Director of AV & Experience Systems

Description

Backed by Callaway Golf and Danny Meyer’s Enlightened Hospitality Investments, Five Iron blends world-class technology with hospitality-driven service across its sports bars, restaurants, and entertainment venues. With 35 locations open and more than 50 in the pipeline worldwide, the brand is expanding its reach while remaining rooted in innovation, inclusivity, and community connection.

5i is not your traditional country club. We aspire to establish a casual, relaxed environment for golfers and non-golfers alike. We are a fun and growing company with an urban vibe. We offer indoor golf simulation, lessons, golf fittings, events, and food and beverage service.

We are seeking a Director of AV & Experience Systems who will own how every venue looks, sounds, and feels — and the systems and vendor relationships that make that possible at scale across 25 corporate and franchise locations in the U.S. and internationally.

This is not a traditional IT role. You will own the audio, video, lighting, digital signage, security video, and life-safety alarm layer of the guest and venue experience across the brand — and the control systems that tie it all together. You’ll partner closely with our integrators (Teague iCtrl and equivalents), our Enterprise Systems and Data teams, and our Gaming product team to make sure every Five Iron is unmistakably Five Iron the moment a guest walks in.

What You’ll Own

Brand Standards & Venue Design

• Set the AV standard across the brand. Define the reference design for what a Five Iron should sound, look, and feel like — speaker layouts, TV wall configurations, audio zoning between bays, bar, lounge, and event space, and lighting scenes for day, league, event, and late-night dayparts — so every venue feels consistent.
• Own the lighting controls ecosystem end to end. Fixture selection, dimming and color-tuning strategy, DMX/sACN programming, control interfaces, and integration with the broader scene system. Lighting is a guest-experience lever, not an afterthought.
• Act as the AV voice in new venue design. Partner with construction, real estate, and design teams from day one on speaker placement, sightlines for the TV wall, lighting design intent, rack location, and cable pathways. Catch the expensive mistakes before drywall goes up.
• Own the pre-opening AV scorecard. Every new corporate and franchise location passes a defined AV readiness gate before opening day — no exceptions.
• Stay current on AV-over-IP (Dante, NDI, SDVoE), lighting protocols (DMX, sACN), digital signage platforms, and the Crestron/SAVI/Control4 ecosystem so Five Iron’s spec doesn’t get stale.
  
  

Vendor Strategy & Build-vs-Buy

• Own the build-vs-buy decision for AV integration. Evaluate where it makes sense to continue working with integrators (Teague iCtrl and equivalents) versus bringing capability in-house — programming, installation oversight, ongoing service — and execute whichever path delivers better outcomes.
• Manage integrator and vendor relationships. Scope new builds, review AV drawings during construction, hold integrators accountable to Five Iron’s standards, and approve change orders.
• Drive AV-related cost reduction. Hit FY26 targets for cable/programming spend (-30%/mo through standardization) and SAVI/AV vendor consolidation. Run RFPs and renegotiate contracts where the math says we should.
• Run venue support and escalation for AV issues. Build tier-1 troubleshooting playbooks for GMs, define a clear escalation path, manage SLAs, and maintain a punch list system so small issues don’t pile up.
  
  

Day-to-Day Operations

• Own game-day and event readiness. TV routing for NFL Sundays, Masters week, UFC PPVs, league nights — ensure the right feed hits the right zone, audio-follows-video works, and managers can flip the room without calling for help.
• Program and maintain control system scenes. Build the one-button “open,” “happy hour,” “league mode,” “private event,” and “close” presets that let GMs run the room without touching a rack.
• Own digital signage and in-venue displays. BarBoards (100% of corporate franchise by Q4 2025), tournament leaderboards, “Today’s Tournament” surfacing, member spotlights, and quarterly content refreshes.
• Own music strategy and licensing. Manage Soundtrack Your Brand (or equivalent), set playlist curation standards by daypart, and ensure every venue is properly licensed across BMI, ASCAP, SESAC, and GMR.
• Handle event AV production — corporate buyouts, leagues, tournaments, brand activations — mic packages, presentation feeds, livestream support. Hit the 100% AV pre-check standard for every event.
  
  

Gaming, Tournaments & Broadcast

• Be the AV partner to the Gaming team. Own the in-venue presentation for tournaments, Match Play, MetaGames, and Always-On competitions: leaderboards on the right screens, broadcast moments for big finishes, Event Mode AV, and the audio cues that make competition feel alive.
• Support tournament reliability standards. Partner with Enterprise Systems and Data to deliver leaderboard latency =2 minutes, 99% display uptime, and broadcast-quality presentation for marquee tournaments and Beat-the-Pro series.
• Deploy and maintain Turing app NVR for compliance and tournament replay infrastructure across the fleet.
  
  

Security Video & Life Safety Systems

• Own security camera and NVR infrastructure across the fleet. Camera coverage standards, recording retention, cloud-connected review, and access controls for managers, corporate security, and loss prevention.
• Partner with Gaming, Ops, and Legal on video evidence workflows. Tournament disputes, Match Play integrity reviews, incident investigations, and guest claims — all need fast, reliable video retrieval with clear chain-of-custody.
• Own the ADT/Everon alarm system relationship. Intrusion, panic, and fire/life-safety alarm management across all corporate locations — vendor management, account administration, testing cadence, and incident response.
• Standardize security video and alarm specs for new builds and franchise openings so every location opens with the same coverage, retention, and monitoring posture.
  
  

Franchise, Mobile & New Formats

• Build and ship the Franchise Venue Tech Package (AV layer). Standard hardware, software, control programming, and training so franchisees open with the same look, sound, and feel as a corporate venue.
• Equip Mobile Sim and pop-up activations. Own the AV spec for Dryvebox, tent kits, and pop-ups so brand activations look and sound like Five Iron wherever they show up.
• Support international openings with playbooks adapted for local AV standards, broadcast formats, and content compliance.
  
  

Asset Lifecycle & Cross-Functional

• Manage the AV equipment lifecycle. Speakers, amps, DSPs, projectors, TVs, video matrix switchers, lighting fixtures, NVRs, and event gear — capex planning, refresh cycles, and warranty tracking.
• Coordinate with IT, Enterprise Systems, and Data. The network is shared infrastructure — work closely on VLANs, bandwidth for AV-over-IP, shared rack space, and the Adentro Wi-Fi marketing integration.
• Plug into company operating rhythm — initiatives in Asana, AV SOPs and audit checklists in Delightree, and contribution to the Central Command Center observability layer.
  
  

People & Field Capability

• Build the Venue Tech Captain network. Roll out Venue Tech 101 (95% GM/FM completion by Q2), the L1–L3 competency ladder, and a Tech Captain in every venue who can handle tier-1 AV issues without escalating.
• Lead a small team or vendor bench as the function scales — could include AV specialists, regional support, or extended integrator staff depending on growth.
  
  

Qualifications & Skills

What You Bring

• 7 years in commercial AV — venue, hospitality, broadcast, or large-format integration backgrounds all welcome.
• Hands-on experience with control system programming (Crestron, SAVI, Control4, or similar) and the ability to read AV drawings and rack diagrams fluently.
• Working knowledge of distributed audio systems (DSPs, zone amps, Dante/AVB), video distribution (HDMI matrix, AV-over-IP), and digital signage platforms.
• Experience managing third-party integrators and holding them to scope, schedule, and quality — including running RFPs and driving cost reduction.
• Multi-site or multi-venue experience strongly preferred — you understand how to set a standard once and enforce it across a fleet, including franchise contexts.
• Comfort working cross-functionally with construction, operations, marketing, gaming/product, IT, and finance.
• Bias for action and a fix-it-first mentality. When a venue is dark on a Sunday during the 1pm kickoff, you’re already on the phone.
  
  

Nice to Have

• Background in sports bar, hospitality, eatertainment (Topgolf, Puttshack, Pinstripes, Bowlero), or entertainment venue AV.
• Experience with live event production, broadcast workflows, or tournament/esports presentation.
• Familiarity with music licensing and commercial streaming platforms.
• Franchise system experience — building tech kits and playbooks that non-corporate operators can execute.
• CTS, CTS-D, or CTS-I certification.
  
  

Software Skills

• (Nice to have) Project management tools (Asana) and Google Workspace
  
  

Benefits

• Health, Dental, and Vision insurance
• Long and Short Term Disability
• Accident and Critical Illness Insurance
• 401K
  
  

**Benefits only apply to Full-Time Employees**

Job Type: This position will be a full-time exempt role

Hours: Will vary by week and will be more time consuming leading up to and during new openings

Location: Greater NYC area *Hybrid schedule (3 days in office)* preferred, not required

Salary: The salary for this position will be $120,000