Interior Design Practice Leader

Atmosphere Architects; Mesa (AZ); On-site; USD 105,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Atmosphere Architects is seeking an experienced Interior Design Practice Leader to shape and grow our interior design studio across Arizona and beyond. You will lead projects from concept to construction, build client relationships, and mentor designers while shaping the practice’s direction.

Your role combines design leadership, business development, and team-building, with compensation tied to growth and project wins in hospitality, corporate, and residential sectors.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Interior Design, Interior Architecture, Architecture, or related field
• 8+ years of professional interior design experience preferred
• Strong design and project leadership experience
• A portfolio you're proud of
• Experience developing project scopes, fees, proposals, and budgets
• Ability to develop relationships and bring in new work into the firm
• Experience in hospitality, restaurants, corporate workplace, commercial interiors, tenant improvements, mixed-use, and high-end residential
• Knowledge of materials, finishes, furnishings, millwork, lighting, detailing, and FF&E
• Knowledge of building codes, accessibility, construction methods, and documentation
• Experience coordinating with architects, engineers, contractors, vendors, manufacturers, and consultants
• Strong communication, presentation, organizational, and leadership skills
• Ability to lead, mentor, and develop other designers
• Proficiency with Revit and Adobe Creative Suite
• Bluebeam and visualization software a plus
• NCIDQ certification preferred but not required

Responsibilities

• Lead and grow Atmosphere's interior design practice
• Pursue projects and clients you want to work with
• Develop relationships with owners, developers, hospitality groups, corporate clients, contractors, brokers, and partners
• Turn relationships and opportunities into projects
• Develop scopes, fees, proposals, budgets and schedules
• Lead projects from initial client conversation through construction
• Establish the design vision and lead client presentations
• Direct space planning, materials, finishes, FF&E, millwork, lighting, specifications, and docs
• Collaborate with architects, engineers, contractors, vendors, and clients
• Manage staffing, schedules, budgets, and profitability
• Mentor designers and build the interiors team
• Establish standards, processes, resources, and culture of the interior design practice
• Work with leadership on marketing, business development, and growth

Skills

Leadership

Relationship building

Entrepreneurship

Project leadership

Communication

Revit

Adobe Creative Suite

Mentoring

Education

Bachelor's degree in Interior Design/Interior Architecture/Architecture

Tools

Revit

Adobe Creative Suite

Bluebeam

Job description

Atmosphere Architects is looking for an experienced Interior Design Practice Leader to help us build the next chapter of our interior design practice.

We're a growing architecture and design firm working on an increasingly diverse mix of projects throughout Arizona and beyond. Our team is currently working with clients and organizations including Ronald McDonald House Charities, Arizona State University, Marriott and other hospitality brands, along with new corporate clients, developers, municipalities, and private owners.

Our projects aren't all one type—and we like it that way. One day may involve a hospitality environment, the next a corporate workplace, restaurant, high-end residence, or a new mixed-use development.

We're looking for someone who sees that variety as an opportunity.

This isn't a position where you'll simply inherit a list of projects and manage them. We want someone who is excited about building a practice—developing relationships, bringing in new work, creating great spaces, mentoring designers, and helping determine what Atmosphere's interior design studio becomes.

What You'll Get to Do

As our Interior Design Practice Leader, you'll have a seat at the table with the firm's principals and significant freedom to help shape the direction of the practice.

You’ll:

• Lead and grow Atmosphere's interior design practice
• Help pursue the projects and clients you want to work with
• Develop relationships with owners, developers, hospitality groups, corporate clients, contractors, brokers, and industry partners
• Turn new relationships and opportunities into projects
• Develop scopes, fees, proposals, budgets, and schedules
• Lead projects from the first client conversation and initial concept through construction
• Establish the design vision and lead client presentations
• Direct space planning, materials, finishes, FF&E, millwork, lighting, specifications, and construction documentation
• Collaborate directly with our architects, engineers, contractors, consultants, vendors, and clients
• Manage project staffing, schedules, budgets, and profitability
• Mentor our designers and help build the interiors team
• Help establish the standards, processes, resources, and culture of the interior design practice
• Work directly with firm leadership on marketing, business development, and long-term growth

The Kind of Person We’re Looking For

We're looking for a designer, leader, relationship builder, and entrepreneur.

You should be able to walk into a room with a prospective client, understand what they're trying to accomplish, get excited about the possibilities, and help turn that conversation into a project.

Then you should know how to lead the team that delivers it.

We're looking for someone with:

• Bachelor's degree in Interior Design, Interior Architecture, Architecture, or a related field
• 8+ years of professional interior design experience preferred
• Strong design and project leadership experience
• A portfolio you're proud of
• Experience developing project scopes, fees, proposals, and project budgets
• The ability and desire to develop relationships and bring new work into the firm
• Experience in one or more of our primary markets, including hospitality, restaurants, corporate workplace, commercial interiors, tenant improvements, mixed-use, and high-end residential
• Strong knowledge of materials, finishes, furnishings, millwork, lighting, detailing, and FF&E
• Knowledge of building codes, accessibility requirements, construction methods, and construction documentation
• Experience coordinating with architects, engineers, contractors, vendors, manufacturers, and consultants
• Strong communication, presentation, organizational, and leadership skills
• The ability to lead, mentor, and develop other designers
• Proficiency with Revit and Adobe Creative Suite
• Experience with Bluebeam and visualization software is a plus
• NCIDQ certification is preferred but not required

Compensation + Reward for Growth

Base Salary: $105,000–$140,000 per year, depending on experience, qualifications, leadership ability, and demonstrated business development experience.

But we don't want compensation to stop at salary.

The Interior Design Practice Leader will also be eligible for tiered quarterly business development bonuses based on new projects and clients they bring into the firm.

The bonus structure is designed to reward someone who actively develops relationships, creates new opportunities, and contributes directly to the growth of Atmosphere's interior design practice.

If you help grow the practice, we believe you should participate in that success.

Why Atmosphere?

We're not interested in becoming a firm that simply produces drawings.

We want to do interesting work with good people.

Our portfolio continues to expand across hospitality, higher education, nonprofit, corporate, mixed‑use, commercial, civic, and residential design. That variety gives our team the opportunity to work on very different types and scales of projects rather than being locked into a single market sector.

We're also small enough that good ideas don't have to travel through five layers of management before something happens.

Our Interior Design Practice Leader will work directly with the firm's principals and have a genuine opportunity to influence the direction of the company, including the clients we pursue, the projects we take on, the designers we hire, and the kind of interior design practice we build.

For the right person, this position offers something different:

The resources and opportunities of an established architecture firm with the entrepreneurial opportunity to build an interior design practice that you can put your fingerprint on.

If you love design, enjoy people, know how to turn relationships into opportunities, and are excited by the idea of building something rather than simply stepping into an existing role, we'd love to meet you.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $105,000–$140,000 per year

Additional Compensation: Tiered quarterly business development bonuses