Project Manager: Location Based Experience Pop-Up

Help us build a new kind of playground

Starlings is a multi-platform entertainment company on a mission to change culture and make environmental action irresistibly fun.

We’re building an immersive experience that feels like you’ve stepped into a surreal world where creativity brings reward, where strangers become allies, and the guest is always the hero. 

About the Role

About the Project

Join a seasoned team of industry leaders as we launch a prototype for a groundbreaking immersive entertainment experience that blends live performance, interactive escape challenges, media, and a rich, evolving adventure story with an environmental mission.

Designed to feel like stepping into a in-real-life video game, the prototype introduces audiences to a comic book style universe through a series of events that combine mystery, beauty, and collaboration. As a prototype for this first of its kind experience, we will refine the guest experience, experiment with game mechanics, test food and beverage, test interactivity, and build momentum with audiences and partners.

This project is exciting, fast-paced, highly collaborative, and deeply creative—perfect for a project manager who thrives on bringing ambitious, multi-disciplinary experiences to life.

About the Role

We are seeking a highly organized and dynamic Project Manager to oversee the development, production, and launch of an innovative immersive pop-up Location-Based Experience (LBE) in downtown San Francisco. This is a high-impact, fixed-term role requiring exceptional leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills. The Project Manager will be responsible for coordinating a 15-person core creative team, managing subcontractor engagement, and leading the hiring and onboarding of operational staff. The position runs through the first public events in late October, with a final handover to the incoming operational team.

Key Responsibilities

Project Oversight

• Lead end-to-end project management for the development and production of a 5,000+ sf LBE
  

• Maintain and monitor project timelines, milestones, and deliverables
  

• Manage and track budgets, resource allocation, and financial reporting
  

• Prepare and maintain project documentation, including: schedules, reports, meeting notes, and handover materials

Team Leadership

• Manage and support a 15-person internal creative team, ensuring alignment and communication across departments
  

• Organize and lead regular team meetings and ensure cross-functional communication
  

• Facilitate collaboration between design, technical, narrative, and production leads
  

• Provide positive spirits and exemplary patience throughout the leadership process 

Subcontractor & Vendor Management

• Source, negotiate, and contract subcontractors for build-out, fabrication, set dressing, tech systems, kitchen prep, and other specialized services
  

• Serve as point-of-contact for all third-party vendors and consultants

Operational Staffing

• Lead the recruitment process for venue operational staff, including performers, bar staff, front-of-house, and facilities personnel
  

• Lead the preparation for onboarding, training schedules, and workflow implementation

Event Readiness & Handover

• Manage pre-launch and launch timelines plus soft-opening schedules
  

• Ensure venue and team are fully prepared for public operations
  

• Produce a comprehensive handover package for the incoming operations team, including SOPs, vendor contacts, and performance schedules

Qualifications

• 5+ years of project management experience, ideally in immersive entertainment, live events, theatre, film, or hospitality environments
  

• Proven experience managing cross-disciplinary creative teams and subcontractors
  

• Strong working knowledge of project management software and tools
  

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
  

• Comfort working in a fast-paced, evolving environment with fixed deadlines
  

• Experience in budgeting, scheduling, staffing, and vendor negotiation
  

• Understanding of live event operations, safety protocols, permitting, and audience flow is a plus

Why Join Us

This is a unique opportunity to be part of a boundary-pushing creative project with a bold mission.

While the role begins with short-term contract, our hope is to find someone for a longer term opportunity as our company grows.

Competitive fixed-term salary or project rate, commensurate with experience.