Director of Technical Design & Development

Event Services Group (ESG) is seeking an experienced Director of Technical Design & Development to lead the team responsible for the technical design & development of custom elements and custom built environments for live events, experiential marketing activations, trade shows, retail displays, branded environments, and themed installations.

This role serves as the critical bridge between Creative Design Conceptualization and Real World Production by transforming conceptual ideas into technically executable & accurately costed event viable solutions with understandable, ready-to-execute build drawings that can be efficiently built, developed, designed, installed, and maintained throughout the project lifecycle considering the resources and capabilities we have in house while also helping to establish strategic partnerships for outsourcing when determined necessary.

Considering ESG's fully integrated fabrication facility, which includes CNC routing, hot-wire foam cutting, woodworking, scenic finishing, printing, decor, logistics, and custom fabrication you will establish the technical standards, construction methodologies, and production workflows that ensure every project is executed safely, efficiently, on budget, and to the highest level of craftsmanship. A critical responsibility of this role will be connecting technical development with operational understanding. The Director will help establish how custom elements are evaluated, costed, and priced by developing a clear understanding of materials, labor, equipment, outsourcing, logistics, and other production requirements. This role will partner with Sales and Operational leadership to translate those costs into accurate, repeatable, and profitable pricing strategies that support the sales process while protecting ESG's operational and profitability goals.

This is a senior leadership role responsible for driving execution excellence, mentoring technical talent, improving production efficiency, developing scalable pricing and technical processes, and elevating the overall quality and scalability of ESG's custom fabrication and production capabilities.

If you've ever looked at a rendering and immediately started thinking, "Here's exactly how I'd build that," this is the position for you.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Technical Leadership

• Lead the technical development of custom scenic elements from concept through execution with clear build and installation understandings.
• Translate creative renderings into complete fabrication packages, shop drawings, and installation documentation to be used across multiple departments.
• Determine optimal construction methodologies, materials, and assembly techniques for each project.
• Develop innovative fabrication solutions that consider aesthetics, durability, budget, and installation efficiency.
• Ensure every design is structurally sound, production-ready, and executable within project timelines.
• Review concepts during early design phases and provide constructability guidance to Creative and Sales teams.
• Evaluate the technical feasibility of client requests before significant production or pricing commitments are made.

Pricing, Costing, & Support

• Partner with Sales and Operational leadership to translate production costs and technical requirements into pricing that can be effectively presented and sold to clients while supporting ESG's profitability goals.
• Help develop and maintain standardized pricing models, estimating tools, assumptions, and methodologies for custom fabrication and technical production.
• Establish repeatable costing methods for commonly requested products, fabrication techniques, materials, and production services while maintaining the flexibility required for custom work.
• Review client driven concepts and requests during the early pricing phase to determine construction, production requirements, potential risks, and anticipated costs before pricing is finalized.
• Ensure pricing assumptions account for the complete operational requirements necessary to successfully execute an element rather than material costs alone.
• Provide value alternatives when client budgets, design intent, production requirements, or profitability expectations are not aligned.
• Establish appropriate review and approval standards for complex, high value, or nonstandard custom element pricing before information is returned to Sales.
• Evaluate estimated versus actual production costs to identify pricing gaps and continuously improve ESG's pricing models, estimating standards, and profitability.

Fabrication Engineering & Documentation

• Produce and oversee execution ready drawing packages including:

o Shop drawings

o Construction details

o Assembly diagrams

o CNC-ready files

o Material specifications

o Vectors for Graphic file development

o Cut lists

o Installation documentation

• Establish drawing standards, templates, title blocks, and documentation procedures across the department.
• Develop standardized construction methods that improve consistency and scalability.
• Ensure fabrication documentation is clear, accurate, and easily interpreted by production teams.
• Lead the team that translates all of the above into drawings.

Fabrication Systems & Process Development

• Evaluate emerging fabrication technologies, materials, and production methods.
• Develop repeatable fabrication systems that reduce labor, improve accuracy, and increase throughput.
• Create best practices that improve build quality while reducing waste and production time.
• Identify opportunities to standardize commonly produced elements and construction methodologies to improve estimating, pricing, production planning, and scalability.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner closely with Creative Director, Sales, Project Management, Operations, and Fabrication teams throughout each project, concept development and pricing to establish the technical scope, production requirements, estimated costs, and execution strategy necessary to develop accurate and profitable client pricing.
• Provide technical guidance during price estimating and concept development.
• Ensure technical solutions align with project budgets, schedules, labor allocations, and profitability goals.
• Evaluate alternative materials and fabrication methods that maintain design intent while improving cost efficiency.
• Serve as the primary technical resource connecting design intent to physical execution.
• Coordinate with outside engineers, specialty manufacturers, and installation partners as required.

Leadership & Team Development

• Lead and mentor Technical Designers, CAD Designers, Production Artists, CNC Programmers, and Fabrication Leads.
• Establish clear ownership, response expectations, technical standards, and approval processes for pricing and technical requests.
• Build a culture centered around craftsmanship, precision, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Increase technical knowledge across Creative, Production, and Operations teams.
• Establish quality control standards for build documentation and production execution.
• Review technical packages prior to executions & fabrication to ensure accuracy and completeness.

Operational Excellence

• Identify opportunities to improve fabrication efficiency and shop productivity.
• Reduce material waste while maintaining premium build quality.
• Improve communication between design, fabrication, logistics, and installation teams.
• Standardize construction methods across multiple project types.
• Ensure fabrication methodologies comply with venue requirements, engineering considerations, installation best practices, and ESG safety standards.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives throughout the operational department's fabrication department as they relate to technical design and fabrication.
• Identify recurring discrepancies between estimated and actual production requirements and implement corrective changes to technical, pricing, or production processes.

Requirements

We are specifically looking for professionals with experience with operations within custom fabrication, experiential production, event production, logistics, or other complex project based environments.

The ideal candidate understands that successful custom production requires more than technical design expertise. They must be able to connect design intent, fabrication methodology, operational capabilities, cost, pricing, logistics, installation, and final execution.

Preferred Industry Experience

Candidates should possess significant experience in one or more of the following industries:

• Scenic Fabrication
• Experiential Marketing
• Brand Activations
• Retail Display Fabrication
• Trade Show Exhibits
• Museum Exhibits
• Theme Parks
• Entertainment Production
• Broadcast Set Construction
• Architectural Millwork
• Custom Fabrication
• Permanent Branded Environments

Technical Experience

• Minimum 5 years of experience designing and detailing custom fabricated environments.
• Extensive knowledge of scenic construction methods and fabrication techniques.
• Experience creating fabrication documentation and shop drawings.
• Strong understanding of CNC manufacturing and digital fabrication workflows.
• Experience with:

o Wood fabrication

o Foam fabrication

o Acrylic fabrication

o Aluminum and light metal fabrication

o Printed graphics integration

o Modular construction systems

• Knowledge of installation methodologies and field assembly techniques.
• Strong understanding of fabrication tolerances, material behavior, and production sequencing.

Software Experience

Preferred experience with one or more of the following:

• AutoCAD
• SolidWorks
• Fusion 360
• Rhino
• SketchUp
• VectorWorks
• Autodesk Inventor

Experience preparing CNC-ready production files is highly preferred.

Leadership Experience

• Demonstrated experience leading technical design or fabrication teams.
• Strong mentoring and coaching abilities.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to translate creative concepts into executable fabrication strategies.
• Proven ability to manage multiple complex projects simultaneously.
• Strong problem-solving skills with a focus on constructability, efficiency, and production quality.
• Experience developing teams, processes, or workflows responsible for estimating, technical development, or production planning is helpful.

KEY ATTRIBUTES

• Passionate about building exceptional custom environments.
• Strong fabrication mindset with the ability to solve complex construction challenges.
• Highly detail oriented with exceptional organizational skills.
• Hands on leader who enjoys collaborating with creative fabrication teams.
• Process driven with a commitment to continuous improvement.
• Collaborative communicator capable of working across Creative, Sales, Operations, and Production.
• Driven by craftsmanship, innovation, and execution excellence.
• Comfortable balancing creativity with practical fabrication realities.

Benefits

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Referral program
• Vision insurance