Merge
Director, Immersive Experience Design Chicago, IL
Merge, Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60290
We bring together the minds and passions of creative pioneers, tech innovators, and data explorers to help ambitious clients solve business challenges and rise to the top. MERGE has enduring client partnerships with American Express, T-Mobile, LG, Subway, Kate Spade NY, Coach, The North Face, Meta, Adobe, BlueCross BlueShield, Abbott, Astellas, Supernus, CSL, GE Healthcare, Broward Health, Indiana University Health, Nationwide, and Morgan Stanley. With offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Kansas City, Montreal, New York City and Los Angeles. MERGE uses a talent-to-task process that enables clients to think higher and feel deeper about their customers.
Promote Health, Wellness & Happiness
We are committed to promoting health, wellness and happiness in the world by partnering with purpose-driven clients in purpose-driven industries in healthcare, life science, and consumer products. Our deep vertical expertise and category insights stem from decade-long partnerships with our top clients.
Emerge to the Top of Your Career
At MERGE, we strive to create a superior work experience where talented and ambitious people grow. An experience that encourages people to think higher and feel deeper. An experience where people engage their minds and hearts to do the best work of their careers.
As our Director, Immersive Experience Design
As an Immersive Experience Design Director, you will inspire and lead the creation of extraordinary physical, digital, and hybrid experiences across health and consumer industries. With a strategic mindset and a passion for pushing experience and creative boundaries, you will craft engaging, multi-sensory environments that elevate brand stories and foster meaningful human connections. Your role will bridge strategy, visionary creativity, and practical execution, ensuring experiences resonate deeply with diverse audiences while delivering measurable business impact.
Be Accountable and Responsible
Strategic Experience and Design Leadership
Collaborate with cross-functional teams and apply strategic vision and creative leadership to develop and execute immersive design strategies that align innovative ideas with clear business objectives and customer insights.
Own and lead the immersive design process from concept through delivery—guiding storytelling and brand integration while orchestrating cross-functional collaboration with internal teams and client stakeholders to ensure strategic alignment, executional excellence, and memorable, user-centered experiences.
Ensure immersive experiences are guided by strong omnichannel integration, seamlessly aligning with and enhancing broader customer journeys to drive consistency and continuity across touchpoints.
Uphold delivery quality and consistency by establishing and maintaining high strategy design standards across all touchpoints, while tailoring solutions to meet the unique needs of each client and audience.
Contribute to scopes of work, budgets, timelines, and resources, effectively balancing brand and experience aspirations with operational realities.
Cultivate Design Excellence Within the MERGE Experience Team
Support ongoing team development and mentorship by fostering an inspiring, collaborative environment and mentoring multidisciplinary project team members to encourage experimentation, growth, and the pursuit of immersive experience excellence.
Demonstrate trend and thought leadership by staying ahead of emerging technologies and design innovations in immersive and experiential environments, proactively integrating these insights into creative solutions that differentiate our offerings and contribute to account growth.
Model and uphold immersive design best practices—championing design craft, storytelling, and innovation that elevate the quality and impact of project and practice outcomes.
Contribute to the continued evolution of the immersive experience design offering by helping define methods, tools, approaches, and expansion ideas that reflect emerging technologies, industry trends, and client needs.
Client Relationships and Engagement
Serve as a primary liaison with current and prospective clients, understanding their vision and translating it into compelling solutions.
Partner with Client Services, Solution Consultants, and other MERGE leaders on business development, pitches, and existing client opportunities, including solutioning, scoping, and resourcing.
These are the qualifications we’re looking for
10+ years of professional experience in immersive, experiential, or environmental design, including at 2+ years mentoring or managing junior team members.
Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Experience Design, Architecture, Environmental Design, or related discipline (or equivalent experience).
Proven expertise in designing in-store retail experiences, complemented by experience across a diverse range of industries—including health and life sciences, quick-service restaurants (QSR), connected living (e.g., smart home, IoT), and financial services—with the ability to translate cross-industry insights into strategic, high-impact immersive solutions for both B2B and B2C audiences.
Proven success conceptualizing and delivering high-impact, large-scale physical and digital experiences.
Deep expertise in spatial storytelling, human-centered design principles, and multi-sensory experience creation.
Skilled at managing vendors to ensure alignment, executional excellence, and seamless integration across all phases of the work.
Strong business acumen with the ability to align creative concepts to measurable business results.
Excellent communication, presentation, and influencing skills with senior-level stakeholders.
Proficiency in design and visualization tools (Adobe Creative Suite, SketchUp, Rhino, Cinema4D, or similar) and collaborative project management tools (Google Suite, etc.).
Experience applying emerging technologies such as AR and VR to enhance immersive and experiential design solutions, with an understanding of how to integrate these tools into storytelling, prototyping, and final execution to create engaging, multi-sensory user experiences.
Willingness to travel 30%
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At MERGE, we’re committed to fostering an environment where our team members can thrive in both their careers and personal lives, ensuring they feel supported and empowered to succeed.
MERGE believes in transparency and equity. In accordance with state regulations, we’re proud to include salary ranges in our job postings to ensure fair compensation practices.
The salary range for this role is $127,000-153,000 , based on the individual’s skills, experience, qualifications, location, and other relevant factors. The salary pay range is subject to change and may be modified at any time.
MERGE is proud to invest in benefits that includemeaningful Medical, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance, 401K, Lifestyle Spending Account, Employer Paid Life & Disability Insurance, Flexible Time off & Holidays plus many other benefits and rewards.
Applicants for employment in the US must have work authorization that does not now or in the future require sponsorship of a visa for employment authorization in the United States.
And here’s how we live our values at MERGE
Ability.
Mastering our craft Agility.
Delivering with a growth mindset Humility.
Collaborating for shared success MERGE is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer MERGE welcomes and celebrates diversity regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, veteran status or people with abilities. We believe that the more diverse we are, the more creative our work will be! Create a Job Alert Interested in building your career at MERGE? Get future opportunities sent straight to your email. Apply for this job * indicates a required field First Name * Last Name * Preferred First Name Email * Phone * Location (City) * Resume/CV * Enter manually Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf Enter manually Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf Please provide the URL to your portfolio site and if it's password protected, don't forget to provide the password. LinkedIn Profile * Are you legally authorized to work in the United States? * Select... Will you now, or in the future, require sponsorship for employment visa status (e.g. H-1B visa status, OPT, OPT STEM, F-1)? * Select... What is your desired salary? * How did you hear about us? * Select... If you selected other, please specify. If you were referred, who were you referred by? MERGE offers a hybrid work model. What that means to us, if you live in a city where we have an office (Chicago, Denver, Atlanta, New York, Boston, Kansas City), we are encouraging you to come into the office 2 days a week. What office are you able to go to? * How many years of professional experience in immersive, environmental or experiential design do you have? * Voluntary Self-Identification For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey.Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiringprocess or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in aconfidential file. As set forth in MERGE’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law. If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection.As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measurethe effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categoriesis as follows: A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability. A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service. An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense. An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985. Select... Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability Form CC-305 Page 1 of 1 OMB Control Number 1250-0005 Expires 04/30/2026 Voluntary Self-Identification of DisabilityForm CC-305 Page 1 of 1 OMB Control Number 1250-0005 Expires 04/30/2026
You can get further details about the nature of this opening, and what is expected from applicants, by reading the below. Why are you being asked to complete this form? We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years. Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp . How do you know if you have a disability?
A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability.
Disabilities include, but are not limited to: Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally) Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS Blind or low vision Cancer (past or present) Cardiovascular or heart disease Celiac disease Cerebral palsy Deaf or serious difficulty hearing Diabetes Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders Epilepsy or other seizure disorder Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome Intellectual or developmental disability Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD Missing limbs or partially missing limbs Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS) Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities Partial or complete paralysis (any cause) Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema Short stature (dwarfism) Traumatic brain injury Disability Status Select... PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.
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Mastering our craft Agility.
Delivering with a growth mindset Humility.
Collaborating for shared success MERGE is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer MERGE welcomes and celebrates diversity regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, veteran status or people with abilities. We believe that the more diverse we are, the more creative our work will be! Create a Job Alert Interested in building your career at MERGE? Get future opportunities sent straight to your email. Apply for this job * indicates a required field First Name * Last Name * Preferred First Name Email * Phone * Location (City) * Resume/CV * Enter manually Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf Enter manually Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf Please provide the URL to your portfolio site and if it's password protected, don't forget to provide the password. LinkedIn Profile * Are you legally authorized to work in the United States? * Select... Will you now, or in the future, require sponsorship for employment visa status (e.g. H-1B visa status, OPT, OPT STEM, F-1)? * Select... What is your desired salary? * How did you hear about us? * Select... If you selected other, please specify. If you were referred, who were you referred by? MERGE offers a hybrid work model. What that means to us, if you live in a city where we have an office (Chicago, Denver, Atlanta, New York, Boston, Kansas City), we are encouraging you to come into the office 2 days a week. What office are you able to go to? * How many years of professional experience in immersive, environmental or experiential design do you have? * Voluntary Self-Identification For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey.Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiringprocess or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in aconfidential file. As set forth in MERGE’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law. If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection.As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measurethe effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categoriesis as follows: A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability. A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service. An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense. An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985. Select... Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability Form CC-305 Page 1 of 1 OMB Control Number 1250-0005 Expires 04/30/2026 Voluntary Self-Identification of DisabilityForm CC-305 Page 1 of 1 OMB Control Number 1250-0005 Expires 04/30/2026
You can get further details about the nature of this opening, and what is expected from applicants, by reading the below. Why are you being asked to complete this form? We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years. Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp . How do you know if you have a disability?
A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability.
Disabilities include, but are not limited to: Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally) Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS Blind or low vision Cancer (past or present) Cardiovascular or heart disease Celiac disease Cerebral palsy Deaf or serious difficulty hearing Diabetes Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders Epilepsy or other seizure disorder Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome Intellectual or developmental disability Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD Missing limbs or partially missing limbs Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS) Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities Partial or complete paralysis (any cause) Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema Short stature (dwarfism) Traumatic brain injury Disability Status Select... PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.
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