Senior Lighting Technician: Live Theatre & Events

Century; Willoughby; On-site; AUD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Benefits package

Job summary

Century Venues in Chatswood is seeking a Senior Lighting Technician to design, set up, program and maintain lighting for live events and venue presentations. The role requires deep theatre lighting knowledge and experience across diverse productions.

You will collaborate with directors, touring crews and venue staff to ensure visual quality and reliability, with flexibility in hours and a strong focus on colour and texture.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 3 years' experience in a performing arts centre, theatre or related industry.
• Ability to operate and program ETC lighting consoles.
• Demonstrated experience with technical equipment used in performance spaces.
• Strong understanding of theatre lighting principles: colour, focus, balance and texture.
• Experience across theatre, dance, orchestral, corporate events and venue lighting.
• Film lighting experience may substitute with strong colour science and lighting control knowledge.
• Physical fitness and ability to work at heights.
• Expert level competency on in-house lighting equipment.
• Ability to work as an all-rounder across lighting, staging, basic audio and venue systems.
• Strong theatrical lighting background preferred; film lighting considered if appropriate.

Responsibilities

• Plan and carry out preventative and ad hoc maintenance across the site.
• Provide leadership, training and development to casual staff.
• Maintain and collate equipment for events including lighting fixtures and cabling.
• Program, focus and operate lighting systems for a wide range of events.
• Support touring productions, hirers and internal teams with lighting plans and problem solving.
• Apply strong lighting judgement across colour, balance and texture.
• Be flexible in hours of work.

Skills

ETC Eos consoles

Lighting protocols DMX512 sACN RDM Art

Colour science

Layered lighting design

cueing and focus

Team leadership

Programming lighting

Tools

AutoCAD

Job description

VENUE OVERVIEW

The Concourse is a state-of-the-art hub for culture, entertainment, information, retail, food and beverage, opened in Chatswood in September 2011.

Century Venues operate as the Managers of The Concourse, responsible for the Concert Hall, The Theatre and The Lounge.

ABOUT US

The Century Group is a live entertainment producer, festival presenter and the operator of a suite of venues that includes the Enmore Theatre, Metro Theatre, the Factory Theatre complex, the Sydney Comedy Store and The Concourse Performing Arts Centre Chatswood. With a rich history of producing concerts, theatre shows, comedy festivals, theatrical productions, corporate events and more, we pride ourselves on creating high quality experiences for audiences, artists and clients. We are seeking a skilled, senior-level and passionate Lighting Technician to join our dynamic team and help bring our productions to life.

ABOUT THE ROLE

As a Senior Lighting Technician at Century, you will be responsible for designing, setting up, focusing, programming, operating and maintaining lighting systems for a wide range of live events and venue presentations. This is a senior lighting position requiring more than standard live music, comedy or basic stage lighting experience. The successful candidate will need a strong understanding of theatre lighting, colour science, layered lighting, fixture placement, focus, balance, texture and visual storytelling. A background in theatre lighting is preferred, while a strong film lighting background may also be considered if supported by relevant technical and creative experience. You will work closely with directors, production teams, touring crews, venue staff and other technical departments to ensure that every performance is visually strong, technically reliable and delivered to a professional standard.

REQUIRED

• Minimum of 3 years' experience in a performing arts centre, theatre, production company or related industry is considered necessary.
• Ability to operate and program ETC lighting consoles.
• Demonstrated experience and high-level understanding of technical equipment used in performance spaces of this kind.
• Strong understanding of theatre lighting principles, including colour, focus, beam control, layered lighting, cueing, balance and visual composition.
• Experience across multiple lighting environments, including theatre, dance, orchestral performance, corporate events, live music and venue lighting.
• Film lighting experience may be considered a suitable substitute where the candidate demonstrates strong knowledge of colour science, modelling, contrast, texture, exposure, atmosphere and practical lighting control.
• Physical fitness and ability to comfortably work at heights.
• Expert level competency on in-house equipment relevant to the department.
• Ability to work as an all-rounder across lighting, staging, basic audio, venue systems and general production support where required.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES

Working under the direction of the Production Manager, the Senior Lighting Technician has the following responsibilities:

1. Plan and carry out preventative and ad hoc maintenance across the site both in and outside your department.
2. Provide leadership, training and development to the casual staff.
3. Maintain, prepare and collate equipment required for upcoming events including technical equipment, lighting fixtures, cabling, control equipment, furniture and consumables.
4. Operate technical equipment within your department at a high professional level, and be willing to work and operate across all departments as required.
5. Program, focus and operate lighting systems for a wide range of events, ensuring a high standard of visual presentation and technical reliability.
6. Support touring productions, hirers and internal teams with lighting plans, equipment preparation, focus sessions, show operation and technical problem solving.
7. Apply strong lighting judgement across colour, balance, texture, layered lighting, fixture choice, stage coverage and audience sightlines.
8. Be highly flexible in hours of work.
9. Provide feedback to the Production Manager with regards to improving processes, increasing efficiency, and reliability within the technical department in order to better achieve outcomes for Century Venues and our clients.

SPECIALIST KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

1. Extensive technical experience at a high level of your department specialisation

2. Extensive Lighting knowledge and experience in:

• ETC Eos consoles and software.
• A range of lighting protocols (DMX512, sACN, RDM, Art-Net etc).
• Power distribution, dimming systems and their control in similar sized venues.
• Architectural lighting systems and their integration with performance systems (AMX, C-bus, DMX Gateways etc).
• Best-practice maintenance procedures for equipment commonly found in performance spaces.
• Basic fault-finding skills including cable repair/termination and soldering.
• Integration of pixel map and video distribution, LED video walls and projection.
• Remote control integration like QLab, MIDI, OSC etc.
• Colour science, colour temperature, colour rendering, fixture matching and the creative use of colour across theatre, dance, music and corporate environments.
• Layered lighting design, including key light, back light, side light, specials, practicals, texture, atmosphere and architectural integration.
• Theatre lighting methodology, including script-based cueing, blocking, focus notes, stage picture, front wash, side light, back light, specials and cue timing.
• Fixture selection, beam shaping, shuttering, gobo use, haze, diffusion, focus and visual composition.

3. Experience in the delivery of live production in a similar genre and size to The Concourse. E.g. musical theatre, orchestral and chamber music, contemporary dance, drama, ballet, contemporary music, comedy, corporate meetings and product launches.

4. Good general knowledge of all aspects of technical production and keeping that knowledge current with industry standards and practices.

5. Proven ability in the supervision of technical staff.

6. Ability to work beyond a narrow lighting specialisation and support the venue as a practical all-rounder when required.

7. A strong theatrical lighting background is preferred. A strong film lighting background may be considered where it demonstrates advanced understanding of colour, shape, contrast, texture, mood, depth and layered light.

8. Be familiar with modern computerised systems including cloud-based task management software, drawing software and general office suites.

9. Possess fantastic communication, team building and interpersonal skills.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCES

Desirable:

• Competent Testing and tagging (AS/NZS 3760)
• Construction Industry Induction (White Card)
• Competent in safe operation of EWP’s (Vertical Lift)
• Experience with I.T. infrastructure, switching, and network management.
• First Aid Certificate
• Basic or Intermediate Rigging Licence
• AutoCAD or similar experience
• Working Safely at Heights Competence
• Theatre, film, television, performing arts centre or production company lighting experience.
• Experience creating or interpreting lighting plans, focus charts, patch sheets and cue documentation.

WHAT WE OFFER

• A vibrant and collaborative work environment within one of Sydney’s leading entertainment companies.
• Opportunities for professional development and career growth.
• The chance to work on a diverse range of exciting events and productions.
• Competitive salary and benefits package.

HOW TO APPLY

If you’re ready to bring your senior lighting expertise to some of the most exciting events in Sydney, we want to hear from you! Please submit your resume and a cover letter outlining your experience and why you’re the perfect fit for this role.

Century is an equal opportunity employer. We encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds and experiences.