Creative Intelligence Researcher
Hybrid work model – 4 days/week in the office
Permanent Position
We were born from an eclectic troop of performers. Come live the experience of being yourself every day to create the extraordinary.
OUR MISSION
Since 1984, Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group has been focusing on ever more creative and magical work in order to constantly push the limits of the imagination and surprise spectators! Innovation and creativity are at the heart of our shows and will continue to transcend our upcoming productions around the world.
YOUR MISSION
Within the Creation Department, Creative Intelligence serves as a radar for trends, culture, and innovation. It identifies key influences, emerging signals, collaborators, areas of interest, and new technologies in order to fuel creative processes across the Cirque du Soleil Group. With an editorial approach, it tracks the evolution of creative practices, narrative formats, aesthetics, platforms, and audience behaviors, assessing both what is emerging and what is culturally relevant.
Creative Intelligence builds connections between live performance and related disciplines such as design, cinema, visual arts, digital culture, immersive experiences, video games, science, and gastronomy, translating its observations into sources of inspiration for teams: research dossiers, thematic reports, syntheses, short-form formats, visual montages, and recommendations tailored to project needs. It identifies and decodes key events, experiences, and culturally significant moments. It sees technology as a creative vector (AR/VR/XR, AI, interactivity, stage technologies, immersion). Its approach is characterized by a strong sensitivity to contemporary pop culture, the codes and formats of younger generations, emerging scenes, subcultures, and a plurality of cultural perspectives, in order to keep innovation grounded in relevance and resonance with audiences.
Purpose
Reporting to the VP, Creation, this person helps nurture and activate the Cirque du Soleil Group’s creative intelligence in collaboration with the team. They conduct ongoing cultural and technological monitoring, identify key influences, collaborators, and areas of interest, and share their research through an editorial lens. They pay particular attention to manifestations of popular culture as territories of innovation, influence, and storytelling.
Main responsibilities
Cultural Monitoring
- Identify emerging trends, weak signals, and shifts in creative practices, both local and global. Stay attuned to current events and trends that impact creation;
- Connect the dots between live arts disciplines and other fields such as design, cinema, sciences, gastronomy,…);
- Ensure relevant technological monitoring at the artistic and cultural level (AR / VR / XR, stage technologies, immersion, AI applied to creation, interactive installations, new narrative formats).
- Identify potential creators/collaborators and areas of interest across a wide range of fields, on an ongoing basis.
- Identify visual inspirations and relevant events, locally and internationally, likely to interest different teams (shows, exhibitions, festivals, conferences, …)
Applied Research & Curation
- Develop research dossiers tailored to each project:
- collections of references and evocative projects,
- visual montages,
- written reports – targeted themes,
- synthetic and editorial reports;
- Use AI tools from a research and innovation perspective, while maintaining a critical approach to reflection and curation;
- Analyze events, experiences, and shows (observations, trends, recommendations);
- Work in close collaboration with an internal and external network of creative and technical collaborators;
- Maintain an editorial approach: prioritize, contextualize, provide a reading, create a clear editorial line;
Publishing and Activation (Tools and Collaboration)
- Feed Creative Intelligence’s internal content-sharing platforms and tools (SharePoint, Teams, Nest), and ensure proper archiving of documentation;
- Make recommendations for collaborators (designer profiles, personalized research documents), content, innovation, and/or format based on project needs;
- Participate in brainstorming sessions and working meetings with the creative teams;
- Collaborate with other departments (e.g., Casting, Costumes, Marketing, etc.) as needed;
- Translate research into applicable directions: concepts, formats, themes;
Qualifications profile
Skills & Knowledge
- Curiosity, initiative, autonomy, adaptability, flexibility, intellectual rigor, critical thinking, strong organizational skills, and respect for deadlines;
- Good understanding of the realities of the creative field;
- Knowledge of technological trends and their potential applications in live performance and cultural experiences;
- Strong sensitivity to contemporary culture and to the codes of Generation Z: emerging aesthetics, platforms, formats, narratives, and references drawn from digital and popular culture;
- Comfortable working independently, collaboratively, and cross-functionally;
- Ability to navigate different types of mandates, some of which may be loosely defined;
Job Requirements
- Relevant experience in research, creative scouting, curation, creative innovation, or a related field. Ability to broaden the radar beyond live performance and dominant trends;
- Experience in live performance, theatre, events, or immersive entertainment is an asset;
- Ability to deliver structured content that responds to real creative needs;
- Excellent analytical and synthesis skills, along with intuition and intellectual rigor. Critical thinking, source validation, and the ability to distinguish lasting influence from passing fads;
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office, Adobe, Mac environments, and presentation software;
- Very strong command of online research tools and AI tools (specialized research, documentation, and monitoring);
- Consumes a high volume of cultural content;
- Excellent communication skills, with full bilingual proficiency in French and English, both spoken and written;
- Knowledge of another language (particularly an Asian language) is a major asset.
Work arrangements
- 37.5-hour work week, structured as follows: 4 days per week at Headquarters and 1 remote day
Create with us
Our employer proposition stands out. Here's an overview:
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A collaborative work environment with an in-office presence of four days per week, designed to support teamwork, learning and delivery: with flexibility in how we organize our work.
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Professional growth focused on high-quality projects to propel your career, as well as personalized support tailored to your professional ambitions;
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Group insurance, retirement savings and other benefits that we'll be happy to introduce to you;
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A culture focused on the development of equitable practices and rallying events.
As a proud ambassador of equality in employment, Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group is committed to eliminating discrimination based on age, skin color, origin, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation and neurodiversity. Neutral and inclusive language is now preferred for job postings.
Throughout the recruitment process, accommodation is provided for candidates who require it.
