Director of Event & Technical Production

About the role

The University of Texas at Austin is seeking a Director of Event & Technical Production to provide leadership and operational oversight for technical and event production across a broad portfolio of high-visibility university events. The Director will lead and oversee the planning, coordination, and execution of complex event production and technical needs, including audiovisual strategy, technical schedules, staffing models, volunteer support, vendor management, venue coordination, run-of-show development, risk mitigation, and on-site production leadership.

Responsibilities

• Provide direction and production leadership for high-visibility university events, including donor events, strategic engagements, ceremonial programs, reputational events, and other assigned portfolio events.
• Build and maintain strong working relationships with UEE colleagues, development partners, campus stakeholders, university service providers, student organizations, external vendors, and executive-level partners to ensure coordinated and high-quality event delivery.
• Assess event goals, venue conditions, audience needs, institutional priorities, and stakeholder expectations to recommend scalable technical, audiovisual, staging, lighting, sound, recording, livestream, and productions solutions.
• Direct audiovisual services, technical vendors, campus service providers, production crews, staffing plans, volunteer assignments, and event support teams to ensure successful execution.
• Establish and maintain production standards and documentation practices, including technical timelines, run-of-show documents, cue sheets, diagrams, staffing plans, call sheets, equipment lists, service requests, and post-event notes.
• Lead on-site technical execution for complex events, including load-in, setup, rehearsals, sound checks, cueing, vendor coordination, program flow, troubleshooting, guest experience support, strike, and load-out.
• Provide direction, training, and coordination for student interns, volunteers, temporary staff, and production support teams assigned to portfolio events.
• Supervise, coach, and develop 2-3 direct reports, including establishing priorities, assigning work, monitoring performance, providing regular feedback, supporting professional growth, and ensuring accountability for production deliverables.

Requirements

• At least seven years of progressively responsible experience in event production, technical production, audiovisual coordination, event operations, advancement events, or a comparable role supporting complex or high-visibility events.
• Demonstrated leadership experience directing technical production workflows, audiovisual systems, staging, sound, lighting, recording, livestream support, rehearsals, and event-day production needs.
• Experience directing on-site logistics, vendor services, production crews, staffing, volunteers, and on-site execution.
• Management experience supervising, coaching, evaluating, or directing staff, including responsibility for workload planning, performance feedback, team communication, and professional development.
• Strong organizational, interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills, including the ability to advise senior-level campus partners, donors, faculty, and executive stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.
• Preferred: Ten or more years of progressively responsible experience leading technical production or event production for high-profile donor, advancement, strategic engagement, ceremonial, reputational, academic, or executive-facing events.
• Advanced experience with audiovisual production, sound, lighting, staging, livestream, recording, hybrid event support, cueing, rehearsals, show calling, and production strategy.
• Experience working directly with senior university leadership, donors, faculty leaders, advancement partners, campus executives, or other executive-level stakeholders.

Working Conditions

This is an on-site position, based in Austin, Texas, and the schedule will vary based on university and department schedules, and with the types of events scheduled and operational functions. The standard expectation for this position is Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM on-site work, with additional hours (mornings, evenings, weekends) for scheduled events during peak periods and special events.

Benefits

The University provides a competitive benefits package that includes insurance and retirement benefits in addition to other programs and services. Texas Development supports growth by offering professional development opportunities that help every team member accomplish their goals, enrich their skillset and deepen their engagement with UT.

Pay

Salary $90,000+ depending on qualifications