Senior Experiential & Spatial Designer (Freelance)

Food Truck Promotions•New York, NY

About The Position

Food Truck Promotions is seeking an imaginative experiential and spatial designer to create mobile brand experiences, custom vehicles, pop-ups, and interactive activations. The role combines technical design and creative vision, translating brands, briefs, and physical footprints into immersive, memorable environments and custom details. The designer will develop concepts and spatial layouts, design activation environments and fabrication elements, create visual presentations and dimensioned documentation, and collaborate with production partners to carry designs through execution. Work should balance visual impact with guest and staff needs, practical fabrication, modularity, transportation, site conditions, budget, and timeline. This is a full-time contract opportunity with the potential to convert to full-time employment.

Requirements

A strong portfolio in experiential, spatial, exhibit, scenic, retail, or hospitality design, including examples of physically built work.
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, along with presentation and drawing tools.
Ability to create 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, and judgment to involve production and engineering specialists when needed.
Clear communication, reliable delivery, and comfort working through feedback with a fast-moving team.
Ability to translate concepts into dimensionally coherent designs and editable project files.

Nice To Haves

Experience with mobile activations, vehicle conversions, beauty and fashion pop-ups, customization experiences, or interactive installations.
Use of AI visualization tools as part of the design process.

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 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 renderings, and client-facing presentations.
Prepare dimensioned design drawings, material and finish references, and annotated details for production partners to estimate and develop builds.
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.
Create concept directions, material palettes, scaled layouts and guest-flow plans, 3D models and renderings, dimensioned plans and details, specifications, and organized source files for production handoff.
Explain creative reasoning and simplify designs when needed while protecting their distinctive elements.
Consider guest circulation, staff operations, product replenishment, accessibility, outdoor conditions, and how installations pack up for transport.