Lead Art Director, Events & Experiential Design

Salesforce; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 117,000 - 178,000; Full time

Job summary

Salesforce is seeking a Lead, Art Direction to elevate our events portfolio with strong craft and hands-on execution. This on-site role guides junior designers and translates brand identity into physical spaces, activations and experiences.

Travel is required for major events; you will oversee on-site design, maintain on-brand execution, and partner with cross-functional teams to deliver immersive, measurable brand experiences that impress audiences.

Qualifications

• 5-8 years of design/art direction experience in events and brand design.
• Experience designing event footprints and user journeys for large-scale activations.
• Exposure to interactive or experiential design — activations, installations, digital/tech-driven experiences.
• Comfort providing creative direction to junior designers, even without formal management experience.
• Deep fluency in environmental and spatial design — stage design, signage, wayfinding, large-format production.
• Strong brand design background, with an eye for how identity systems translate into physical space.
• A track record of translating strategy into experience — turning briefs into tangible, on-brand spaces.
• Meticulous attention to detail and a track record of maintaining quality under tight deadlines.
• Comfortable presenting and pitching creative direction to stakeholders.
• Willingness and ability to travel extensively to oversee on-site event design and setup.
• Expert proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite and Figma; familiarity with 3D/rendering tools or interactive prototyping tools is a plus.
• B2B and/or tech experience is a strong plus.

Responsibilities

• Own art direction for assigned events, ensuring every touchpoint — environmental graphics, signage, stage design, activations — reflects a cohesive, on-brand story
• Design event footprints and map user journeys, choreographing how attendees move through and experience a space from arrival to departure
• Concept and design interactive and experiential elements — activations, installations, digital or tech-enabled moments — that add engagement layers on top of the physical environment
• Translate strategy into experience — turning a marketing or brand strategy into a tangible, well-paced physical narrative
• Provide creative direction and informal mentorship to junior designers on assigned projects
• Partner with brand design, copy, producers, and strategists to translate concepts into production-ready creative
• Maintain strict quality control across all design deliverables, catching inconsistencies and detail issues before they reach production
• Travel to events to oversee on-site design execution and setup, making real-time creative and production calls
• Present creative direction and rationale to stakeholders, building alignment across cross-functional partners
• Manage your own workload across multiple concurrent event programs, balancing creative ambition against production timelines and budgets

Skills

Art direction

Event design

Brand design

Adobe Creative Suite

Figma

3D rendering

Stakeholder presentation

Travel readiness

Tools

Cinema 4D

Blender

Job description

Salesforce is seeking a Lead, Art Direction to elevate our events portfolio with strong craft and hands-on execution. This on-site role guides junior designers and translates brand identity into physical spaces, activations and experiences.

Travel is required for major events; you will oversee on-site design, maintain on-brand execution, and partner with cross-functional teams to deliver immersive, measurable brand experiences that impress audiences.