Director, Design Production in London

As the Director, Design Production, you will play a pivotal role in shaping, managing and enforcing the design process within our dynamic organization and upholding our highest design standards. Design expertise will be crucial in working directly with the RWS Global leadership and design team members, determining the best practices for driving efficient design on all project efforts.

Reporting directly to VP, Environments, the Director, Design Production will lead and mentor a talented design team, collaborating closely with executive team members to ensure the successful design of our projects. Responsibilities will span from setting design standards to ensuring the creative intent is maintained by project teams throughout the design development lifecycle. This role will provide oversight of processes and level of detail within our design packages to ensure the successful realization of all RWS Global projects, from initiation ideation and into implementation.

• Design Production: Foster a culture of design production excellence. Collaborate with all project team members, and when needed, assistance from executive leadership. Review, consult, guide and drive project design processes post concept approval to ensure successful delivery of project design parameters. Lead creation of drawing packages and BIM coordination in SD and DD phases. Ensure creative intent is maintained in SD and DD phases. Assist project management in creating SD and DD design schedule standards. Assist with project role assignments. Attend executive reviews to ensure contract deliverables are met. Support Project Process by aligning with Creative, Design and Production teams on all aspects of design delivery. Participate and advise during project design production review meetings reporting to executive leadership on project statuses, risks, timelines, barriers and successes. Establish goals, action plans and tracking for the design department in collaboration with the VP, Environments and executive team. Review all design packages for consistency, RWS Global branding alignment, completeness, alignment to formatting, constructability, code compliance etc. Determine project readiness for the transition to design production, including 3D modeling ensuring alignment with project timelines and objectives. Serve as an active member on the RWS Global team. Collaborate with the Executive Creative Team to ensure cohesive design processes and resource-sharing. Support executive team with reviewing project treatments as part of the design review, flagging areas of concern or incompleteness for the project team to resolve. Review, refine and develop the appropriate Design Standards for: Software selection for various design tasks, Roles/Responsibilities of various design production team members, 3D design processes; including BIM Templates and title blocks for all drawing sheets, Drawing standards for all design files and levels of design development across various project types, Alignment with scope of work for all design production deliverables, Quality assurance methods, timelines for reviewing drawing packages and soliciting feedback, Tracking of design deliverables, Integration of technical services into our design packages (lighting, AVC, SFX and others).
• Leadership: Assist the leadership team in staff evaluations, opportunities for growth and employee development. Collaborate with other internal department members on proposals as needed. Support the Design and project teams with design production resource allocation; freelance/contract as well as full-time positions, assessing skills, experience, and right-fit staffing for respective project teams. Develop partnerships with key clients, industry experts, consultants and boutique agencies to support our project efforts and grow our availability of resources. Stay current on the latest market trends, emerging technologies, and competitive design strategies and presenting them. Support RWS Global brand management to standards and guidelines across the Design portfolio.

• Bachelor’s degree in Architecture, Design, Engineering, Themed Entertainment, or related field (Master’s preferred).
• 8-10+ years of experience in design leadership, design production, or technical design delivery within themed entertainment, LBE’s or large-scale experiential environments.
• Advanced experience with 3D design workflows, including BIM based environments.
• Proficiency in Revit, AutoCAD, and Rhino.
• Demonstrated ability to establish and maintain design standards and lead the development process for SD and DD drawing packages, QA/QC processes, and documentation protocols.
• Experience integrating technical disciplines (lighting, AV, SFX, show systems) into cohesive design packages.
• Knowledgeable in processes related to FAT or SAT.
• Strong leadership presence with experience partnering with executive leadership, creative teams, and production stakeholders.
• Excellent communication, organizational, and decision-making skills in fast paced environments.
• Experience supporting business development, client presentations, and proposal reviews.
• Strong understanding of brand alignment, creative intent preservation, and constructability considerations.
• Commitment to safety, quality, and professional standards.

• Competitive Salary
• Company Pension
• 25 days paid holiday excluding Bank Holidays
• Paid parental leave
• Computer (Mac/Windows)
• Company Phone Program
• Flexible working (office/remote)
• Employee Assistance and Wellbeing Programme
• Childcare Support Policy
• Employer Sponsored Vision Programme

While this is intended to be an accurate description of the job, this is not necessarily a comprehensive list of all responsibilities, duties, skills, efforts, requirements or working conditions associated with the position, and may require that other or different tasks be performed as necessary and assigned.

Diverse is who we are. Way more than a box to check, diversity is core to RWS Global culture. We value it, promote it, protect it and hire it. All differences are welcome here. We know for a fact that each employee’s individual background, life experiences, knowledge, self-expression, and capabilities are a contribution to our culture, as well as our reputation and achievements. So, bring all of who you are, no questions asked.