Job Summary:
The Central Lighting Manager owns lighting for Gateway Church — the systems, the programming, and the look. This role sets the lighting standard every campus runs on, oversees the programming and operation of lighting for Central services and events, and leads the Lighting Operators who execute it. It carries both craft and systems: designing what a service looks like, and keeping the fixtures, consoles, and networks that produce it healthy.
Principal Job Responsibilities:
- Owns lighting design, programming standards, and system health for Gateway Church
- Owns lighting operations at the broadcast campus and owns the lighting standard at all campuses.
- Personally programs and operates lighting for services and events as needed.
- Coordinates the lighting element of quarterly stage designs and major ministry events (which may be outsourced)
- Leads and develops the Lighting Operators and all Team Members
- Oversees the programming of lighting cues and the creation of service visuals for Central weekend services and events
- Creates lighting look sheets and programming guides for distribution to campuses
- Oversees maintenance and management of lighting systems, including hardware, software, and firmware updates, fixture cleaning, and repair
- Oversees lighting networks, consoles, processors, and control systems churchwide
- Manages the lighting budget within the approved threshold and speaks into equipment lifecycle and capital requests
- Recruits, trains, develops, and provides accountability for the lighting Serve Team
- Partners with Worship, Gateway Music, Video, Audio, and Broadcast so lighting serves both the room and the broadcast, as well as at all extension campuses
- Supports campus lighting builds, upgrades, and troubleshooting
- Reviews the metrics for the area and makes decisions accordingly
- Is present and serving at weekend services and churchwide events as the ministry calendar requires
- Maintains strong working knowledge of the audio, video, lighting, and control systems at their location, not only the discipline they operate
- Performs routine and preventative maintenance on the systems they work with
- Diagnoses and resolves first-line faults across audio, video, and lighting rather than escalating by default, and escalates with a clear account of what has already been tested
- Keeps system documentation, patch files, and show files current for their location
- Participates in the training provided by the Systems Engineers and maintains the competence level agreed for the role
- Performs other duties as assigned.
As a member of the Gateway Church team, this position is expected to support, recruit, and develop Serve Team members, and to serve alongside the broader team as ministry and organizational needs arise.
General Skills & Qualifications:
- A clear passion for Jesus and a strong biblical foundation
- Strong working knowledge of audio, video, and lighting systems, live production workflow, and the engineering required to troubleshoot and keep systems operational
- Able to maintain, support, and troubleshoot AVL systems independently, and to recognize when a fault needs an engineer
- Willing to be trained and assessed to an agreed competence standard, and to keep that standard current as systems change
- Deep technical knowledge of lighting fixtures, consoles, networks, and control protocols
- Strong lighting design instincts and a good eye for how a service should look
- Demonstrated ability to lead and develop technical Team Members and Serve Teams
- Strong troubleshooting skills across lighting hardware and software
- Able to function at a high level of effectiveness and calm under live, high-pressure conditions
- Strong planning and budget management skills
- Comfortable holding others accountable with clarity and care
- Demonstrated emotional and relational intelligence
- Strong time-management skills and the ability to hold several priorities at once
- Proficient in Microsoft Office and able to learn and function within new software and systems
Education/Certification(s):
- Five or more years of professional lighting experience — required
- Associate degree or equivalent experience in a technical field — required
- Experience programming lighting for live broadcast or multi-camera environments — preferred
- Prior experience in a multisite church environment — preferred
General Physical Requirements:
The physical demands described here represent those that an employee must meet to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this position, the employee is regularly required to:
- Sit or stand for extended periods of time
- Occasionally kneel or crouch
- Frequently lift and/or move up to 10 lbs.
- Occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 lbs.
- Able to lift and move lighting equipment up to 50 lbs, work at heights on ladders or lifts, and work weekends and evenings
*This description is not all inclusive, and other duties may be assigned as necessary.
Gateway Church does not discriminate in employment opportunities or practices on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, age, disability, or any other characteristic protected by law as it applies to churches. However, Gateway Church does discriminate on the basis of religion.
Employment Requirement: Must be a member or become a member of Gateway Church upon employment.
