Design Director

dancker; Somerville (MA); On-site; USD 125,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

dancker is seeking a strategic Design Director to lead the design function, mentor a growing team, and align design work with the company’s business goals. You’ll balance hands-on design with leadership responsibilities.

You’ll drive collaboration across departments, manage resources in ZOHO, and elevate design as a differentiator in client engagements while guiding reports toward delivering high-quality, timely work.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Interior Design, Architecture, or related field.
• 10+ years of experience in commercial furniture design, with at least 5 years in leadership.
• Excellent communication, organization, and interpersonal skills.
• Demonstrated ability to mentor a team while meeting individual project responsibilities.

Responsibilities

• Provide mentorship, coaching, and technical guidance to foster a high-performance, collaborative team culture.
• Model and promote accountability, innovation, and continuous improvement across departments.
• Conduct monthly one-on-one meetings with direct reports to review the Design Performance Matrix.
• Address performance issues with clear documentation, initiating weekly one-on-ones and Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs) when necessary.
• Create onboarding orientation schedules and development plans for new hires.
• Ensure Design Managers actively manage onboarding, coaching, and development within their teams.
• Maintain regular check-ins to assess training needs and plan continuous development.
• Identify opportunities to enhance collaboration, engagement, accountability, and client focus across departments.

Skills

Leadership

Mentoring

Strategic thinking

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in Interior Design, Architecture, or related field

Tools

ZOHO Projects

AutoCAD

SketchUp

BlueBeam

Job description

Job Title: Design Director

Location: Somerville, NJ

The difference you’ll make:
We’re looking for a strategic and collaborative Design Director to join our leadership team at dancker. In this role, you’ll provide direction for the design function, foster collaboration across departments, and ensure the team’s work supports dancker’s broader business goals. You’ll balance team development and operational oversight with hands-on engagement, mentoring, and process improvement, while guiding direct reports in project execution, resource alignment, and the delivery of accurate, timely, and high-quality design work. If you’re an experienced design leader who is passionate about developing people, strengthening processes, and driving client-centered design excellence, we’d love to hear from you.

How you’ll make an impact:
Leadership & Team Management

• Provide mentorship, coaching, and technical guidance to foster a high-performance, collaborative team culture.
• Model and promote accountability, innovation, and continuous improvement across departments.
• Conduct monthly one-on-one meetings with direct reports to review the Design Performance Matrix.
• Address performance issues with clear documentation, initiating weekly one-on-ones and Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs) when necessary.
  Onboarding & Development
• Create a two-week onboarding orientation schedule for new hires reporting directly to this position.
• Generate and manage a 12-week development plan with identified deliverables to ensure new designers are progressing in their training.
• Ensure Design Managers are actively managing onboarding, coaching, and development within their teams.
• Conduct regular check-ins with all direct reports to assess training needs and plan for continuous development.
• Identify opportunities to enhance collaboration, engagement, accountability, and client focus across departments, and partner with leadership to develop and implement improvement plans.

Project & Resource Management

• Assign project work through ZOHO once project scope, product solutions, and timeline have been validated.
• Ensure effective resource alignment to balance workload, optimize utilization, and support timely, high-quality deliverables.
• Monitor workload and capacity and align resources to ensure teams have the support they need and can meet deadlines with accurate, high-quality deliverables.
• Monitor team capacity and collaborate with leadership to proactively address resourcing challenges.
• Provide guidance and strategic oversight on key or complex projects/accounts.
  Process & Quality Oversight
• Ensure all direct reports are actively tracking tasks in ZOHO, updating comments, meeting deadlines, and closing tasks appropriately.
• Oversee MxT Utilization Tracking to ensure alignment with billable goals of 85% minimum utilization.
• Support and lead problem-solving efforts across departments to maintain high output standards and resolve project obstacles.
• Champion innovation in processes, design thinking, and technology adoption.
  Collaboration & Engagement
• Foster strong working relationships across departments to ensure open communication and enterprise alignment.
• Promote collaboration between design, sales, operations, and project management to deliver cohesive client experiences.
• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build relationships with clients, partners, and team members.
• Assist in guiding teams to appropriately engage with dancker’s Growth Ventures (e.g., DBE, ForBuild, dePloy).
  Client-Facing & Business Development Support
• Partner with sales leadership on strategic accounts, providing design expertise and support for business development initiatives.
• Serve as a design resource in key client engagements, presentations, and strategic planning sessions.
• Strong product knowledge of commercial furniture, including market trends and innovations.
• Elevate the role of design as a strategic differentiator within the sales process.

Skills & Competencies

• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite and design software (CET, AutoCAD, SketchUp, BlueBeam, etc).

• Comfortable using ZOHO Projects or equivalent project management platform.

• Ability to think strategically and make recommendations that align with the goals of sales and design teams.

• Organized, proactive, and able to manage multiple designers and their workload.

What you’ll bring to this role:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Interior Design, Architecture, or related field.
• 10+ years of experience in commercial furniture design, with at least 5 years in a leadership or management role.
• Excellent communication, organization, and interpersonal skills.
• Demonstrated ability to manage and mentor a team while meeting individual project responsibilities.
  Key Behaviors to succeed in the role
  All Employees: Collaborates | Accountable | Innovative | Customer Focused | Self Development | Courage
  People Leaders: Builds Effective Teams | Sets Vision & Purpose

About dancker
At dancker we partner with clients to co-create spaces that maximize the flow between people and ideas to unleash creative, productive, human potential.

Established in 1829, our origin is founded upon the quality of proud hand-made craftsmanship. For nearly 200 years, dancker has evolved our products, services, and expertise to meet the changing needs of work and the workplace. We conduct business nationally from our experience centers and logistical facilities located through the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. We understand why, how, and where people do their best work.

Today, we’re helping clients rethink their spaces in order to create new inspiring destinations. Together, we’re co-creating inviting spaces that support multiple work modes, engage people, provide ample privacy, and unite the collaborative efforts of employees through a range of unique settings.

As a leading interior solutions provider, we seamlessly integrate architectural, furniture, technology, and logistical solutions for leading organizations across corporate, government, education, and healthcare markets. dancker represents over 300 commercial interiors manufacturers, suppliers, and unique craftsman.

As an employer, we are proud of our environment that enables our people to be successful personally and professionally, our foundational believe that talent can develop and grow and our culture that celebrates our brilliant minds that bring the best and brightest ideas to life.

Salary Range: $125,000-$150,000, based on skills, capabilities, and experience.