Position Overview A hands-on senior interior design opportunity for a designer who wants to do excellent work and also improve how an interiors practice operates. The role combines sophisticated design, high-touch client leadership, furniture and FF&E work, project execution, and the chance to establish repeatable standards and workflows for a growing interiors team.
Why This Role Stands Out
- Influence beyond a single project: help shape workflows, presentation standards, project-management practices, client communication, and the future structure of the interiors group.
- Work across unusually diverse project types, including ultra-high-end single-family residential, multifamily, corporate/workplace, civic, education, religious, and entertainment/venue work.
- Operate inside an integrated architecture + interiors studio where the architectural team already has strong modeling, rendering, visualization, and presentation resources that can be extended into the interiors workflow.
- Lead sophisticated clients through material, furniture, art, lighting, appliance, and finish decisions with confidence and strong design judgment.
- Join a long-established, award-winning design practice that is deliberately planning for its next generation of leadership and offers long-term growth for high-performing team members.
Key Responsibilities
Design + Client Leadership
- Lead interior design assignments from concept and selections through procurement, installation, and final placement while protecting design quality, schedule, budget, organization, and client experience.
- Develop palettes, furniture plans, FF&E concepts, and selections for finishes, materials, appliances, hardware, plumbing fixtures, lighting, furniture, art, accessories, and window treatments.
- Guide clients through showrooms, vendor meetings, and high-value furniture decisions; provide clear professional direction rather than simply presenting options.
- Collaborate closely with architects on integrated interiors, including kitchens, bathrooms, cabinetry, built-ins, and other interior architectural elements.
- Coordinate with vendors, showrooms, contractors, fabricators, and project teams; oversee specifications, purchase orders, deliveries, installations, and final placement.
- Produce or contribute to polished digital and physical presentations, furniture plans, schedules, and related documentation.
Department Development + Team Leadership
- Build practical, repeatable processes for interior design projects - not a department from scratch, but a stronger operating system for an established body of work.
- Establish and improve standards for presentations, documentation, selections, specifications, furniture schedules, procurement, project tracking, and client communication.
- Create a more consistent handoff from architecture into interiors so clients experience the same level of responsiveness, clarity, and confidence throughout the project.
- Mentor and guide junior designers; create clearer direction, accountability, and a path for team members to succeed.
- Partner with firm leadership to identify bottlenecks, improve efficiency, and expand the capabilities and business performance of the interiors practice.
Required Qualifications
- Accredited degree in Interior Design or a related field.
- Meaningful professional experience in high-end residential interior design; the firm is open on exact years for an exceptional candidate, but the person must demonstrate maturity, initiative, and the ability to operate independently.
- Demonstrated ability to lead projects from design through installation and to manage sophisticated client relationships.
- Strong design sensibility and the confidence to make and defend thoughtful design recommendations.
- Ability to create or improve systems, workflows, standards, and project organization - not simply follow an existing process.
- Hands-on comfort with production and presentation work; this is not a purely managerial position.
- Proficiency in AutoCAD for furniture plans, schedules, and related documentation.
- Valid driver’s license, reliable transportation, and legal authorization to work in the United States.
- Willingness and practical ability to work in-office on Long Island.
Preferred Qualifications
- Luxury / ultra-high-end residential portfolio with substantial FF&E, furniture procurement, custom detailing, and client-facing responsibility.
- Experience mentoring or managing designers and implementing studio or department standards.
- Knowledge of kitchen design, appliances, custom cabinetry, millwork, and shop drawings.
- Experience with sophisticated presentation methods, digital visualization, 3D plans, or technology-enabled client presentations.
- SketchUp experience; hand-sketching ability is also viewed positively.
- Experience converting an architectural client relationship into a successful full-service interiors/furniture engagement.
Ideal Candidate Profile
The strongest candidate is both a designer and a builder of better ways of working: creative enough to elevate the design, organized enough to make the work repeatable, confident enough to guide demanding clients, and hands-on enough to stay close to drawings, presentations, selections, procurement, and installation. The firm is open to either a proven senior leader or a less-tenured, unusually driven designer who can demonstrate initiative, client presence, technology fluency, and a track record of improving how work gets done.
Compensation + Benefits
Base salary: $70,000-$120,000 per year, based on experience. Benefits listed in the source materials include 401(k), health, dental, and vision insurance, paid time off, and bonus opportunities. The source materials do not define bonus structure, relocation assistance, or hybrid/remote flexibility; those items should not be represented as offered.