Creature Designer

Creature Technology Co.; City of Melbourne; On-site; AUD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Onsite gym

Holistic assistance program

Work-life balance

Job summary

Creature Technology Company in Melbourne seeks a Creature Designer to define and deliver the look, movement, and feel of our creatures for audiences. You’ll guide the vision from concept to delivery, working closely with design, engineering, production, and project management to ensure a compelling guest experience.

You will lead creative direction across concepts to final build, communicating clearly with clients and multidisciplinary teams, balancing creative intent with practical constraints

Qualifications

• 5+ years’ experience in a design leadership role, including ownership of complex, cross-disciplinary build projects.
• Hold a tertiary qualification in Industrial Design, Mechatronics/Robotics, or a related discipline.
• Have owned the creative vision for complex “hero” assets or experience-driven products from concept through to delivery, with clear accountability for the final guest/user experience outcome.
• Bring strong client‑facing leadership experience, including presenting creative vision, running reviews/workshops, managing expectations and trade‑offs, and securing alignment/sign‑off.
• Can balance creative intent with real‑world constraints (schedule, budget, safety, reliability, manufacturability) while preserving intent and quality.
• Are comfortable working hands‑on around a workshop environment and enjoy making things real, not just conceptual.
• Communicate clearly and enjoy working closely with multidisciplinary teams across design, engineering, control systems, fabrication, and production.

Responsibilities

• Define the creature’s design vision: What it is; how it behaves; and what the audience should experience.
• Lead the creative direction from early concepts through to final build, keeping intent clear as constraints and details evolve.
• Act as the primary client‑facing creative lead, presenting the vision, guiding discussions, and supporting alignment and sign‑off.
• Translate client feedback into clear, actionable direction for the internal team while protecting conceptual integrity.
• Define creature performance and behaviour (animation profile) and maintain performance intent through delivery.
• Chair key design consultations and creative reviews, guiding decisions that affect guest experience outcomes.
• Provide design stewardship and creative problem‑solving support across all contributing disciplines.
• Integrate creative intent with technical and production capability through system‑level oversight and interface awareness.
• Oversee creative quality through evaluation, iteration, and validation against agreed intent.
• Identify creative risks and work with the project team to implement practical mitigations.

Skills

Design leadership

Client-facing leadership

Workshop hands-on

Creative direction

Education

Industrial Design / Mechatronics

Tools

Rhino

SolidWorks

Job description

We’re looking for a Creature Designer to join our Design team at Creature Technology Company. You’ll help define what our creatures are, how they look, move, and feel to an audience, and guide that vision through to delivery. This role sits at the centre of the project team, working closely with design, engineering, production, and project management to deliver a clear guest experience outcome.

About Creature Technology

Creature Technology Company (CTC) are award winning global leaders in creating awe inspiring creatures that captivate visitors at some of the world’s most exciting visitor attractions and theatre productions. We are an all-in-one design, engineering, and fabrication studio. Combining creativity, artistry, and cutting‑edge technology to bring animatronic characters to life.

Job requirements

You could be the one if you…

• Have 5+ years’ experience in a design leadership role, including ownership of complex, cross-disciplinary build projects.
• Hold a tertiary qualification in Industrial Design, Mechatronics/Robotics, or a related discipline.
• Have owned the creative vision for complex “hero” assets or experience-driven products from concept through to delivery, with clear accountability for the final guest/user experience outcome.
• Bring strong client‑facing leadership experience, including presenting creative vision, running reviews/workshops, managing expectations and trade‑offs, and securing alignment/sign‑off.
• Can balance creative intent with real‑world constraints (schedule, budget, safety, reliability, manufacturability) while preserving intent and quality.
• Are comfortable working hands‑on around a workshop environment and enjoy making things real, not just conceptual.
• Communicate clearly and enjoy working closely with multidisciplinary teams across design, engineering, control systems, fabrication, and production.

Nice to have

• Proficiency with relevant design software and tools (e.g., Rhino, SolidWorks).
• Experience in themed entertainment, visitor attractions, or experience‑led industries.
• Exposure to the integration and interaction of complex subsystems into unified solutions.
• Familiarity with structural space frame design and dynamic structures.
• Exposure to steel structure design, fabrics/soft materials, or electromechanical systems.
• Understanding of conceptual hazard assessment and mitigation.

Job responsibilities

A little about the role and why it matters

Every creature we build is experienced in motion, in context, and in front of real audiences. This role ensures the creative intent stays coherent as ideas become engineered systems and finished builds. You’ll lead the creative decision‑making, balance trade‑offs thoughtfully, and help the team deliver a creature that performs reliably while still feeling true to the original concept.

What you’ll do

• Define the creature’s design vision: What it is; how it behaves; and what the audience should experience.
• Lead the creative direction from early concepts through to final build, keeping intent clear as constraints and details evolve.
• Act as the primary client‑facing creative lead, presenting the vision, guiding discussions, and supporting alignment and sign‑off.
• Translate client feedback into clear, actionable direction for the internal team while protecting conceptual integrity.
• Define creature performance and behaviour (animation profile) and maintain performance intent through delivery.
• Chair key design consultations and creative reviews, guiding decisions that affect guest experience outcomes.
• Provide design stewardship and creative problem‑solving support across all contributing disciplines.
• Integrate creative intent with technical and production capability through system‑level oversight and interface awareness.
• Oversee creative quality through evaluation, iteration, and validation against agreed intent.
• Identify creative risks and work with the project team to implement practical mitigations.

What we offer

• A friendly, human work environment and a culture of creatively minded, hardworking people who care deeply about their craft and the work they do.
• Opportunities to continually learn, grow, and develop your skills alongside a widely experienced, cross disciplinary team.
• Ways of working that genuinely support work life balance.

• A friendly, human work environment and a culture of creatively minded, hardworking people who care deeply about their craft and the work they do.
• Opportunities to continually learn, grow, and develop your skills alongside a widely experienced, cross disciplinary team.
• Ways of working that genuinely support work life balance.

We want you to love your work and your life outside of CTC. Your wellbeing matters to us. We provide access to a holistic assistance program supporting many areas of life and health, as well as an onsite gym.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging

We care about the planet, and the people that live on it. We value inclusivity and belonging at CTC; only with a diverse and inclusive team that feels a genuine sense of belonging will we reach our vision.

DEIB is a pillar of every project and initiative we work on. Our core values encourage us to show unwavering respect, keep an open mind and stay curious, and act with integrity and care in every aspect of our work. We welcome you to join our team regardless of background, gender identity, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, age, or lived experience.

Research shows candidates from neurodiverse and underrepresented backgrounds often only apply for roles if they meet all listed criteria. We hire based on experience and passion, so if this role interests you, we encourage you to apply even if you don’t meet every ? requirement. If you need reasonable adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process, please let us know. You’re also welcome to share pronouns at any point.