Lighting Designer, Live Production

Our Opportunity

GPJ is hiring a Lighting Designer to support several different clients. 

This role is hybrid, requiring you to report on-site to one of the following office locations a minimum of 2 days/week: Austin, Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles, Nashville, New York City, or San Francisco.

Your Role

You are an amazing lighting designer. One of the best in the biz!  Your role revolves around crafting the visual story for the entire Live Production through innovative lighting design. You collaborate closely with the client, plus the executive producer, creative director, technical director and CAD designer, to translate creative ideas into tangible lighting and rigging designs that set the stage for a captivating experience. This could be for a keynote stage, expo,  environmental, broadcast, or an architectural installation. Your design must also illuminate what's best for cameras.

You also extend your expertise to the pre-vis of shows, and also provide lighting and creative input to broadcast productions, offering lighting consultation to guarantee a seamless and visually striking outcome. Managing the lighting team is another facet of your responsibilities, both during the preparation phase and in on-site execution. You lead with efficiency, ensuring that every member of the team is equipped to bring our collective vision to life. In this dynamic role, you find fulfillment in illuminating the production with creativity and technical prowess, creating an immersive experience that resonates with all audiences.

Your Skills

• High to expert skill level with Vectorworks CAD.
• You have an understanding or capability of designing in visualizer systems.
• Understanding of industry technology for lighting, video, rigging and show control.
• You are a lighting expert and industry leader. 
• You work well under pressure with numerous personality types. You understand that business needs change – what you do today may not be what you do tomorrow!
• You are equally comfortable as the lone lighting person operating your own design, or managing a team of lighting designers and operators on large event in a lead lighting designer role.
• You have a top level network of lighting designers, programmers, master electricians, and media server operators.
• You love interacting with people. In fact, your interactions with people GIVE you energy. You take charge and communicate well at all levels.
• You live by the list. You're self motivated, manage tasks well and have the ability to pivot any time in the production process .

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership

• Responsible for all Show lighting design and creative integration with the scenic, visual content and look and feel of the client or event brand.
• Deliver innovative, visually stunning lighting designs that enhance the dramatic narrative for theatre and optimize visual quality for broadcast, streaming, in multi-camera environments, and in post-event content.
• Develop and oversee lighting system's technical and artistic direction, focusing on artistic interpretation, and meticulously managing color temperature, light levels, and CRI for optimal camera looks. 
• Lead the lighting design process, guiding the team in developing detailed light plots, cue sheets for the Stage Manager and others, and comprehensive cue stacks for live stage work, plus define clear key, fill, and back light setups for principal broadcast positions.
• Contribute supporting input on scenic/production design elements critical for achieving theatrical effects and managing light spill/reflectivity for the camera. This includes collaborating with the Media Producer for scenic media.
• Lead execution, guiding the team through fixture preparation, and artistic focusing, and working with the Lighting vendors to confirm they are managing  the technical integrity of the rig for consistent, flicker-free performance across both mediums. 
• Attend site surveys and from that create the lighting bid package, coordinate the shop prep and direct the pre-light/pre-vis programming. 

Team Leadership & Mentorship

• Lead and mentor a high-performing technical team, including the Master Electrician, Lighting Programmer–and, when required, Gaffers familiar with both stage and studio practices–for the install, focus and programming,
• Foster a collaborative environment that encourages technical mastery and understanding the distinct needs of lighting for the eye versus lighting for the lens.
• Provide constructive feedback on technical theatre practices, artistic interpretation, and the smooth transition between stage looks and broadcast-ready lighting.
• Offer guidance on ensuring high-quality broadcast lighting levels and fixture placement that respects theatrical aesthetics.

Client Relationship Management

• Work in concert with the rest of the Live Production and Broadcasting team onsite and those working remotely, and specifically build and maintain strong relationships with the Director, Producer, Stage Management, and Camera/Video Engineers, acting as the primary point of contact for all illumination requirements.
• Proactively address creative and technical challenges related to fixture reliability, complex light states, and solving issues that affect camera exposure, color fidelity, and performer visibility on both stage and screen.
• Present detailed lighting plots, visualizations, and cue descriptions to stakeholders, communicating artistic intent and technical compliance for both live audiences and recording platforms.

Business Development

• Contribute to new business opportunities by showcasing the company's high-caliber design portfolio in sophisticated theatrical lighting and professional, high-definition broadcast/streaming environments.
• Stay abreast of industry trends in new theatrical LED fixtures, automated lighting control systems, and high-CRI fixtures engineered for video capture.
• Maintain strong knowledge of general production design principles to coordinate scenic, video, and lighting elements effectively for both stage and broadcast.

Your Competencies

Deliver -Produce with excellence, in all your areas you touch directly or indirectly, for the client, the project you are assigned, and the GPJ team.

Confidence -Know that you will succeed, when at times what is being suggested may not have been produced before. Have confidence that you have the team, data, tools and skills necessary to overcome obstacles. Working in close concert with strategy, creative, other production teams, and client teams to communicate all stages of the production process and get everyone to the end goal.

Communication - Technical or Production Team leader adept at identification, hiring and mentoring of skills and resources required to build teams that deliver robust solutions within a controlled project management environment. Strong communication skills with each member of the team (GPJ, Client and Partners) in sharing information, advising but being decisive as required to ensure success. Strong advocate for safe environment for attendees and staff ensuring each project has all required certifications and documentation.

Curiosity - Desire to discover, explore, learn and expand knowledge of digital, technical, theatrical and media elements to bring brands to life in the most effective way. Live production is one of the most powerful forms of communication in experience marketing and your role is to partner with the strategy, creative and account teams in bringing the best ideas forward and put the strategy into action.

Your Experience

College degree preferred but not mandatory. Study areas would include theater, film/video, business, project management, or other transferable experience.  

9+ years of relevant production experience will be combined with your track record of success.

Your Impact

In your role, you will have influence and responsibility over:

• The way the show is lit, what it looks like in person, and how it looks in the broadcast and in post-event content.
• Providing equipment specs for lighting, rigging, and at times AV (in collaboration with Technical Directors, Scenic Designers and Producers) and offering creative treatment guidance for lighting teams to achieve GPJ and client vision.
• Staying updated on cutting-edge advancements in lighting and video equipment, ensuring Live Production is informed and current with these technologies.

Salary Range: $125k - $160k  

Salary is dependent on a variety of factors including (but not limited to) experience, skills, and location.

Who We Are

GPJ is the world leader in experiential marketing. Our 29 global offices are filled with fearless people dreaming up ideas that are transforming industries and bringing the most respected brands to life in powerfully, exciting ways. We are a part of the Project Worldwide family. An independent, employee-owned global network of complementary, wholly owned agencies. 

You read that "employee-owned" part, right? You heard us correctly. You work hard, she works hard, we all work hard… we all succeed and reap the rewards. We have an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) – providing our employees with an ownership interest. We thought you would want to know that. In fact, there is a lot more you would want to know about us, like our FTO policy (no more "accruing" time off), our employer matching 401(k) plan (no vesting period), and our low contribution healthcare option. But we are getting ahead of ourselves here, let's talk about this exciting opportunity first and we can fill you in on our perks & benefits later.

GPJ is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation and gender identity), national origin, citizenship, disability, protected veteran status, or any other protected class. In addition to federal law requirements, GPJ complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.  GPJ expressly prohibits any form of workplace harassment based on any protected class.