Creative Director / Story Crafter

Sauna Cloud LLC

• $120K — $220K *
Media
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 5+ years in video production and motion design
  • Proven experience in storytelling through visuals
  • Strong skills in HTML/CSS and coding, alongside traditional tools
  • Familiarity with AI creative tools and building creative workflows
  • Ability to work independently and take projects from concept to publication

Responsibilities

  • Own and craft the narrative of Sauna for the world
  • Visual storytelling through motion and video
  • Conceptualize, shoot, and edit engaging video content
  • Set the visual direction for social media platforms like Instagram
  • Develop efficient creative pipelines to produce content rapidly

Benefits

  • In-person work environment in the Bay Area
  • Flexible visa sponsorship for exceptional candidates
  • Opportunity to shape brand narrative and creative direction
  • Collaborative atmosphere focused on storytelling and creativity
  • Access to advanced creative tools and technology
Full Job Description
⚠ Please read first
  • This is a full-time, in-person role based in San Francisco (Presidio) - we work from the office 5 days a week.
  • You must be based in the Bay Area or willing to relocate before starting.
  • We require US work authorisation, but are open to O-1 or J-1 visa sponsorship for exceptional candidates.
About the Role:

We're the first multiplayer AI, and our product is years ahead of how we tell its story. We ship something remarkable most weeks and it barely leaves the building. That's the gap you close.

We're looking for a story crafter. Not a video editor, not a social manager, not a brand cop. Someone who owns the narrative of what Sauna is in the world: pulls it out of the founder's head, adds their own taste, and pushes it out until people feel it. You tell that story beautifully with visuals: motion, film, and the whole creative surface.

What You'll Do:
  • The narrative of Sauna, in the world: extract the story from the founder + product, sharpen it with your own POV, make it land everywhere.
  • The story, told in visuals: find the human reason anyone should care, then make it move people. The heart of the role.
  • Motion + video, end to end: concept, shoot, motion design, edit, publish. Hands-on in the timeline.
  • Instagram + our social presence: set the visual/editorial direction and keep it coherent.
  • Creative pipelines that output at volume: build repeatable systems (Sauna itself, Claude Code, AI tooling) so we ship a lot, fast. Volume with taste.

Who You Are:
  • Crafts stories that move people; can point to work that traveled and say why it worked.
  • Real motion-design chops - and in the AI era that now includes HTML/CSS/code, not just After Effects/C4D/Blender.
  • Could be the creator, not just the director (Johnny Harris style), or cast + direct one. Either way knows what makes that video work.
  • Has built with Claude Code (or similar) + AI creative tooling - wired up their own pipelines, not just prompted once.
  • Takes an idea from zero to published without being managed there.

Compensation & Benefits:

Base salary: $120K-$220K + meaningful early-stage equity + health, dental, 401(k), considerable PTO, gym budget, lunch.

The Process:

We keep our process simple. Exceptional candidates go from first touch to offer within 2 weeks.

1. Application: Submit your resume and answer a few short questions.

2. 15-minute intro call: Quick check to align on location, motivation, and logistics. If it's a go, we move fast from here.

3. Portfolio review & craft interview: Walk us through your work and the decisions behind it.

4. Final conversation: We answer your questions and scope out the work trial.

5. Work trial: Paid, in person, usually a few days to two weeks. You work on a real project with us. See how we work, see if it fits, both sides.

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