This role is designed for a heavyweight creative leader with over 7 years of experience who specializes in 3D illustration but maintains high-level 2D skills. Y
Work type: onsite
Location: New York, NY | San Francisco, CA | Los Angeles, CA
Salary: $175,000 – $225,000/yr
Type: Full-time
This role is designed for a heavyweight creative leader with over 7 years of experience who specializes in 3D illustration but maintains high-level 2D skills. You are the ideal candidate if you have a "player-coach" mentality—ready to get your hands dirty with Cinema 4D while simultaneously building a scalable visual language from the ground up for a high-growth marketplace. The compensation is highly competitive ($175k - $225k base), paired with a robust benefits package that includes equity, 401k matching, and generous allowances for home office, wellness, and childcare. While the role is "on-site" in NY, SF, or LA, the company emphasizes a flexible, "remote co-located" culture with meaningful in-person collaboration. **You might be a good fit if you...** * Have a world-class portfolio showcasing expertise in **Cinema 4D**, Adobe Creative Suite, and Figma. * Can translate abstract brand concepts into iconic, ownable 3D and 2D assets across digital and physical spaces. * Thrive in fast-paced startup environments and enjoy setting the standards for a discipline rather than just following them. * Have a background in motion or animation and experience leading freelancers or agencies.
## 🚀 Join the Future of Commerce with Whatnot!
Whatnot is the largest livestream shopping platform in North America and Europe to buy, sell, and discover the things you love. Whether it's trading cards, fashion, electronics, or live plants, our sellers are building real businesses across hundreds of categories. We're building live commerce at a scale that's never been done in the West, and there's no playbook to copy. The people here are shaping how an entirely new industry develops.
As a remote co-located team, we're inspired by our [values](https://www.whatnot.com/careers) and anchored in hubs across the US, UK, Ireland, Poland, Germany, and Australia. We move fast, stay close to our users, and focus on the work that drives the most impact.
We're one of the [fastest growing marketplaces](https://a16z.com/marketplace-100/) and were recently named the [#1 Best Startup Employer in America](http://google.com/search?q=%231+forbes+startup+employer&oq=%231+forbes+startup+employer&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIGCAEQRRg9MgYIAhBFGD0yBggDEEUYQDIGCAQQRRhAMgYIBRBFGEDSAQg1NzM0ajBqMagCALACAA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8) by Forbes. Check out the latest Whatnot updates on our [news](https://blog.teamwhatnot.com/) and [engineering blogs](https://medium.com/whatnot-engineering) and join us as we enable anyone to turn their passion into a business and bring people together through commerce.
## 💻 Role
We are looking for a Lead Illustrator (3D + 2D) to join the creative team at Whatnot! Our small but mighty team is responsible for building the Whatnot brand and crafting best-in-class creative across physical and digital experiences. As a core member of the team, you’ll establish and scale our illustration system, crafting standout work that spans both 3D and 2D, static and motion, collaborating across marketing and product to bring our brand to life in ways that resonate deeply with our communities.
This is a foundational role, equal parts hands-on craft and system-building. You’ll produce and establish scalable guidelines and libraries, experiment with new techniques and media, and continue to elevate Whatnot’s visual identity into something iconic and ownable.
In this role, you will:
## 👋 You
People who do well at Whatnot tend to be comfortable figuring things out as they go, biased toward action, and genuinely curious about what they're building. They care more about outcomes than credit and stay close to the product and the people using it.
As our first Illustration Lead, you should have 7+ years of experience in illustration, with a clear specialization in 3D and proven 2D capabilities, plus:
$155,000/year to $200,000/year + benefits + equity.
The salary range may be inclusive of several levels that would be applicable to the position. Final salary will be based on a number of factors including, level, relevant prior experience, skills and expertise. This range is only inclusive of base salary, not benefits (more details below) or equity.
## 🎁 Benefits
## 💛 EOE
Whatnot is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We value diversity, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, parental status, disability status, or any other status protected by local law. We believe that our work is better and our company culture is improved when we encourage, support, and respect the different skills and experiences represented within our workforce.