Director of Artistic Producing

Title: Director of Artistic Producing

Reports to: Managing Director and Artistic Director

Tier: Director

Salary: $80,000- $100,000, depending on experience plus benefits (details below)

Job Type: Hybrid |Full Time Exempt (40 hrs/week)

About Kinetic Light

Kinetic Light (KL) is a disability arts organization that affirms and advances the disability arts movement. Founded by Alice Sheppard in 2016, KL works in the disciplines of art, technology, design, and dance. KL creates, performs, and teaches at the nexus of access, queerness, disability, dance, and race.

KL’s work speaks to and emerges from disability aesthetics and disability culture, and it is connected to the rich traditions and exciting contemporary conversations of disabled artists in all artistic fields. In Kinetic Light’s work disability is not a deficit, it is a powerful, intersectional creative force that is essential to artistry. Access is integral to the art and creative process. KL’s equitably accessible, multi-sensory artmaking results in production-intensive, technologically sophisticated work.

We are grateful to be celebrated both for our performances and our access innovation and advocacy, but we believe that these are not separate—the way we create art is activism. Our creative and administrative practices take us beyond the usual, minimal approaches of inclusion and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and considers disability as an aesthetic, a culture, and an essential element of our artistry. Since 2020, we have also offered an array of in-person and online field-building and education programs. A leader in technology and software development in the performing arts field, our artists, engineers, and staff research, develop, and release new access, VR, audio description, and haptics products and software.

Kinetic Light is led by disabled artists; disabled artists create, design, and perform the work. The organization currently encompasses a mostly remote team of 15, which includes the founding Artistic Director, a small full-time operations team of 4, and a robust team of part-time, temp and seasonal employees, along with multiple contractors/consultants.

Organizational Moment

As an organization, Kinetic Light is growing at the pace of our vision. We recently obtained 501c3 designation, are piloting a series of new technological and research projects, and are developing several new artistic works. This is a transformative moment, and it requires us to rethink how we work day-to-day while also expanding our organizational capacity. Over the next several years, our primary goal is to build a strong and accessible infrastructure that will support long-term sustainability.

We also recognize that this is a complex moment for the performing arts and that the culture of performance must evolve in order for the field to thrive. We imagine the new Director of Artistic Producing as a partner in navigating this evolving landscape and developing systems and policies that we need to rehearse effectively.

Job Summary

Kinetic Light seeks a visionary, collaborative, systems-minded, and equity-driven Director of Artistic Producing (DAP) who can shape and oversee the artistic operations that the company needs to create large-scale and production-intensive works sustainably. This position bridges creative vision and practical implementation across all production functions: technical production, stage operations, touring logistics, marketing and booking, and artistic administration. The DAP will be in the vanguard of access technologies and contribute to productions spanning from aerial dance to full-scale stage sets. The role is ideal for someone who brings strong verbal and written communication, interpersonal, and problem-solving skills, and wants to apply that experience in a values-aligned way.

The DAP reports and partners with the Managing Director and Artistic Director, manages a seasonal production team, and coordinates with artists, access workers, the organizations marketing/pr consultant, and the administrative team.

Key Responsibilities

Department Strategy & Leadership

• Lead and oversee all production and artistic operations, providing supervision and mentorship to production staff and artistic personnel.

• Manage, evaluate, and strengthen production systems, workflows, policies, and schedules to improve efficiency and collaboration between production team, artists, crew members, and administrative personnel.

• Represent the production department in operational meetings, external partner meetings, and board or committee meetings as needed.

• Partner with the Artistic Director and Managing Director to align production goals with organizational priorities and co-develop annual production budgets.

Production Oversight

• Oversee planning and execution of all performances, rehearsals, and special events across multiple venues.

• Organizes and leads production meetings with venues and other external collaborators.

• Collaborate with the Artistic Director and Managing Director to hire, train, and support seasonal production hires and contractors (technical production managers, stage managers, designers, crew, and facility contributors) to support each production or project.

• Create and manage production schedules, contracts, and timelines to meet creative vision, budget goals, and organizational capacity.

• Provide production expertise to support booking negotiations, marketing materials, touring proposals, and technical riders, including accurate staffing, access, equipment, and cost projections.

• Facilitate technical and logistical operations, including stage management, lighting, audio, video, haptics, rigging, costume, scenery and props.

• Manage maintenance, storage, inventory, and rental of production assets and develop systems for their upkeep, transport, and documentation across scenic, props, costumes, lighting, AV equipment, rigging, and other production gear.

• Tour with the organization, facilitating all aspects of each performance including but not limited to: load-in, technical rehearsals, performances, and load out.

• Facilitate production-related purchasing, budgeting, receipts and time-tracking, according to company policy.

• Supervise inspections, maintenance, and repairs of studio facilities (HVAC, plumbing, security and fire systems, telephone, equipment, and cleaning services) while maintaining accessible pathways and organized, accessible storage.

Artistic Operations & Community Engagement

• Coordinate with the Managing Director on dancer employment, artist contracts, payroll, health and safety, and visa management.

• Collaborate with the Artistic Director, Managing Director, and booking agent to plan, evaluate, and schedule the sale and presentation of Kinetic Light’s artistic works.

• Expand relationships with rental houses, designers, crew, community partners, presenters, and cultural institutions.

• Strengthen relationships with community partners, presenters, and cultural institutions.

• Represent Kinetic Light at conferences, festivals, and performances as requested

Health and Safety

• Make safety the first priority in all activities.

• Maintain a safe working environment by conforming to all established safety policies and procedures.

• Follow government, city, venue, and Kinetic Light’s COVID-19 safety protocols.

• Comply with all technical and house specific requirements of the venue.

• Be up to date with emergency and other relevant OSHA certifications and participate in all required health and safety classes and emergency rescue procedure training.

• Adhere to and promote all Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations as they pertain to the safe operations of all elements related to the show.

Requirements:

• Proven success leading a production team with strong communication skills, urgency, and kindness.

• Proven success managing multi-venue productions, tours, budgets, and technical teams.

• Demonstrated positive attitude and self-directedness with a strong work ethic.

• Demonstrated attention to detail.

• Working knowledge of union agreements and all technical aspects of theatre production.

• Skills to work with digital technology tools including Google Apps, Slack, Microsoft Office Suite, VectorWorks, Watchout, Isador, and QLab.

• Skills to read and interpret drawings, blueprints and schematics.

• Sills to sit and stand for long hours and engage in moderate pushing, pulling, lifting, up to 50 lbs.

• Skills to climb stairs and ladders and work effectively at elevations up to 20 feet.

• Must be able to work evenings and weekends as needed.

• Must be able to travel internationally.

• A valid, clean Driver’s License, with appropriate insurance.

• A valid Passport

• COVID Vaccination

• Reside within the same-day commuting distance to NYC in either New York or New Jersey.

Preferred Qualifications

• Five (5) years of progressive leadership experience in production and artistic operations, with a preference for those working in dance organizations or a touring dance company.
• Deep commitment to disability justice, access and equity as core organizational values.
• Specialization in one or two production disciplines, while maintaining a thorough working knowledge of audio, video, staging, lighting, rigging, fabrication, electrical power distribution, scenic and prop elements. Experience with aerial performance and rigging is desirable.
• Familiarity with and leadership in roles in critical field issues and conversations

Additional Information

The scope of this position may evolve over time to best support Kinetic Light’s ongoing artistic and organizational priorities.

Compensation & Work Environment

• Hiring entity: Kinetic Light
• Employment Classification & Timeline: At-will, Full-time (40 hours/week FTE)
• Compensation & Benefits Package:
  • Salary of $80,000–$100,000 annually, commensurate with experience
  • Annual Paid Time Off (PTO) includes:
    • All federal Holidays, including two floating holidays
    • 10 vacation days
    • 15 sick leave days per year
    • 5 bereavement days per year
    • Paid leave for Jury Duty
    • Voting time
    • Comp time
    • KL Offices are closed the last two weeks of the year for rest and recuperation
  • Monthly Internet and phone reimbursements
  • QSEHRA Health Insurance Reimbursement of ~$537.50 per month (adjusted annually)
  • 401k retirement plan available for employee opt-in

Location: KL is a NYC-based organization with a hybrid/remote working structure. Occasional travel is required and occasional in-person office and/or production hours are required. Candidates must reside within same-day commuting distance of NYC in one of the following states: New Jersey or New York.

Work Environment:

• Flexible work environment and collaborative team culture.
• KL uses digital technology tools to advance its work, like Google Apps, Slack, Microsoft Office Suite, Zoom, Little Green Light, DocHub, Mailchimp, etc.

Hiring Process

KL’s hiring process includes five (5) steps and takes between 9-12 weeks to complete, as outlined below. KL aims to onboard a new Director of Artistic Production by April 2026. Outlined dates represent an estimate and are subject to change.

1. Open application period until position is filled: Candidates should submit a cover letter, resume, a list of shows/productions, and reference list via this form. The position will remain open until filled, but priority will be given to submissions received by February 8, 2026 at 11:59pm ET. Resumes sent via email will not be considered.
2. Tier 1 Interviews [through February 27, 2025]: Candidate interviews will be conducted on video via zoom. Candidates are asked to submit accessibility requests directly in their application submission so we can ensure your interview experience meets your needs. During the Tier I interview, candidates will meet with an HR representative and a Production Consultant for approximately 1 hour. Thereafter, if a candidate proceeds, Tier II interviews commence.
3. Tier II Interviews [through March 17, 2026]: During the Tier II interview, candidates will have a 30-minute conversation with the leadership team followed by a one hour interview with the entire KL staff.
4. Deliberations [through March 31, 2026]: Once all Tier II interviews have been completed, the KL staff deliberates. During the deliberations KL will ask candidates’ permission to contact their references. After all references have been contacted and deliberations have adjourned, KL will reach out to the selected candidate with a job offer.
5. Onboarding [April 6, 2026]: Once a job offer is agreed upon, the open position is officially closed and onboarding begins.

To Apply

To apply, please submit materials via this submission form by Sunday, February 8 at 11:59pm EST. Applications sent via email will not be considered. Candidates can submit questions by emailing hiring@kineticlight.org. Please note, this email is for questions related to the job posting only.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Kinetic Light provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

Disabled, BIPOC, SWANA, and LGBTQIA+ applicants are especially encouraged to apply.

• Annual Paid Time Off (PTO) includes:
  • All federal Holidays, including two floating holidays
  • 10 vacation days
  • 15 sick leave days per year
  • 5 bereavement days per year
  • Paid leave for Jury Duty
  • Voting time
  • Comp time
  • KL Offices are closed the last two weeks of the year for rest and recuperation
• Monthly Internet and phone reimbursements
• QSEHRA Health Insurance Reimbursement of ~$537.50 per month (adjusted annually)
• 401k retirement plan available for employee opt-in