, bringing together the right talent for the creative ambition.\n\nLead creatively through production and post-production, protecting the strength of the idea while continually looking for opportunities to make the work more distinctive, surprising and beautifully crafted.\n\nHold the work to a world-class standard for ideas, storytelling and execution, knowing when exceptional craft can elevate an idea and when simplicity and restraint will make it stronger.\n\nBuild work for how audiences watch today\nUnderstand modern viewing behavior across broadcast, streaming, YouTube, social and emerging platforms, and create stories designed to earn and sustain attention.\n\nUse audience-retention curves, drop-off points, completion rates, qualitative research and other creative-performance signals to better understand how audiences experience the work.\n\nTranslate those signals into creative hypotheses around openings, narrative clarity, pacing, product integration and emotional payoff.\n\nBalance evidence with creative instinct, using data to sharpen creative judgment rather than replace it.\n\nRaise the creative bar\nLead and mentor Creative Directors, Editors and Motion Graphics artists.\n\nBe hands-on in the work, giving clear, specific creative direction that materially improves both the idea and its execution.\n\nBuild a culture of rigorous critique where teams understand not simply what should change, but why.\n\nDevelop talent with deep expertise in advertising, filmmaking, art direction and motion storytelling.\n\nChampion ambitious ideas while knowing when subtraction, restraint and simplicity will make the work stronger.\n\nPartner across the creative organization\nPartner closely with creative leaders across copy, design, production, strategy, IMC and advertising to create work where idea, story, craft and brand expression reinforce one another.\n\nCollaborate with Creative Strategy to translate customer, cultural and business insight into creative opportunity.\n\nWork closely with creative production leadership throughout development, production and post to ensure the creative ambition is realized at the highest level of craft.\n\nPartner with Integrated Marketing, Advertising, Media, Product Marketing, Social, Retail and Communications to turn ideas into connected customer experiences.\n\nPresent and defend creative work with senior leaders, clearly articulating the central idea and the creative reasoning behind key executional decisions.\n\nQualifications\nRequired qualifications:\nBachelor's Degree or Certificate in Design, Fine Arts, Human Computer Interaction, Visual Communications or related art field AND 8+ years experience in art design or a related art field working on computer games or entertainment OR equivalent experience.\n5+ years people management experience (e.g., serving as a Lead Artist, Art Manager, Creative Director, etc.).\nPreferred qualifications:\n12+ years of experience in advertising, creative direction, art direction, film or related creative disciplines, including significant experience at Creative Director, Group Creative Director or Executive Creative Director level.\n\nAn exceptional portfolio of advertising and filmmaking that demonstrates not only outstanding ideas, but a highly developed command of filmmaking craft: compelling storytelling, performance, cinematography, editorial judgment and pacing, color and grade, music, sound design and finishing.\n\nA body of work that demonstrates the ability to turn strong creative ideas into beautifully crafted films that hold attention, create emotion and leave a lasting impression.\n\nDeep experience developing integrated campaigns for globally recognized consumer brands.\n\nDemonstrated creative leadership across the complete filmmaking process, from concept and script through production, editorial and finishing.\n\nExperience collaborating directly with directors, production companies, cinematographers, editors, VFX studios, composers, sound designers and other specialist creative partners.\n\nAbility to give precise, constructive creative direction across multiple disciplines while protecting the central idea.\n\nStrong understanding of contemporary culture, entertainment, social platforms and changing audience behavior.\n\nExceptional taste, creative judgment and communication skills.\n\nExperience at a creatively recognized advertising agency, production-led creative company or equivalent in-house creative organization.\n\nA portfolio that includes recognized, culturally resonant or category-defining advertising and film work.\n\nExperience leading creative for technology, entertainment, gaming, consumer electronics or other highly competitive consumer categories.\n\nFluency in interpreting creative-effectiveness research and behavioral signals, including audience-retention data and attention patterns, with the judgment to distinguish meaningful creative insight from optimization noise.\n\nExperience with emerging production techniques and AI-assisted creative workflows across ideation, pre-visualization, production and post-production.\n\nStrong relationships across the advertising and film-production community.\n\nA track record of attracting, developing and inspiring exceptional creative talent.\n\nArt M6 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $142,800 - $296,400 per year. There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, within the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $188,000 - $331,200 per year.\nCertain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here:\nhttps://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/us-corporate-pay\nThis position will be open for a minimum of 5 days, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.\nMicrosoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, immigration status, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran or military status, race, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance with religious accommodations and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about requesting accommodations.","description_format":"text","description_chars":9418,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":12,"management_years_min":5,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"bachelor","optional":false},"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":[],"hiring_locations":[],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Console Games","Cloud Platforms (IaaS & PaaS)","Gaming Consoles","Developer Tools"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-10-02T06:34:06Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":{"score":63,"band":"ok","label":"Likely open","p_open":1,"p_active":0.626,"p_room":1,"age_days":4,"expected_fill_days":19,"reasons":["conf:1","stale_co","velocity","win:early","comp:brand"],"computed_at":"2026-10-05T05:45:15Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":296400,"is_top_pay":true},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/microsoft-group-creative-director","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/microsoft-group-creative-director.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-06T01:50:41Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":2649,"day_limit":5000,"remaining_today":2351,"minute_limit":60,"resets_at":"2026-10-07T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":18},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=18"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fmicrosoft-group-creative-director"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fmicrosoft-group-creative-director"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fmicrosoft-group-creative-director"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/microsoft-group-creative-director\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fmicrosoft-group-creative-director"}]}