Senior Experiential & Spatial Designer (Freelance)

Socket.dev; New York (NY); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Food Truck Promotions creates mobile brand experiences that bring brands into the real world through custom vehicles, pop-ups, and interactive activations.

We're looking for an imaginative experiential and spatial designer to turn brand briefs and footprints into experiences people want to walk into, interact with, photograph, and remember. You will shape everything from activation environments to custom details.

Qualifications

• Strong portfolio of experiential, spatial, exhibit, scenic, retail, or hospitality design, including built work.
• Experience owning projects from concept through fabrication collaboration.
• Excellent understanding of scale, materials, finishes, lighting, and environmental storytelling.
• Proficiency in a professional 3D design workflow (SketchUp, Rhino, Cinema 4D, Blender) and related drawing tools.

Responsibilities

• Develop original concepts for mobile tours, brand activations, pop-ups, sampling experiences, and retail environments.
• Translate brand identities and campaign objectives into physical spaces using form, materials, color, lighting, graphics and interaction.
• Design complete activation footprints including vehicle placement, guest entry, queues, zones, displays, photo moments, staff workspaces and storage.
• Create custom fabrication elements such as bars, counters, shelving, displays, and interactive components.
• Design vehicle interiors and exteriors with signage, rooftop features and serving windows.
• Develop mood boards, sketches, layouts, 3D models and renderings to communicate ideas to clients.
• Prepare dimensioned drawings and material references for production partners.
• Collaborate with producers, graphic designers, fabricators and installers around budgets and site constraints.
• Review fabrication drawings and progress photos to preserve design through execution.
• Develop reusable modular elements adaptable across brands and tour stops.

Skills

Portfolio of experiential design

Project ownership

Communication skills

Tools

SketchUp

Rhino

Cinema 4D

Blender

Job description

Who We Are

Food Truck Promotions creates mobile brand experiences that bring brands into the real world through custom vehicles, pop-ups, and interactive activations.

We're looking for an imaginative experiential and spatial designer to help us push our creative work further. Someone who can take a brand, a brief, and a footprint and turn them into an experience people want to walk into, interact with, photograph, and remember.

Your work will shape everything from the overall activation environment to the smallest custom detail: a sculptural product display, a playful customization station, an unexpected serving window, or a dimensional sign that makes someone stop across the street.

What You'll Do

• Develop original concepts for mobile tours, brand activations, pop-ups, sampling experiences, and retail environments.
• Translate brand identities and campaign objectives into physical spaces through form, materials, color, lighting, graphics, and interaction.
• Design complete activation footprints, including vehicle placement, guest entry, queues, activity zones, product displays, photo moments, staff workspaces, and storage.
• Design custom fabrication elements such as bars, counters, shelving, display fixtures, seating, oversized props, interactive games, and personalization stations.
• Design vehicle interiors and exteriors, including dimensional signage, rooftop features, serving windows, integrated displays, and surrounding scenic elements.
• Develop mood boards, sketches, spatial layouts, 3D models, and compelling renderings that clearly communicate your ideas to clients.
• Prepare dimensioned design drawings, material and finish references, and annotated details so production partners can estimate and develop the build.
• Collaborate with producers, graphic designers, fabricators, and installers to refine concepts around budgets, timelines, transportation, and site conditions.
• - Review fabrication drawings, samples, and progress photos to help preserve the design through execution.
• - Develop reusable and modular elements that can adapt across brands, vehicles, and tour stops.

Your Design Approach

• You know when a brand calls for something whimsical and theatrical, and when it needs restraint and precision. You can make a compact footprint feel intentional, immersive, and visually distinctive.
• You think about how an experience works as carefully as how it looks: where guests stand, what catches their attention, how they interact, how staff replenish products, and how the installation packs up for its next stop.
• You bring fresh ideas and can explain the creative reasoning behind them. You're also comfortable simplifying a design when needed while protecting the element that makes it special.

What You Bring

• A strong portfolio of experiential, spatial, exhibit, scenic, retail, or hospitality design, including examples that were physically built.
• Experience owning projects from initial concept through design development and fabrication collaboration.
• Excellent understanding of scale, proportion, materials, finishes, lighting, and environmental storytelling.
• Proficiency in a professional 3D design workflow, such as SketchUp, Rhino, Cinema 4D, Blender, or equivalent, plus presentation and drawing tools.
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• Ability to create both persuasive client visuals and clear design documentation.
• Practical understanding of fabrication methods, modular construction, durability, assembly, and transport.
• Awareness of accessibility, guest circulation, outdoor conditions, and site constraints, with the judgment to involve production and engineering specialists when needed.
• Clear communication, reliable delivery, and comfort working through feedback with a fast-moving team.
• Experience with mobile activations, vehicle conversions, beauty and fashion pop-ups, customization experiences, or interactive installations is especially relevant.
• AI visualization tools are welcome as part of your process. You should also be able to translate your concepts into dimensionally coherent designs and editable project files.

Typical Project Deliverables

Depending on the scope, your work may include:

• Concept directions with a clear creative rationale.
• Mood boards and material palettes.
• Scaled activation layouts and guest flow plans.
• 3D models and renderings of key views and interactions.
• Dimensioned plans, elevations, and custom element details.
• Material, finish, lighting, and signage specifications.
• Organized source files and a coordinated handoff to production. Final engineering and fabrication shop drawings will be coordinated with the appropriate production partners.

What Success Looks Like

Your designs help clients see possibilities they hadn't considered. They feel specific to the brand, function smoothly for guests and staff, and retain their visual impact when built within the agreed budget and timeline.