Hoogenz was a male scavenger and bounty hunter operating on the desert planet of Jakku. Approximately three decades following the Battle of Endor, he was in Niima Outpost on Jakku, cleaning recovered scrap while sitting at a washing table, one of many. At that moment, he overheard someone harassing the scavenger Rey at a nearby washing table. Hoogenz chuckled at the harasser's words, then resumed his work. Later, he stood in line behind Rey, waiting to trade his scrap with Unkar Plutt, the junk dealer and overseer of Niima. During his time at Niima, Hoogenz was seen wearing a green shirt and a face-covering mask.
The character Hoogenz made his debut appearance in the 2015 film Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens. The actor who portrayed him was not credited in the film, and the character remained unnamed until the release of the video game Disney Infinity 3.0, which was launched alongside the movie. Although the game is not considered canon, Pablo Hidalgo of the Lucasfilm Story Group stated on Twitter that the game-provided names for previously unnamed characters, Hoogenz included, were indeed canon. A piece of concept art depicting Hoogenz holding a rifle was created by creature concept designer Jake Lunt Davies in October 2013 with the title "Bounty Hunter Sand Man C010" during the pre-production phase of Episode VII.