Senior Experiential Design Director

Overview

Join to apply for the FT SENIOR EXPERIENTIAL DESIGN DIRECTOR role at RED VELVET
. RED VELVET is a boutique full‑service experiential activations and events agency rooted in strategy, creativity, and production excellence. We partner with brands to concept, design, and produce international award‑winning experiences ranging from immersive activations to luxury moments and conferences that push the envelope of traditional event design.

• Lead end‑to‑end experiential design across events and activations, from concept development through on‑site execution.
• Translate 2D brand identities into fully realized 3D environments that are experiential, buildable, and aligned with strategic objectives.
• Develop 3D spatial designs, visualize environments, layouts, flow, and attendee journey using Sketch Up, Adobe Creative Suite, and Google Workspace.
• Collaborate closely with cross‑functional internal teams—strategy, accounts, creative, production, operations—to ensure creative vision is aligned with execution realities.
• Participate in creative development from brief to presentation, contributing original concepts and elevating overall creative quality.
• Present creative concepts confidently to clients and partners, articulating design rationale and experiential intent.
• Partner with production to ensure designs are feasible, on budget, and optimized for fabrication, labor, and timelines.
• Delegate and manage creative work with freelancers, fabricators, and external vendors while maintaining creative integrity.
• Serve as a senior creative resource and mentor to junior designers, guiding spatial thinking and experiential best practices.
• Support on‑site execution as needed, ensuring the built environment reflects creative intent and adapts to real‑time conditions.
• Participate in post‑event reviews to assess what worked, what didn’t, and how experiential design can evolve.

• 7–10+ years of agency experience in experiential, spatial, or environmental design, capable of both concept and execution in 3D.
• Proficient in Sketch Up (required); understands scale, flow, sightlines, crowd behavior, and real‑world build constraints.
• Strategic and concept‑driven: designs rooted in brand strategy, audience journey, and business objectives—beyond aesthetics.
• Confident, compelling, client‑facing creative: comfortable leading, presenting, navigating feedback, and building trust with senior client stakeholders.
• Collaborative leader: guides freelancers and vendors, elevates others without territorial behavior.
• Calm under pressure: thrives in fast‑paced environments, adapts quickly, and delivers solutions when priorities shift.
• Accountable and self‑directed: owns work from concept through execution with minimal oversight.
• Detail‑aware but big‑picture minded: balances creative vision with execution realities, budget considerations, and production timelines.
• Strong team mentality: communicates openly and contributes positively to RED VELVET’s culture.
• Hybrid & travel‑ready:
  Austin‑based role with in‑person collaboration required; up to 25% travel depending on client project locations.

If you’re excited about leading high‑impact experiential design, please submit your application. Our interview process begins with an initial virtual screening, followed by discussions with key team members to evaluate experience, skills, and cultural fit. No phone calls regarding this posting.

RED VELVET is an Equal Opportunity Employer.