Design Manager

About the role

The Design Manager is a client-facing design professional responsible for managing design execution, standards governance, and continuous improvement across a high-volume, multi-site retail design program. This role partners with client stakeholders, account leadership, and internal teams to translate business needs, real estate strategies, operational requirements, and prototype standards into scalable, code-conscious design solutions. The Design Manager provides hands-on technical direction, quality control, workload coordination, and process improvement support to ensure consistent, efficient, and high-quality delivery.

Responsibilities

• Design Program Leadership: Retail Program Execution: Manage design delivery across a high-volume, multi-site retail program, ensuring each project supports business objectives, operational requirements, customer experience, and established prototype standards.
• Design Program Leadership: Standards Governance: Maintain, interpret, and evolve design standards, prototype guidelines, space planning criteria, and documentation requirements to support consistency while allowing flexibility for site-specific conditions.
• Design Program Leadership: Program Alignment: Coordinate design requirements across new locations, remodels, prototypes, test fits, and special projects to ensure scope, schedule, documentation, and deliverables remain aligned with client priorities.
• Design Program Leadership: Process Improvement: Translate lessons learned, stakeholder feedback, and evolving business needs into scalable design processes, tools, templates, checklists, and documented best practices.
• Program Coordination & Delivery Support: Workload Coordination: Coordinate design workload, priorities, deliverables, and timelines across active projects in partnership with account leadership and design resources.
• Program Coordination & Delivery Support: Design Direction: Provide technical guidance, design input, and standards interpretation to support consistent execution across projects and deliverables.
• Program Coordination & Delivery Support: Hands-On Support: Provide design production and technical support when needed, particularly for complex projects, high-priority deliverables, templates, standards updates, and design assets.
• Technical Execution & Quality Control: Technical Design Review: Review test fits, space plans, design documents, Revit models, and drawing packages for accuracy, completeness, code considerations, and alignment with standards.
• Technical Execution & Quality Control: Code & Compliance Awareness: Apply working knowledge of IBC, ADA, and jurisdictional considerations to identify design risks, review drawing compliance, and support decision-making.
• Technical Execution & Quality Control: Design Problem Solving: Resolve complex planning, documentation, coordination, or technical design challenges in partnership with designers, stakeholders, consultants, and account teams.
• Technical Execution & Quality Control: Technology Enablement: Support effective use of