Interior Design Director

The Interior Design Director’s overall responsibility is to champion design excellence for all projects in the interiors discipline, including integrated and stand‑alone projects. In partnership with the studio Design Director, the Interior Design Director ensures all interiors projects adhere to the firm’s commitment to creating a better, beautiful, more equitable world through Living Design. The Interior Design Director plays a pivotal role in shaping the aesthetic and functional aspects of our projects, from concept to completion, collaborating closely across disciplines to deliver design solutions that exceed expectations and elevate the human experience. Interior Design Directors should foster a culture of design within their discipline and are responsible for the recruitment and mentorship of talent ensuring the elevation of diverse staff and skillsets to build a bench of the next generation of interior design talent within a studio. Common and Baseline Responsibilities In partnership with the studio Design Director, provides visionary interiors design leadership by setting a clear direction for the studio’s interiors discipline, guiding teams in the creation of interior design concepts, and ensuring alignment with project goals and client expectations. Leads design teams, at all stages of the design process, in generating contemporary solutions that are sustainable and innovative responses to client needs. Oversees the quality of the interior design process, product, and delivery for the interiors discipline. Participates in project scope delineation, work plan creation and implementation, and fee negotiations for stand‑alone and where appropriate, integrated interior design projects. Familiarity with all design phases of typical commercial scale project(s) including: programming, visioning, conceptual, schematic, design development, and construction documents phases as well as managing and responding to submittals and RFIs. Participates in staffing and team organization and composition by helping to identify team members for project teams in alignment with client goals, team member skillsets, and aspirations. Leads, mentors, and inspires interior design teams to foster a collaborative and creative work environment. Collaborates and cultivates strong relationships with clients, stakeholders, and project teams to understand project requirements and develops innovative interior design solutions that meet functional, aesthetic, and financial objectives. Sets the interior design direction for projects, ensuring alignment with client objectives, brand identity and project goals. Collaborates with design teams to ensures all project information is up to date in HUB. Provides guidance to project teams and conducts regular design and quality control reviews to ensure that the firm’s standards and design goals are being met. Engages with studio Design Director to request, organize and execute peer workshops at the appropriate point for each project. Establishes and maintains strong relationships with key decision makers and influencers on client teams. Partners with local Talent Managers and studio leadership to identify, interview, recruit, and mentor interior design staff. Advances the design culture of the firm at the local studio level, focusing on firmwide initiatives like DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion), career development, and talent advancement. Mentors staff to ensure their personal and professional development goals are met. Builds relationships with professional organizations and academic institutions. Keeps abreast of current developments, trends, and practices within the interiors discipline. Actively participates in studio marketing activities, to include all go/no-go decisions, go-to market interview strategy preparation, and has a leadership role at interviews. Proactively engages in processes connecting to potential clients and brokers to vet potential projects, and works collaboratively to generate submittals required to identify and win work as the representative of the studio interior design practice. Participates in marketing, helping to strategize and win stand‑alone and integrated work for the studio. Monitors, advises, reviews, and participates in marketing activities. Demonstrable track record of peer recognized, award winning built/unbuilt designs that have been published nationally and potentially internationally. Partners with design teams to compose written and graphic presentations for clients, stakeholders and peer reviewers to include the choreography of internal design submittals for peer juried workshops and competitions. High-level Summary of Critical, Baseline Technical Skills and Certifications Proficiencies Experience leading collaborative design teams across disciplines and practices: Workplace, Science & Technology, Sports/Recreation/Entertainment, Corporate/Commercial, Civic/Cultural, Higher Education, K‑12, Health Care. Knowledge of industry regulations, health/life safety requirements, and interior building codes. Knowledge of site, conceptual design, schematic design, design development, contract documents, and construction. Strong design portfolio, ideally broad based on a range of project types. Strong familiarity of and ability to support project budgeting and contract negotiations. Strong working relationships with clients and consultants. Experience in hiring, directing, mentoring and coordinating successful project teams. Strong ideator and conceptual thinker. Software Working knowledge of Revit. Working knowledge of conceptual modeling tools such as Rhino and Grasshopper. Working knowledge of Microsoft Office / Adobe Suite. Working knowledge of visualization tools such as Enscape and VRay. Licensure/Certifications/Education Architectural license, NCIDQ, or LARE as appropriate. Bachelor’s degree in architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, urban design or related discipline required. LEED GA within 6 months of hire. Professional accreditation in one area of Living Design that interests you: LEED AP with Specialty, BREEAM AP, WELL AP, SITES AP, CPHC/CPHE Passive House Institute Certified Passive House, or ILFI Living Fu. *Equal Employment Opportunity Statement Perkins&Will has established and adopted an Equal Employment Opportunity Employment policy (“EEO”), which is part of the Company’s Human Resources Policy. The purpose of this EEO policy is to ensure that all employment decisions are made on a non‑discriminatory basis, and without regard to sex, race, color, age, national origin, religion, disability, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, gender reassignment, citizenship, pregnancy or maternity, veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable national, federal, state, or local law. In some cases, local laws and regulations may provide greater protections than those outlined here and employees will be covered by the laws of their local jurisdiction. Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor. #J-18808-Ljbffr