Head of Lighting

Crossroads Church (Cincinnati, OH); Cincinnati (OH); On-site; USD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Crossroads Church in Cincinnati seeks a Head of Lighting to lead lighting across campuses, from vision through execution. You will set standards, mentor staff and volunteers, and drive innovation in lighting design and technology to enhance worship experiences.

The role requires 7+ years in lighting for large-scale environments, with strong leadership, budget management, and cross-campus coordination. A college degree is preferred, and multi-site experience is a plus.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of progressive lighting experience in live events, worship, broadcast, touring, or large-scale environments.
• Proven experience leading lighting designers, programmers, and volunteers.
• Experience developing operational standards, workflows, and best practices.
• Strong ability to recruit, coach, and develop talent.
• Experience leading cross-functional teams and multiple productions in fast-paced settings.
• Excellent organizational and communication skills; servant leadership ethos.
• Deep understanding of storytelling through lighting and environment design.
• Working knowledge of professional lighting systems and technologies including grandMA3, ETC Eos, networking, LED systems, show control, and power distribution.
• Experience in multi-site worship production, events, or immersive environments.
• Budgeting, vendor management, and equipment lifecycle planning experience.
• Creative judgment, curiosity, and commitment to innovation and professional development.

Responsibilities

• Establish and champion Crossroads’ lighting philosophy, visual standards, and creative direction across campuses.
• Lead development, coaching, performance management, and succession planning of lighting staff and volunteers.
• Recruit, mentor, and develop future lighting leaders through structured pathways.
• Define standards and best practices for environmental lighting, cueing, transitions, timing, and storytelling.
• Develop and maintain MA Lighting show files, programming templates, and resources.
• Create scalable lighting resources, training programs, certifications, and documentation for campus teams.
• Partner with Site Experience Producers to strengthen campus leadership and weekend readiness.
• Establish and maintain lighting execution, production quality, and operational standards across campuses.
• Conduct site assessments, quality reviews, and performance evaluations to improve consistency and efficiency.
• Develop troubleshooting tools and operational procedures with measurable performance benchmarks.
• Lead implementation of visualization, previz, virtual production, and other lighting technologies.
• Manage lighting budgets, capital planning, technology investments, and equipment lifecycle strategies.

Skills

Lighting leadership

Team management

Budgeting

Communication

GrandMA3

ETC Eos

Show control

Lighting design

Cross-campus coordination

Innovation

Education

High School Diploma

College Degree preferred

Tools

MA Lighting

grandMA3

ETC Eos

Lighting visualization tools

Job description

About Crossroads

Crossroads Church is a growing multi-site, interdenominational church. Our sites are currently located in Ohio and Kentucky, with plans to expand to additional cities. We also have an online presence that serves thousands of people who aren’t located near one of our physical sites.

About Crossroads

Crossroads Church is a growing multi-site, interdenominational church. Our sites are currently located in Ohio and Kentucky, with plans to expand to additional cities. We also have an online presence that serves thousands of people who aren’t located near one of our physical sites.

We believe the story of Jesus' redemption is the greatest story ever told, and that's why we embrace creativity, adventure, authenticity, and tenacity to share this story with the world. Our desire is to model our staff and church community after the church in Revelation, where people of all nations, tribes, and tongues are worshiping and working together. We’re not there yet, but it’s what we’re working toward with every hire and every person who walks through our doors.

Job Summary

The Head of Lighting serves as the department leader for all lighting systems, departmental personnel, programming, environmental design, and lighting standards across Crossroads Church. This role establishes the creative vision, technical standards, operational systems, discipline development pathways, and long-term strategy for lighting across every Crossroads campus, ministry, broadcast, immersive environment, special event, and future production initiative. The Head of Lighting functions as both the creative leader and subject matter expert for the lighting discipline, ensuring every lighting environment enhances worship, storytelling, teaching, and engagement while maintaining exceptional technical execution and consistency across the organization. Rather than functioning solely as a programmer or lighting designer, this role provides leadership for the lighting discipline by developing people, establishing standards, evaluating competency, and driving innovation throughout the organization. By aligning expertise with authority and accountability, the Director of Lighting ensures every Crossroads campus benefits from world-class lighting leadership, consistent standards, exceptional creative execution, and a unified visual experience that advances the mission of the church. Provides lighting leadership and discipline support for every Crossroads campus including Columbus, Dayton, Oakley, Mason, Florence, East Side, Lexington, Anywhere, Uptown, West Side, and any future campuses.

Principal Duties & Responsibilities

• Establish and champion Crossroads’ lighting philosophy, visual standards, and creative direction across all campuses.
• Lead the development, coaching, performance management, and succession planning of lighting staff and volunteers.
• Recruit, mentor, and develop future lighting leaders through structured leadership and advancement pathways.
• Define standards and best practices for environmental lighting, cueing, transitions, timing, and visual storytelling.
• Develop and maintain MA Lighting show files, programming templates, effects libraries, workflows, and creative resources.
• Create scalable lighting resources, training programs, certifications, and operational documentation for campus teams.
• Partner with Site Experience Producers to strengthen campus leadership, volunteer development, and weekend readiness.
• Establish and maintain lighting execution, production quality, and operational standards across all campuses.
• Conduct site assessments, quality reviews, and performance evaluations to improve consistency, efficiency, and creative excellence.
• Develop troubleshooting tools, operational procedures, and measurable performance benchmarks.
• Lead the implementation of visualization, previz, virtual production, and other emerging lighting technologies and workflows.
• Manage lighting budgets, capital planning, technology investments, and equipment lifecycle strategies in partnership with Technical leadership.
• Balance innovation with responsible stewardship while ensuring lighting enhances worship, communication, and the overall guest experience.

Education Requirements

• High School Diploma and equivalent work experience.
• College Degree preferred.

Experience/Skills Requirements

• 7+ years of progressive lighting experience in live events, worship, broadcast, touring, theatrical, or large-scale entertainment environments.
• Proven experience leading lighting designers, programmers, operators, and volunteer teams.
• Demonstrated success developing operational standards, workflows, documentation, and best practices.
• Strong ability to recruit, coach, mentor, and develop technical and creative talent.
• Experienced in leading cross-functional teams and managing multiple productions and priorities in fast-paced environments.
• Strong organizational, communication, decision-making, and servant leadership skills with a commitment to excellence and innovation.
• Deep understanding of creative storytelling through lighting, environmental design, and audience engagement.
• Working knowledge of professional lighting systems and technologies, including grandMA3, ETC Eos, visualization platforms, networking protocols, LED systems, show control, and power distribution.
• Experience with lighting design, programming, previsualization, rendering, documentation, rigging fundamentals, and equipment maintenance.
• Experience in large-scale production environments such as multi-site organizations, worship production, touring, concerts, broadcast, corporate events, XR/virtual production, or immersive media.
• Demonstrated experience with budgeting, capital planning, vendor management, equipment lifecycle planning, and financial stewardship.
• Exceptional creative judgment, technical curiosity, coaching ability, and a passion for innovation, continuous improvement, and professional development.
• Collaborative leader who builds healthy teams, fosters organizational culture, maintains industry relationships, and stays informed on emerging technologies and industry best practices.

Schedule/Travel Requirements

• The typical schedule is Monday through Friday, with occasional weekend hours required to support events and production needs.
• Must be able to work a flexible schedule including weekdays, weekends and other high impact events at Crossroads.
• Work on the weekends at designated “All Hand on Deck” events for Crossroads (Superbowl, Easter, Christmas, etc).
• Reliable personal transportation; able to travel up to 100 miles to various Crossroads locations.
• This role may have to travel between multiple Crossroads locations in one day.

Crossroads Staff Qualities

Qualities All Staff Teammates Should Exhibit

• Mission Oriented: Committed to the Crossroads mission and expectations in the staff “I Promise” document, including using the Bible as the ultimate standard of truth, practicing spiritual disciplines, tithing, and pursuing personal purity.
• Availability: Expected to work outside of “normal” schedule for All Hands on Deck high-impact events (Holy Week/Easter, Super Bowl, Christmas, others as needed), participate in all-staff meetings, day of solitude, offsites, etc.
• Authenticity: Communicates clearly, directly, and honestly, even under stress, and does so with a sustained positive attitude and demeanor.
• Personal Leadership: Envisions, energizes, and enables others to operate at full potential.
• Collaborative Self-starter: Thrives as an individual contributor and works well on a team.
• Proactive Problem Solver: Takes initiative to understand departmental objectives, adapts to changing and fluid environments, and proactively solves problems.
• Humility: Puts others above self and takes ownership of mistakes.
• Learner: Desires growth and learning from others.
• Flexibility: Able to quickly shift between projects as organizational direction and needs change, able to successfully balance competing priorities.

Crossroads Church is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.