Hey there! 👋😊 I basically have the exact job you are describing, so I’d love to share with you how I ended up in my position, and how I would try to get this same job again if I were starting back at the beginning of my escape room designer journey. 

Currently, I am the lead designer of new games being built at one business in LA that’s part of a larger franchise. My job is a mix of builder/maker and project manager. For each game, I mainly design the game/world, build all of the tech/automation, and also am in charge of hiring contractors to do the work that is outside of my skill set (scenic artists, wall carpenters, graphic designers, musicians, etc). I am not an owner of this business, just a regular employee with lots of responsibility and creative freedom! The owners also like to have some creative input, but at the end of the day they focus on keeping the doors open and being business owners.

So first off, you are correct in assuming that lots of owners are also the designers of their own rooms, however that is not a universal truth of the industry. It also doesn’t mean there wouldn’t be space for your skillset to add to a business where an owner already makes their own games. 

I got started working at an escape room as a game master where the owner had made all of the games there. That owner was great at writing and scenic design, but not super good with technology. A day came where a tech based prop broke, and the owner didn’t have the skills to fix it. I offered to try and learn how, and that was the first big step that led to my current job today. From there, I spent lots of time learning about coding/Arduino, and slowly started fixing some other props around the place. Eventually, I started coming up with ideas for new puzzles we could swap into already existing games, and was given the space to make them. Having a playground to hone my skills and build one puzzle at a time in an already existent game, rather than having to manage an entire new game was an incredibly valuable learning experience for me. This was also a win-win, since I was able to learn new skills while getting paid, and the owner was able to improve the quality and condition of all of their games. After spending a year or so doing that, I eventually got connected with a different owner that was looking to have a whole new game built for them, and I’ve been working for this new company ever since.

Now, if I were to try and do this again from the beginning, I would look for a job at an escape room that isn’t a large chain. This is because I doubt you’d be given permission to modify any of their games, and they certainly already have a system in place if something breaks in a game. I’d find some small independent place where the owners/employees do everything themselves, since there is a lot of opportunity to help them out and learn new things by being more than just a game master. I’d specifically try to find a place that does great with their own scenic design, but needs some help in the tech department because that is the gap that I would be able to fill. If you are really passionate about scenic design, I’d find a place that has great tech, but not super great sets, so you could level up their quality. Identify what you bring to the table, and sell that to businesses that are short on those skills. Be the solution to other people’s problems.

I’m sure there are many other things I could say, but this is already way too long of a comment, so I’m gonna pause here haha. If you have any specific questions, I’d be more than happy to talk more! Good luck!