6 of the Highest Paying Set Designer Jobs in 2026

The best Set Designer jobs can pay up to $112,500 per year.

High Paying Set Designer Jobs

• Set Builder

  Salary range: $10,000 - $112,500

  As a set builder, you work for a theatre or film production, creating the physical sets and backdrops for a movie or dramatic production. You accomplish your responsibilities as part of a larger production crew, creating scenes, building necessary fixtures, and ensuring that sets are movable or interchangeable as required during performances. In film and for TV shows, this mobility is less important, but still may be a requirement in closed studio settings. Other duties include setting up camera tracks, assisting the lighting crew, and maintaining accurate inventory records. You report directly to the set designer or key grip, who instructs you on current projects and needs.

• Production Designer

  Salary range: $43,500 - $103,000

  A production designer works in a film, TV, or theater art department. As a production designer, you have a crucial role in set design and creating the visual tone of a production. Your job duties involve working closely with the head of the department, as well as directors and producers, to come up with the right visual style for the story. You are responsible for making or securing props, developing lighting, directing other people in your department, and discussing all aspects of the production’s visual elements with the costume designers and set designers.

• Exhibition Designer

  Salary range: $52,000 - $67,500

  An exhibition designer plans and lays out exhibits for venues like public and trade shows, conferences, and museum or art gallery installations. As an exhibit designer, you must be able to effectively communicate your client’s message to the exhibit’s audience. Your duties include meeting with clients to determine a theme or review the objects to be displayed, establishing budgets, and scheduling the project to completion. You also interact with clients throughout the design phase to collect feedback, make changes, and design a 3D model in a CAD software program. In some positions, you may supervise the display installation as well.

• Set and Exhibit Designer

  Salary range: $34,000 - $62,500

  The majority of Set and Exhibit Designer salaries across the United States currently range between $34,000 (25th percentile) and $62,500 (75th percentile) annually. This large range of salary potential suggests there may be many opportunities for advancement and increased pay depending on skill level, location and years of experience. Based on recent job posting activity on ZipRecruiter, the Set and Exhibit Designer job market in the United States is not very active as few companies are currently hiring for this role. You can try exploring related titles to find jobs with more active opportunities.

• Scenic Designer

  Salary range: $55,000 - $61,500

  A scenic designer typically works in the set production department for theatrical, film, or television productions. They can also work for museums, zoos, and other industries that produce special exhibits that require background scenery. Your duties and responsibilities in this career are to create scenery that mimics a physical environment, such as backgrounds used on a sound stage or theater stage, in consultation with other members of the art department and the director. From these consultations, you sketch rough drafts and, with approval from supervisors, begin to build the sets or backdrops, adding any props or fixtures necessary to complete the scene.

• Studio Designer

  Salary range: $51,500 - $54,500

  Studio designers oversee the production and presentation of a studio for clients. As a studio designer, you may construct locations for exhibits, artistic space, or work areas. You brainstorm creative ideas for the space provided and work on the layout to build each vision. Your job duties have you preparing and presenting ideas as sketches, plans, or models, and then building the set. Studio designers work closely with their clients to create the artistic look they want. You may also be responsible for ordering supplies and managing the construction of displays.