Design Director

Roto; Dublin (OH); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Roto is seeking an experienced Design Director to lead multidisciplinary teams in the design and development of museums, aquariums, zoos, science centers, and other experience-driven environments. This role provides creative leadership from early concept and master planning through detailed design.

You will mentor team members, collaborate with clients, and balance storytelling with practicality, schedule, and budget to deliver thoughtfully designed experiences.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in exhibit/experiential design or related field.
• Portfolio showing spatial thinking and visitor-centered design.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary creative teams.
• Comfort presenting ideas to clients and guiding discussions.
• Strong conceptual thinking with practical execution.
• Experience mentoring designers and helping them grow.

Responsibilities

• Lead the creative vision for multiple exhibit and experience design projects.
• Guide teams of designers, writers, producers, and specialists.
• Develop concepts balancing storytelling, engagement, and budget.
• Create sketches, plans, diagrams, models, and presentations communicating design intent.
• Present ideas to clients and facilitate design conversations.
• Mentor junior designers and foster collaborative culture.

Skills

Exhibit design

Team leadership

Concept development

Sketching

Client communication

Tools

SketchUp

Adobe Creative Suite

AutoCAD

Revit

Job description

Roto is seeking an experienced Design Director to lead multidisciplinary teams in the design and development of museums, aquariums, zoos, science centers, cultural attractions, and other experience-driven environments. This role provides creative leadership from early concept and master planning through detailed design, while mentoring team members and collaborating closely with clients and internal disciplines to deliver engaging, thoughtfully designed experiences.

What You'll Do

As a Design Director, you\'ll lead multidisciplinary teams through every phase of the creative process—from early visioning and master planning through detailed design and implementation. At Roto, you\'ll:

• Lead the creative vision for multiple exhibit and experience design projects.
• Guide teams of exhibit designers, graphic designers, writers, producers, and technical specialists.
• Develop compelling concepts that balance storytelling, visitor engagement, operational needs, and budget.
• Create sketches, plans, diagrams, models, and presentations that communicate design intent.
• Present ideas directly to clients and facilitate collaborative design conversations.
• Mentor and develop emerging designers while fostering a culture of curiosity, collaboration, and design excellence.
• Balance multiple projects while keeping an eye on quality, schedule, and resources.
• Help shape not only great projects—but a great design studio.

What We\'re Looking For

The ideal candidate combines strong design skills with experience leading multidisciplinary teams, mentoring designers, and delivering thoughtful, high-quality work across a variety of project types. Ideally, you have:

• 10+ years of experience in exhibit design, environmental design, architecture, experiential design, or a related field.
• A portfolio demonstrating exceptional spatial thinking, storytelling, and visitor-centered design.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary creative teams.
• Confidence presenting ideas to clients and facilitating design discussions.
• Strong conceptual thinking balanced with practical execution.
• Experience mentoring designers and helping others grow.
• Proficiency with tools such as SketchUp, Adobe Creative Suite, AutoCAD and/or Revit.