Senior Design Manager- Global Experiences

Warner Bros. Discovery; Leavesden; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Warner Bros. Discovery seeks a Sr Design Manager to lead the creative vision for Global Experiences. The role oversees environmental design, live entertainment, and character design, managing complex projects across parks, tours, exhibitions, and pop-ups.

You will work with regional teams across EMEA and US, ensuring brand consistency and high-quality production from concept to final delivery. Onsite at Leavesden, travel may be involved; fluency in industry trends and guest experience is valued.

Qualifications

• Must be a car owner and willing to drive to Leavesden.
• Extensive experience in themed entertainment or closely related fields.
• Site installation experience with a broad knowledge of materials and best practices.
• Skilled in Microsoft, Adobe Creative Suite and Keynote; 3D modelling experience is a plus.
• Ability to produce sketches and finished renderings.
• Experience in themed entertainment, film, theatre, or live entertainment.
• Familiar with industry trends and guest experience design.
• Fluency in Spanish is advantageous but not essential.

Responsibilities

• Lead regional creative direction for themed entertainment, working directly with the department Vice President, business leads and franchise teams to ensure brand consistency and strategic alignment.
• Guide creative execution for local regional projects, overseeing design partners, licensees and consultants, collaborating closely with US based creative teams to ensure consistency and oversee the projects from concept through production, ensuring quality, accuracy, and legal compliance.
• Work with business leads in EMEA and US to develop innovative ideas and designs aligned with department goals.
• Shape creative development for themed entertainment projects, including pop-ups, theme parks, hotels, experiential retail environments, exhibitions, location-based entertainment, and live shows.
• Provide art direction for themed environments, experiential spaces, retail spaces, F&B, graphics, and live entertainment.
• Review and revise scripts for live entertainment and media
• Conceptualize, inspire, and communicate creative ideas to partners, senior management, and team members.
• Review and approve creative submissions, including show set packages, production drawings, graphics, and media.
• Work closely with partners, vendors, and brand assurance teams to ensure project execution aligns with approved concepts.
• Partner with product managers to deliver fresh, compelling designs that meet business needs and strategies.
• Implement and share best practices across all areas of the business.
• Collaborate with internal teams across brand and franchise management, legal, data insights, project management, and marketing to align creative work with company and divisional strategies
• Apply an understanding of construction and design for built environments and components

Skills

Themed entertainment

Creative leadership

Site installation

Microsoft Office

Adobe Creative Suite

Keynote

3D modelling

Tools

Microsoft Office

Adobe Creative Suite

Keynote

Job description

Welcome to Warner Bros. Discovery… the stuff dreams are made of.

Who We Are…

When we say, “the stuff dreams are made of,” we’re not just referring to the world of wizards, dragons and superheroes, or even to the wonders of Planet Earth. Behind WBD’s vast portfolio of iconic content and beloved brands, are the storytellers bringing our characters to life, the creators bringing them to your living rooms and the dreamers creating what’s next…

From brilliant creatives, to technology trailblazers, across the globe, WBD offers career defining opportunities, thoughtfully curated benefits, and the tools to explore and grow into your best selves. Here you are supported, here you are celebrated, here you can thrive.

Warner Bros. Discovery Global Experiences extends the Studio’s powerful portfolio of entertainment brands and franchises into the lives of fans around the world. WBDGE partners with best-in-class partners globally on an award-winning range of theme parks, studio tours, hotels, LBEs, and dining inspired by franchises and properties such as Harry Potter, DC, Looney Tunes, Scooby-Doo and theatrical properties from historic library to brand new titles.

The division’s Global Experience business includes groundbreaking experiences such as The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, The Making of Harry Potter Studio Tour and Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi. With innovative and groundbreaking projects, retail initiatives and thoughtful experiences, WBD Global Experiences is one of the leading experience and retail organizations in the world.

To be successful in this team, you must have a willingness to model our guiding principles, champion diversity and inclusion, leverage data and insights to maximize the legacy of our deep brands and franchises while maintaining a commitment to fostering best-in-class projects.

Your New Role

The Sr Design Manager will play an integral role in the creative vision for Global Experiences, reporting to the Vice President for Creative. This role requires expertise in environmental design, site installation, live entertainment, and character design, along with strong graphic layout and presentation skills. The Sr Design Manager will manage high complexity design projects, collaborating with partners to develop themed experiences and live entertainment. Management of categories include, but not limited to: theme parks, studio tours, exhibitions, rides, location-based entertainment, pop-ups, costumes, media, and character art. Candidate should be able to effectively communicate creative concepts in front of clients in a professional manner, while also collaborating with other designers, business leads and interdepartmental teams to help deliver best-in-class products.. Familiarity with Warner Bros brands, pop culture, industry trends, and emerging technologies is essential.

Your Role Accountabilities

Creative Leadership (70%)

• Leads regional creative direction for themed entertainment, working directly with the department Vice President, business leads and franchise teams to ensure brand consistency and strategic alignment.
• Guide creative execution for local regional projects, overseeing design partners, licensees and consultants, collaborating closely with US based creative teams to ensure consistency and oversee the projects from concept through production, ensuring quality, accuracy, and legal compliance.
• Work with business leads in EMEA and US to develop innovative ideas and designs aligned with department goals.
• Shape creative development for themed entertainment projects, including pop-ups, theme parks, hotels, experiential retail environments, exhibitions, location-based entertainment, and live shows.
• Provide art direction for themed environments, experiential spaces, retail spaces, F&B, graphics, and live entertainment.
• Review and revise scripts for live entertainment and media
• Conceptualize, inspire, and communicate creative ideas to partners, senior management, and team members.
• Review and approve creative submissions, including show set packages, production drawings, graphics, and media.
• Work closely with partners, vendors, and brand assurance teams to ensure project execution aligns with approved concepts.

Product Management (30%)

• Partner with product managers to deliver fresh, compelling designs that meet business needs and strategies.
• Implement and share best practices across all areas of the business.

• Collaborate with internal teams across brand and franchise management, legal, data insights, project management, and marketing to align creative work with company and divisional strategies
• Apply an understanding of construction and design for built environments and components

Skills and Experience Required

• Must be a car owner and willing to drive to Leavesden for the role
• Extensive experience in themed entertainment or closely related fields
• Site installation experience with a broad knowledge of materials and best practices.
• Skilled in Microsoft, Adobe Creative Suite and Keynote; 3D modelling experience is a plus
• Ability to produce sketches and finished renderings.
• Experience in themed entertainment, film, theatre, or live entertainment
• Familiar with industry trends and guest experience design
• Fluency in Spanish is advantageous but not essential

Onsite Working - This role is advertised as Onsite, meaning all working hours and days (regardless of shift pattern) will be carried out at the place of work. Subject to any applicable laws, WBD / your Line Manager reserves the right to change this working agreement, where this is essential to business needs and upon reasonable notice to you.

How We Get Things Done…

This last bit is probably the most important! Here at WBD, our guiding principles are the core values by which we operate and are central to how we get things done. You can find them at www.wbd.com/guiding-principles/ along with some insights from the team on what they mean and how they show up in their day to day. We hope they resonate with you and look forward to discussing them during your interview.

Championing Inclusion at WBD

Warner Bros. Discovery embraces the opportunity to build a workforce that reflects a wide array of perspectives, backgrounds and experiences. Being an equal opportunity employer means that we take seriously our responsibility to consider qualified candidates on the basis of merit, regardless of sex, gender identity, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief, marital status, pregnancy, parenthood, disability or any other category protected by law.

If you’re a qualified candidate with a disability and you require adjustments or accommodations during the job application and/or recruitment process, please visit our accessibility page for instructions to submit your request.