Senior Designer, Events

True Anomaly, Inc.; Long Beach (CA); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Health benefits

Dental & Vision

HRA/HSA options

PTO & holidays

401K

Parental leave

Job summary

True Anomaly, Inc. seeks a Senior Designer, Experiential to own creative development for our events and experiences.

You will shape concepts, narrative journey, and environmental expression, translating strategy into physical spaces and moments. Collaborate with Strategy and Business Development to define how the company shows up at events, while guiding internal and external teams through install and launch.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and 8-11 years of experience developing creative concepts and directing brand events or live experiences.
• Portfolio demonstrating experiential concepting and narrative thinking.
• Ability to translate business, audience, and brand strategy into distinctive physical experiences.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary creative teams and directing agencies, designers, fabricators, and production specialists.

Responsibilities

• Partner with Marketing and Creative Strategy to understand event objectives and advise on format and investment.
• Collaborate with Business Development, Recruiting, and Creative Strategy on feasibility and approach before concept work begins.
• Develop creative concepts for events and translate strategy into spatial and experiential form from idea to direction.
• Define narrative, user journey, moments, visual language, and emotional arc for each experience.
• Lead design development across graphics, motion, content, and environmental details.
• Direct internal teams and external partners to deliver on time, within budget, and aligned with design intent.

Skills

Creative concepting

Creative direction

Event strategy

Team leadership

Stakeholder management

On-site execution

Budget awareness

Travel flexibility

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree

Tools

Branded environments

Job description

Space is a warfighting domain. True Anomaly seeks those with the talent and ambition to build the technology that secures it.

OUR MISSION

True Anomaly delivers decisive capabilities for space superiority. We build autonomous spacecraft, advanced payloads, mission software, and space-based interceptors - enabling the U.S. and its Allies to secure the space environment and counter threats from the ultimate high ground.

OUR VALUES

• Be the offset.We create asymmetric advantages with creativity and ingenuity.
• What would it take?We challenge assumptions to deliver ambitious results.
• It’s the people.Our team is our competitive advantage and we are better together.

YOUR MISSION

The Senior Designer, Experiential owns the creative development and direction of True Anomaly’s events experiences. You develop experiential concepts and creative direction that make complex technology tangible and create a clear, memorable experience of the company. Working from creative and business strategy, you define how True Anomaly shows up physically at events; the spatial form, narrative journey, and environmental expression. For assigned work, you define the concept, narrative, user journey, visual language and environmental expression, then maintain that creative direction through install and event launch. Our Principal, Experiential & Environmental Design owns the broader vision and standards for True Anomaly’s physical expression. You work closely with them and apply and extend that overarching direction within events, partnering with Creative Strategy and Business Development on where and why the company should show up, and with production teams that own the operational planning and delivery.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Event Strategy and Creative Partnership

• Partner with Marketing and Creative Strategy to understand the strategic intent behind events: why it matters, who it must reach, and what the audience should believe or feel. Advise on how experiential format and investment level can best serve those objectives.
• Collaborate with Business Development, Recruiting, and Creative Strategy to pressure-test event opportunities and advise on feasibility, format, and creative approach before concept work begins.

Event Concepting & Creative Development

• Develop creative concepts for events and experiential programs, translating strategic intent into spatial and experiential form, from initial idea through final creative direction.
• Define the narrative, user journey, key moments, visual language, spatial expression, and emotional arc of each experience.
• Develop and present concepts, references, sketches, experience frameworks, and recommendations to internal partners and senior leadership.
• Lead creative development across graphic and spatial design, content, motion, interactive elements, demonstrations, branded objects, and environmental details as appropriate.
• Ensure each concept is distinctive to True Anomaly, appropriate to its audience, and grounded in the company's brand strategy and mission.

Design Development, Spaces, and Systems

• Direct internal teams, agencies, fabricators, and production partners through design development; create and review layouts, renderings, drawings, prototypes, materials, graphics, content, and environmental elements.
• Partner with the Events & Styling Lead on furniture, finishes, materials, rentals, styling, and final environmental details.
• Develop repeatable kits of parts, modular experience systems, and event-specific standards that allow the company to move quickly without making every experience feel identical.
• Shape demo rooms and partner with Facilities on spaces that must support hosted events, media moments, recordings, demonstrations, talent programs, and other marketing objectives.
• Review work with leadership at key milestones and maintain the creative through-line from concept through fabrication, installation, and live experience.

Production Partnership

• Build and maintain a trusted network of agencies, designers, fabricators, craftspeople, rental partners, and special vendors that balance creative ambition, executional quality and responsible investment for each project.
• Partner with the Event Producer(s) and/or external production lead from the earliest concept stage so ideas can be delivered on time, within budget, and in keeping with the design intent.
• Design within established budget and schedule parameters. Advise on budget implications of creative decisions, flag scope-versus-budget mismatches early, and recommend creative tradeoffs when budget or schedule constraints require adjustment.
• Provide timely creative decisions, drawing and prototype reviews, approvals, references, content, and specifications needed for production to advance.
• Participate in site visits, production reviews, and key vendor conversations; be on site for priority installations and events to direct creative quality and resolve design questions.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree and 8-11 years of experience developing creative concepts and directing brandevents, experiential activations, conferences, demonstrations, executive gatherings, or other live experiences; or Master's degree and 6 years of relevant experience.
• Portfolio demonstrating strong experiential concepting, creative direction, narrative thinking, and final executed work.
• Demonstrated ability to translate business, audience, and brand strategy into distinctive physical experiences.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary creative teams and directing agencies, designers, fabricators, content partners, and production specialists.
• Strong understanding of spatial experience, user journey, graphics, materials, objects, content,technology, and live moments.
• Comfort working hands-on across concepting, design development, vendor creative direction, and on-site execution. This is a player-coach role: you'll both direct external partners and execute design work yourself as the project demands.
• Deep knowledge of event production, fabrication, AV, logistics, installation, and venueconstraints sufficient to make responsible creative decisions.
• Ability to develop creative work within defined budgets and schedules and to make sound tradeoffswithout losing the central idea.
• Excellent presentation, communication, collaboration, and stakeholder-management skills, with calm judgment when conditions change.
• Willingness to travel and work outside conventional hours when required by an installation or live
• Experience in technology, aerospace, defense, automotive, industrial design, or another technically complex category is helpful but not required.
• Genuine interest in aerospace, defense, or national security is a meaningful signal. Domain expertise is not required; intellectual seriousness about the mission is.

COMPENSATION

• Equity + Benefits including Health, Dental, Vision, HRA/HSA options, PTO and paid holidays, 401K, Parental Leave

Your actual level and base salary will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: job-related knowledge and skills, education, location, and experience.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

• Work Location - Successful candidates will be located near Long Beach, CA. While we observe a hybrid work environment, some work must be done on site.

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

True Anomaly is committed to equal employment opportunity on any basis protected by applicable state and federal laws. If you have a disability or additional need that requires accommodation, please do not hesitate to let us.

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey.Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiringprocess or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in aconfidential file.

As set forth in True Anomaly’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection.As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measurethe effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categoriesis as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.