Jack Morton Worldwide

Senior Design Director - Specialized Environments

Jack Morton Worldwide • $120K — $145K *
Business Services
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 10+ years in environmental, experiential design, architecture, or related field.
  • Demonstrated experience leading complex spatial design projects.
  • Strong portfolio showcasing environmental storytelling and brand integration.
  • Proven ability to present to clients and senior stakeholders.
  • Experience mentoring design teams and building creative capacities.

Responsibilities

  • Lead design vision for complex environmental projects from concept to execution.
  • Create compelling design concepts that unify brand, storytelling, and space.
  • Guide design workstreams across multiple projects handling all phases of the design process.
  • Present ideas confidently to clients and translate complex design concepts into accessible narratives.
  • Mentor design teams while fostering a collaborative studio culture.

Benefits

  • Opportunity to lead high-profile environmental projects.
  • Collaborative team environment focused on creativity and growth.
  • Support from a senior leadership team with a hands-on mentorship approach.
  • Exposure to diverse project types across multiple industries.
  • Flexible working arrangements with a preference for NYC-based candidates.
Full Job Description
Experience Without Limits
Come shape the future of brand experience.


At Jack Morton, we design and build head-turning, smile-inducing, impact-driving brand experiences that redefine what experiential marketing can achieve. We help our clients unlock the full value of experiences by turning bold ideas into meaningful connections.

That takes a team that's bold, curious, and acts as one. We build on each other's ideas, challenge conventions, and show up for one another every day. Here, you'll do your best work, grow quickly, and partner across clients, disciplines, and global teams to bring new ideas to life.

This is a place where curiosity drives what's next, boldness raises the bar, and every win is shared. Where ownership is expected, egos are left at the door, and the work reflects the passion and talent of the people behind it.

Experience without limits-in your work, your growth, and your impact.

**NYC strongly preferred / ability to work hybrid in a Jack US office preferred**

The Senior Design Director (Specialized Environments) will play a key leadership role within the Specialized Environments practice, helping lead the creative development, design direction, and execution of high-profile environments across broadcast, branded experiences, workplace, sports, entertainment, cultural, and permanent spatial experiences.

This role requires more than strong design talent. We are looking for a senior creative leader who can guide complex projects, build client confidence, mentor design teams, and help shape the future growth of the Specialized Environments group. The ideal candidate brings a strong point of view, a deep understanding of environmental and spatial design, and the ability to translate brand, content, audience, and business objectives into compelling physical experiences. They should be comfortable moving from early strategy and concept development through design detailing, presentation, and execution.

This person should be able to lead in the room, inspire the team, partner across disciplines, and help elevate the quality, clarity, and ambition of the work.

Key Responsibilities

Creative Leadership
  • Lead the design vision for complex environmental and broadcast design projects from concept through design development.
  • Create and guide strong design concepts that connect brand, storytelling, audience experience, and physical space.
  • Bring a high level of taste, design judgment, and spatial thinking to the work.
  • Push creative ideas beyond expected solutions while staying grounded in client goals, schedule, budget, and execution realities.
  • Help establish and maintain the creative bar for the Specialized Environments practice.

Project Leadership
  • Lead design workstreams across multiple projects, from initial brief through presentation and production handoff.
  • Partner with strategy, creative, account, project management, production, fabrication, technical, and vendor teams.
  • Guide the development of mood boards, concept narratives, plans, sketches, elevations, material direction, renderings, presentations, and design documentation.
  • Ensure design intent is clearly communicated and protected throughout the process.
  • Identify challenges early and help drive solutions with the internal team and external partners.

Client Leadership
  • Present work clearly and confidently to clients and senior stakeholders.
  • Translate complex design thinking into clear, compelling narratives.
  • Build trust with clients through strong communication, creative confidence, and thoughtful problem-solving.
  • Receive and respond to client feedback while maintaining the integrity of the design idea.
  • Support new business opportunities, pitches, and capabilities presentations as needed.

Team Leadership and Mentorship
  • Mentor designers and help grow the creative capabilities of the team.
  • Provide clear, constructive feedback that improves the work and supports individual growth.
  • Help organize design reviews, internal critiques, and creative development sessions.
  • Support a collaborative studio culture built around curiosity, accountability, craft, and shared learning.
  • Serve as a senior creative partner to the Head of Specialized Environments and other design leaders.

Practice Growth
  • Help expand the Specialized Environments offering across broadcast, sports, entertainment, brand experience, workplace, cultural, retail, hospitality, and immersive environments.
  • Bring fresh thinking, industry awareness, and a point of view on where the practice can grow.
  • Contribute to thought leadership, case studies, capabilities decks, and internal initiatives.
  • Help identify new creative opportunities with existing and future clients.

Ideal Experience:
  • 10+ years of experience in environmental design, experiential design, architecture, interior design, scenic design, broadcast design, branded environments, or a related field.
  • Experience leading complex spatial design projects from concept through execution.
  • Strong portfolio demonstrating environmental storytelling, spatial design, materiality, lighting, graphics, and brand integration.
  • Experience presenting to clients and senior stakeholders.
  • Experience mentoring or leading designers.
  • Ability to work across multiple project types and scales.
  • Strong understanding of design process, production realities, fabrication, and buildability.
  • Comfort working in a fast-paced, collaborative agency environment.

Qualifications / Key Skills:
  • Excellent spatial design ability.
  • Strong presentation, storytelling, and client-facing skills.
  • Experience leading both people and projects while guiding creative direction.
  • Strong interest in helping build a growing practice.
  • Strong collaboration across strategy, creative, account, production, and technical teams.
  • Comfort with ambiguity and complex project dynamics.
  • Strong communication, organization, and decision-making skills.
  • Ability to explain the "why" behind the work.
  • Curiosity across different types of environments.
  • Ability to push creative ideas while understanding execution.
  • Strong eye for detail, proportion, materiality, lighting, and finish.
  • Ability to balance creative ambition with practical execution.
  • Nice to haves: Drafting in Vectorworks or AutoCAD. Rendering skills in Cinema 4D or 3D.

What Success Looks Like

The Senior Design Director will help strengthen the Specialized Environments practice by elevating the design work, improving team leadership, and increasing client confidence. Success in this role means:
  • Clients trust this person as a senior creative lead.
  • The team feels supported, challenged, and clear on direction.
  • The work becomes stronger, more thoughtful, and more ownable.
  • Projects move forward with greater clarity and confidence.
  • The practice becomes better positioned for growth across multiple categories.
  • This person helps reduce pressure on senior leadership by owning creative direction, client conversations, and team development at a high level.

The Senior Design Director should help move Specialized Environments forward. The right person should not only be able to design, but also lead, mentor, present, collaborate, and help grow the practice. We need someone who can strengthen the current team, support high-profile client work, and help expand the group into broader categories of environmental design.

About Jack Morton Worldwide

Jack Morton Worldwide is a global brand experience agency. We believe brands need extraordinary ideas that create emotional connections, fuel conversations and deliver business results. For more than 75 years, we have brought brands to life through event marketing, promotional marketing, sponsorship marketing, digital, social and mobile, content marketing and employee engagement. Jack Morton is part of the Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE: IPG), one of the world's largest advertising and marketing services organizations. With more than 800 employees in offices around the world, we deliver exceptional results for our clients in 70 countries.
Learn more about Jack Morton Worldwide
Size
800 employees
Industry
Founded
1939

Similar Jobs

More Jobs at Jack Morton Worldwide

More Business Services Jobs

  • Vice President, Sales & Service
    $150K — $250K + $30K bonus + equity, medical, dental, vision, life, std/ltd *
    Southern Dock Products / DuraServ
    Memphis, TN 38109 (Shelby County)
  • Vice President, Sales & Service
    $150K — $250K + $30K bonus + equity, medical, dental, vision, life, std/ltd, auto allowance, *
    Just Rite Equipment / DuraServ
    South Windsor, CT 06074 (Capitol County)
  • Vice President, Service & Sales
    $200K — $500K++ $30K bonus + equity, medical, dental, vision, life, std/ltd, auto allowance, *
    Casco Dock & Door / DuraServ
    West Sacramento, CA 95691 (Yolo County)
  • Sales Account Representative
    $75K — $100K *
    ULINE
    St. Albert, AB T8N 3T4
  • Sales Account Manager
    $80K — $110K *
    ULINE
    South San Francisco, CA 94080 (San Mateo County)

Find similar Senior Design Director - Specialized Environments jobs: