Head of Development

Posted Wednesday, July 22, 2026 at 7:00 AM

NantWorks (the “Company”) is the parent company of various private and public entities that are changing how we work, live and play. We focus on three main categories: life sciences; energy & renewables; and media & technology. We invest in strategies that improve our core capabilities and in brand new industries, poised to change mankind for the better. By capturing tomorrow’s opportunities through scientific processes and entrepreneurial philosophies, we are at the forefront of emerging high-growth technologies across a wide range of industries.

Position Schedule (ie. Monday through Friday, 9am to 6pm)

Nocturnal Entertainment is seeking a Head of Development to lead the sourcing, evaluation, packaging, and creative development of premium film and television projects across the company’s core business verticals. This executive will play a central role in shaping Nocturnal’s slate, with a particular emphasis on commercially viable, filmmaker-driven material in the horror, thriller, sci-fi, and action spaces.

The ideal candidate is a strong executive with meaningful studio, production company, agency, management, or financier experience, and a demonstrated ability to identify compelling IP, cultivate relationships with writers, directors, representatives, and executives and drive projects from idea to script. This person should be highly entrepreneurial, deeply connected within the talent community, and comfortable operating across multiple lanes of development and production.

• Lead creative development across Nocturnal’s three core business verticals, managing a slate of feature and television projects from sourcing through script delivery and packaging.
• Identify articles, life rights, underlying IP, pitches, original ideas, and spec material that align with Nocturnal’s brand, commercial mandate, and genre focus.
• Work closely with senior leadership to define development priorities, evaluate submissions, and build a market-aware slate strategy.
• Maintain and leverage strong relationships with agents, managers, writers, directors, producers, and talent to source projects and attach meaningful creative elements.
• Commission writers, provide substantive creative notes, guide rewrites, and oversee the development process to ensure material is elevated to a high standard.
• Assess material for both creative strength and practical viability, including audience appeal, budget sensibility, packaging potential, and financing relevance.
• Collaborate with internal leadership on packaging strategy, filmmaker outreach, rights acquisition, and overall project positioning.
• Serve as a creative point person on projects in active development, ensuring momentum, accountability, and clear communication across all stakeholders.
• Track market trends, buyer appetite, talent availability, and genre opportunities across the independent and studio landscape.
• Help identify projects that are especially well-suited for Nocturnal’s production and financing model, utilizing NantStudios’ virtual production ecosystem and LA Times IP where applicable.

Essential Functions

• Identify, evaluate, and develop stories, articles, investigations, and other IP originating from the Los Angeles Times into scripted and unscripted television and feature opportunities. Number of projects approved for development/in-development.
• Source and develop scripted feature film projects that align with the strategic and creative goals of NantStudios, with a particular focus on material that can benefit from the company’s production capabilities, infrastructure, and technology-forward approach. Measured by number of projects in development for this vertical and number of projects greenlit for production.
• Lead development on a broader slate of projects outside the Los Angeles Times and NantStudios pipelines, including projects Nocturnal may develop, produce, package, and/or finance based on commercial potential, creative strength, and strategic fit. Measured by quantity of projects in development and projects that are greenlit.
• Create an efficient internal system to track scripts, projects etc…as they move through their life cycle. Weekly team meetings.

Education, Experience & Other Training

• Must have a bachelor’s degree.
• 6–10+ years of relevant experience in film and/or television development at a studio, production company, agency, management company, financier, or comparable entertainment company.
• Strong track record of identifying and developing commercially oriented material, particularly in the horror, thriller, sci-fi, and action genres.
• Extensive working relationships with agents, managers, writers, directors, producers, and talent representatives.
• Demonstrated ability to take a project from concept, article, or early draft through a rigorous development process and shape it into a strong package and script.
• Excellent creative instincts, editorial judgment, and story sense, with the ability to give clear, strategic, writer-friendly notes.
• Deep understanding of both the creative and business sides of development, including packaging, rights, marketplace dynamics, and financing considerations.
• Strong organizational skills and the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously across different stages of development.
• Entrepreneurial mindset with a willingness to work hands-on in a lean, fast-moving environment.
• Familiarity with independent film financing and the current feature and television marketplace is strongly preferred.
• Mid-level executive ready to step into a broader leadership role with meaningful autonomy and ownership.
• Passionate about genre storytelling and skilled at balancing originality with commercial appeal.
• Comfortable working across scripted and unscripted formats.
• Excited by the opportunity to build projects from multiple pipelines, including journalism-based IP, original specs, and filmmaker-driven material.
• Able to operate with urgency, discretion, taste, and strong internal/external relationship management.

Supervisory & Management Duties

• This position in the future may have management or supervisory duties, but at the date of hire this is not expected as this will be the first hire for this department.

Pay Range Statement:

This is the pay range the Company reasonably expects to pay for this position at thetime of this posting. Compensation will be determined based on the skills,qualifications, and experience of the applicant along with the requirements of theposition.

Benefits Eligibility:

We offer competitive benefits, including health, dental and vision insurance, 401k, short-term and long-term disability insurance, life insurance, 11 designated holidays, Paid Time-Off program, and Employee Assistance Program.

This company is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, ethnicity, religion, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or on any other basis prohibited by law. Information on race, gender, and national origin will only be used for statistical and record-keeping purposes and will not be used in making any employment decisions. All information provided will be kept separate from your expression of interest. We respect the privacy of candidates for employment.

Job Family Corporate Strategy and Growth - Corporate Strategy / Development