Creative Director (Large-Scale Events)

Acronym; California (MO); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work

Job summary

ACRONYM seeks a Creative Director to lead its largest live experiences from concept through onsite delivery. Reporting to the Group Creative Director, you will guide a creative leader who thinks at venue scale and unites interdisciplinary teams around a single vision.

The right candidate has led major conferences, festivals, and tentpole brand experiences, balancing creative ambition with the production realities of delivering at scale. Hybrid work in East LA or Brooklyn is offered.

Qualifications

• Lead major conferences, festivals, and tentpole experiences.
• Portfolio demonstrating venue-scale thinking across spatial design, stages, programming, content, and audience experience.

Responsibilities

• Own the creative direction of large-scale conferences, festivals and tentpole experiences from initial concept through onsite delivery
• Establish a singular creative vision that organizes an entire venue or event ecosystem
• Think at venue and audience scale, considering how thousands of people arrive and move through the experience
• Balance hero moments with the overall audience journey across destinations and connective spaces
• Lead creative decision-making across complex programs with multiple workstreams and teams
• Partner with Production, Technical and Operations to translate ideas into executable systems while preserving creative integrity

Skills

Creative Leadership

Interdisciplinary Collaboration

Public Speaking

Client Management

Strategic Thinking

Education

Bachelor's or Master’s in Design/Arts/Advertising

Tools

Adobe Creative Cloud

Figma

Blender

Cinema 4D

After Effects

Job description

ACRONYM is a creative firm that builds unreal experiences in the real world. We partner with ambitious brands to turn complex, slightly unhinged ideas into moments people actually feel - through strategic thinking, technical craft, and the kind of creative problem-solving that thrives on complexity. Serious work, unserious energy.

Founded in the mid-2000s, ACRONYM started out in a small studio in East Los Angeles has since expanded to over 80+ employees. Our team works across the majority of North America but has also expanded to Europe, China, and the Middle East.

In 2022, ACRONYM merged with global creative company BUCK, expanding our reach and reinforcing a shared focus on innovative, human-centered design.

Inside the Company

Our work is structured into three core areas:

• Imagine - Concept development, narrative strategy, and multimedia design
• Invent - Creative tech, robotics, custom engineering, and software development
• Implement - Production, AV integration, project management, and fabrication

ACRONYM has delivered large-scale experiences for clients like Google, Netflix, McDonald's, Gatorade, Meta, Ray-Ban, and Heineken.

Mission & Vision

ACRONYM is driven by a singular goal: to push the boundaries of what's possible in storytelling through experience. We aim to create unforgettable, engaging experiences that transport and connect audiences through innovative use of technology.

Culture

ACRONYM is collaborative, multidisciplinary, and innovation-driven. Our designers, engineers, artists, and technologists bring together creativity, hands-on problem-solving, and emerging technology to create emotionally resonant experiences across the digital and physical.

We value open communication, experimentation, and cross-functional collaboration, offering creative freedom, flexibility, high-impact work, and opportunities for continued professional growth.

Job Summary

We are looking for a Creative Director to lead ACRONYM's largest and most complex live experiences from concept through onsite delivery. Reporting to the Group Creative Director, this role calls for a creative leader who thinks at venue scale, understands the full audience journey, and can unite interdisciplinary teams around a singular creative vision.

The right person has led major conferences, festivals, and tentpole brand experiences, thinking holistically across stages, programming, activations, content, technology, hospitality, and the spaces in between. They balance creative ambition with the spatial, technical, and production realities of delivering at scale, maintaining a high bar for craft from the first idea through the final guest experience.

Tasks & Responsibilities

• Own the creative direction of large-scale conferences, festivals and tentpole experiences from initial concept through onsite delivery
• Establish a singular creative vision that can organize an entire venue or event ecosystem, connecting stages, activations, environments, content, technology and guest experience into a cohesive whole
• Think at venue and audience scale, considering how thousands of people arrive, navigate, gather, participate and move through the experience
• Balance hero moments with the overall audience journey, ensuring the creative idea remains present across both major destinations and connective spaces
• Lead creative decision-making across complex programs with multiple workstreams, stakeholders and interdisciplinary teams while maintaining consistency and craft
• Set expectations for craft and creativity by doing the work itself: concept, design and prototype alongside the team when the project demands it
• Partner closely with Production, Technical and Operations leadership to translate ambitious creative ideas into executable venue-scale systems without losing the integrity of the concept

Creative Oversight & Quality

• Provide clear, actionable feedback throughout the creative process, from initial concept development through to final execution
• Ensure all creative output is visually and experientially compelling and strategically aligned with client objectives and brand identity
• Know when and how to call in generalists or specialists across strategy, creative, technology, 2D, spatial and content to achieve creative excellence
• Offer new or experimental ways of working to achieve ambitious creative outcomes

Client Engagement & Relationship Management

• Contribute to winning and building long-standing client relationships, recognized as a trusted creative partner to team leads and clients
• Lead creative presentations, commanding the attention of the audience and managing group dynamics to inspire, engage and influence audiences toward recommendations
• Act as a diplomatic facilitator: understand client needs and expectations, and exhibit grace when reconciling conflicting views or disagreeable feedback
• Build and lead a world-class creative team, attracting top talent and fostering a collaborative, supportive, and innovative environment
• Facilitate ongoing training and professional development opportunities, ensuring the team remains at the cutting edge of industry trends and technologies
• Promote a culture of openness, collaboration, and creative exploration, where every team member feels valued and inspired to contribute their best work
• Coach with empathy, adapting style toward individual learning needs; serve as an instructive role model in career development, skill building and honing individual creative perspectives
• Champion building and nurturing diverse and inclusive teams to broaden and deepen our global cultural perspectives
• Seek out and cultivate a network of collaborators, freelancers and specialist partners for projects and teams
• Adapt leadership style to various clients, contexts and team dynamics
• Work deeply across Creative, Strategy, Production, Technical, Show and Operations teams, understanding that creative and delivery are inseparable at this scale
• Navigate complex venue, schedule, budget, technical and operational constraints while protecting the creative vision and identifying opportunities within them
• Maintain a strong bias to action, energized by solving challenges and making decisive creative calls in fast-moving environments

New Business & Industry Experience

• Lead creative on pitches for major conferences, festivals and tentpole experiences, contributing directly to winning the next generation of large-scale work
• Partner with Growth & Partnerships to identify, shape and pursue opportunities where ACRONYM's large-scale event expertise creates a competitive advantage
• Help grow ACRONYM's large-scale events practice between major delivery cycles, turning successful tentpole work into category expertise, new relationships and future opportunities
• Develop a strong point of view on the future of conferences, festivals and live brand experiences, identifying where audience behavior, technology and culture are creating new possibilities
• Contribute to ACRONYM's industry presence through award entries, talks, juries and published work

Qualities

• Visible champion of creative excellence and flawless delivery, with mastery in one or more disciplines and fluency across strategy, creative, technology, media, and content
• Multidisciplinary leader who can build and rally teams around ambitious ideas
• Exceptional communicator and presenter who inspires trust with clients, executives, and teams
• Action-oriented and energized by solving complex challenges
• Empathic coach who adapts to individual needs and builds an inclusive, entrepreneurial creative culture
• Strong business acumen, balancing creative ambition with budgets, timelines, and practical constraints

Recommended Qualifications

Education & Background

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Design, Fine Arts, Advertising, Architecture, or a related field or equivalent experience
• 5-8+ years in creative roles, including 3+ years leading interdisciplinary teams and complex projects from concept through onsite execution
• Proven experience directing major conferences, festivals, multi-day events, or tentpole brand experiences for audiences in the thousands
• Portfolio demonstrating venue-scale thinking across spatial design, stages, programming, activations, content, and audience experience
• Experience leading multiple workstreams, creative disciplines, production partners, and senior client stakeholders
• Strong understanding of how audience flow, sightlines, programming, production, and technical systems shape creative decisions
• Proven ability to carry a singular creative vision from concept through design, production, and onsite delivery

Technical Skills

• Expert proficiency in Adobe Creative Cloud and Figma
• Strong understanding of large-scale event production, including fabrication, staging, AV, lighting, media systems, creative technology, and live execution
• Strong spatial literacy across venue planning, audience circulation, sightlines, and programming
• Experience with GenAI workflows, including Claude, Fuser, Midjourney, RunwayML, and Stable Diffusion
• Working familiarity with 3D & motion tools such as Blender, Cinema 4D, and After Effects; proficiency not required
• Proficiency with Google Workspace

Location: East Los Angeles, CA or Brooklyn, NY (LA Preferred); work is hybrid