How to hire a studio director

How to hire a studio director, step by step

Here's a step-by-step studio director hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a studio director job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new studio director
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a studio director do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the studio director you need to hire. Certain studio director roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a studio director to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a studio director that fits the bill.

   Here's a comparison of studio director salaries for various roles:

   Type of Studio Director	Description	Hourly rate
   Studio Director	Art directors are responsible for the visual style and images in magazines, newspapers, product packaging, and movie and television productions. They create the overall design of a project and direct others who develop artwork and layouts.	$22-101
   Creative Services Director	A Creative Services Director is responsible for managing digital content and campaign publications for project management efforts. They oversee the daily account operations and ensure that the processes adhere to high-quality standards and client specifications... Show more	$39-69
   Freelance Art Director	As a freelance art director, you will work hand-in-hand with the production designer to procure works of art for your organization. Note that your duties will depend on your particular industry... Show more	$24-68

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Business Development
   • Studio Operations
   • Video Production
   • Lead Generation
   • Design Studio
   • Graphic Design
   • Studio Production
   • Leed
   • Direct Reports
   • Fine Arts
   • Construction Administration
   • Creative Direction
   • Front Desk
   • Client Relations

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Develop and manage business-to-business PowerPoint presentation service that create new business opportunities and increase revenue for the company.
   • Retouch photos using Photoshop and Lightroom creating special effects in post-production.
   • Provide technical support towards the creation of corporate presentations for conference room environments using Microsoft PowerPoint and digital projection systems.
   • Provide creative copy direction and copywriting for pharmaceutical clients' internal corporate communications programs, training programs and sales force meetings.
   • Collaborate with executive staff to develop content and produce photographic editorials.

   More studio director duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your studio director job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A studio director can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, studio directors' average salary in maryland is 46% less than in alaska.
   • Seniority. Entry-level studio directors 78% less than senior-level studio directors.
   • Certifications. A studio director with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a studio director's salary.

   Average studio director salary

   $99,189yearly

   $47.69 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level studio director salary

   $46,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 17, 2025

   Average studio director salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Oregon	$167,107	$80
   2	Washington	$164,486	$79
   3	Idaho	$151,439	$73
   4	Illinois	$151,064	$73
   5	California	$150,656	$72
   6	New York	$113,181	$54
   7	Nevada	$110,651	$53
   8	New Jersey	$109,946	$53
   9	Massachusetts	$109,530	$53
   10	Louisiana	$103,210	$50
   11	Alabama	$99,081	$48
   12	Florida	$89,285	$43
   13	Texas	$82,604	$40
   14	Arizona	$81,046	$39
   15	Pennsylvania	$80,158	$39

   Average studio director salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Saks Fifth Avenue	$191,074	$91.86
   2	Kramer	$173,560	$83.44
   3	Voodoo	$141,211	$67.89
   4	Trianz	$133,161	$64.02
   5	Altice USA	$119,212	$57.31	1
   6	Amazon	$117,985	$56.72	42
   7	Threefold Educational Center	$113,240	$54.44
   8	Amazing Lash Studio	$109,891	$52.83	1
   9	Paramount	$108,523	$52.17	6
   10	Portland State University	$103,458	$49.74
   11	The Lash Lounge	$100,857	$48.49
   12	MiniLuxe	$100,521	$48.33	6
   13	Central Missouri Community Action	$99,734	$47.95
   14	AccuWeather	$85,798	$41.25
   15	TCA Architects	$78,576	$37.78
   16	Energy Inc.	$75,898	$36.49
   17	Moody Nolan	$62,061	$29.84
   18	Western State College of Law	$45,465	$21.86

4. Writing a studio director job description

   A studio director job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a studio director job description:

   Studio director job description example

   Voodoo is a tech company that creates mobile games and apps. With 6 billion downloads and over 300 million monthly active users, Voodoo is the #2 mobile publisher worldwide in terms of downloads after Google.
   
   The company is one of the most impressive examples of hypergrowth in the ecosystem, having raised over $1B and backed by Goldman Sachs, Tencent, and GBL. Deciding to expand its portfolio of products further, Voodoo has more recently announced that it will invest $200M in blockchain gaming studios, to lead the transformation of mobile gaming.
   
   Voodoo is now a team of over 700 employees worldwide, we're looking for talented individuals from across the globe to come and entertain the world with us.
   
   The full-remote option is accepted only if you reside in a country where the company has a legal entity.
   Team
   
   Voodoo's Gaming business unit is made up of hyper-casual, hybrid-casual, casual, mid-core and blockchain experts. Our 'Core' games team supports internal and external studios worldwide in creating, developing and launching new hit games, whilst our 'Live' games team focuses on delivering higher engagement on our existing and successful games.
   
   You will build from scratch a small and high-performing studio and will have the opportunity to have a big impact on the strategy of Casual and Hyper Casual games while delivering great mobile games.
   RoleBuild your team and ensure that your team reaches their goals Lead, inspire and motivate the teams working on the games, and maintain enthusiasm for the project Improve continuously the internal process of game creation Update the game's guidelines by proposing 2 new features or guidelines per semester Follow and improve Voodoo's management guidelines and onboarding processes Manage your team's HR in order to keep only A players and help them to grow Share your knowledge company-wide and help others grow their skills Monitor and improve game metrics Be involved in all aspects of game development: UI, UX, game design, technical
   ProfileStrong analytical skills and are detail and data-oriented Passion for mobile games Excellent communication, organization, execution skills Good game UX knowledge, Mobile F2P market experiences, track record with a successful mobile game Speak and write EnglishUnderstanding of game design
   Benefits: competitive salary and other benefits according to the country you reside.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right studio director for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with studio directors they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit studio directors who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   To find studio director candidates, you can consider the following options:

   • Post your job opening on Zippia or other job search websites.
   • Use niche websites that focus on engineering and technology jobs, such as dribbble, authentic jobs, working not working, coroflot.
   • Post your job on free job posting websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with studio director candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new studio director

   Once you have selected a candidate for the studio director position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new studio director. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a studio director?