Designer - Interiors - Education, Culture & Community

About the role

The San Francisco Cities studio partners with clients advancing education, culture, research, and community impact to create places that contribute to a vibrant, resilient, and equitable future. We seek an Intermediate Designer with 5-10 years of experience who excels at bridging design vision and technical execution.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to the design and delivery of educational, cultural, and community-focused projects through all phases of design and construction.
• Participate in programming, stakeholder engagement, space planning, design development, detailing, documentation, bidding, and construction administration activities.
• Develop thoughtful interior architectural solutions that elevate user experience while supporting project goals, design vision, and long-term performance.
• Collaborate with architects, strategists, consultants, and clients to translate ideas into beautiful, durable, and buildable environments.
• Prepare and coordinate drawing sets, details, finish documentation, specifications, and project deliverables.
• Produce diagrams, renderings, presentations, and visual materials that communicate design ideas clearly and effectively.
• Help resolve design and technical challenges through creative and practical problem-solving.
• Support project teams through permitting, bidding, and construction administration activities.
• Mentor and support emerging designers and technical staff.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Interior Architecture, Interior Design, Architecture, or a related design discipline.
• 5–10 years of professional experience in architecture, interior architecture, interior design, or a related design practice.
• Demonstrated design thinking and strong design judgment, supported by a portfolio that communicates thoughtful ideas, strong visual communication skills, technical proficiency, and attention to detail.
• Demonstrated ability and enthusiasm for exploring, developing, and communicating design ideas through drawing, making, modeling, visualization, and presentation.
• Strong space planning, interior architecture, detailing, and design development skills, with an ability to bring clarity, character, and craft to interior environments.
• Proficiency in Revit and experience contributing to project models, drawing sets, and construction documentation.
• Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite; experience with Rhino, Enscape, SketchUp, Grasshopper, or similar tools is a plus.
• Experience contributing to projects through design development, construction documentation, bidding, and construction administration.
• Familiarity with building systems, construction methodologies, interior assemblies, and architectural detailing.
• Familiarity with building codes, accessibility requirements, and the fundamentals of project delivery.
• Strong organizational, communication, and collaboration skills.
• Ability to work across multiple project phases within small, highly collaborative teams.
• Curiosity, initiative, and a desire to continually strengthen both design and technical expertise.

What Will Help You Succeed

• Experience working on higher education, cultural, institutional, or other mission-driven projects.
• Experience contributing to projects from programming and planning through construction administration.
• Familiarity with public bid environments, institutional procurement processes, and/or publicly funded projects.
• Experience working with highly engaged clients, user groups, and stakeholders who actively participate in shaping project outcomes throughout the design process.
• Comfort working within small, highly collaborative project teams where responsibilities evolve across project phases.
• Exposure to campus environments, cultural facilities, libraries, museums, performing arts venues, community-serving projects, or adaptive reuse work.
• Interest and experience in using research, precedent studies, material investigations, and other forms of design inquiry to inform design decisions.
• Interest in sustainable design, resilience, and high-performance buildings.
• LEED or other sustainability credential is a plus.
• Progress toward professional licensure or NCIDQ certification.
• Interest in the relationship between design excellence, technical craft, and project delivery.