Experiential Art Director - Live Events

Experiential Art Director

New York, NY (Hybrid)

About Empire

Empire is a global experiential production agency creating award-winning live events, broadcasts, and immersive brand experiences around the world. With headquarters in New York, Los Angeles, and Tokyo, we’ve produced projects in more than 100 countries for leading corporations, governments, nonprofits, brands, and creators.

From high-profile live productions to innovative digital experiences and large-scale installations, we create moments that connect audiences and leave lasting impact.

As our team continues to grow, we’re seeking a highly creative and detail-oriented Art Director based in New York to support the development and execution of experiential environments, scenic concepts, and visual storytelling across a diverse portfolio of projects.

The Role

This is a hands-on creative role for someone who thrives at the intersection of experiential design, live production, scenic environments, and branded experiences. You’ll collaborate closely with creative leadership, producers, technical directors, and fabrication teams to develop immersive event concepts and execute visual systems across live events, digital experiences, installations, and branded activations. The ideal candidate combines strong conceptual thinking with production knowledge and understands how to translate creative ideas into fully realized audience experiences.

What You’ll Do

• Support creative direction across live events, digital experiences, installations, and experiential activations
• Develop mood boards, renderings, visual concepts, presentation materials, and design systems for client pitches and productions
• Design branded environments, scenic elements, event collateral, signage, screen graphics, and experiential touchpoints
• Create client-ready decks featuring concepts, renderings, layouts, floor plans, mockups, furniture/prop selections, and creative direction
• Collaborate closely with producers, technical directors, fabricators, vendors, and creative leadership to bring concepts to life
• Assist in overseeing scenic fabrication, print production, and onsite installation to maintain creative consistency from concept through execution
• Develop original set and experiential design concepts across a range of styles, formats, and client categories
• Manage creative timelines, revisions, and project workflows across multiple concurrent projects
• Present ideas and creative materials confidently to clients, stakeholders, and internal teams
• Stay current on design, experiential, media, and cultural trends to continuously elevate creative output

What We’re Looking For

• 5 years of experience in experiential design, live events, scenic design, environmental graphics, or related creative roles
• Strong portfolio showcasing executed experiential work, scenic environments, branded experiences, and visual storytelling
• Proven ability to develop original creative concepts across a wide range of styles and formats
• Strong understanding of scenic fabrication, environmental graphics, and production workflows
• Experience collaborating with fabrication, production, and technical teams
• Exceptional communication, presentation, and organizational skills
• Comfortable managing multiple projects in fast-paced production environments
• Client-facing confidence with senior stakeholders and executive teams
• Detail-oriented with strong creative problem-solving abilities

Preferred Skills

• Advanced proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite
• Advanced proficiency with AI design tools (eg Midjourney) 
• Experience with SketchUp, Vectorworks, and/or Cinema 4D preferred
• Familiarity with presentation design tools including PowerPoint and Google Slides
• Working knowledge of collaborative platforms including Slack, Google Drive, and Dropbox

Work Environment & Travel

This role is based in New York City and follows a hybrid schedule, with a minimum of three in-office days per week (Tuesday–Thursday) at our SoHo office, depending on production schedules.

The role also requires flexibility for travel and onsite production support as needed.

• Cultural alignment with Empire’s values of collaboration, professionalism, integrity, creativity, and excellence
• Passion for creating world-class experiential programs while fostering strong team culture
• Familiarity with fast-paced, high-performance environments where creativity and operational excellence intersect

Compensation & Benefits

Salary range: $85,000–$110,000, commensurate with experience.

Full-time employees are eligible for:

• Healthcare stipend
• 401(k)
• Paid vacation
• Medical and parental leave

Empire is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer.

APPLY

Please send your resume and portfolio to HR@empireentertainment.com