Job Title
Design Manager
Job Description Summary
The Design Manager is a client-facing design professional responsible for managing design execution, standards governance, and continuous improvement across a high-volume, multi-site retail design program. This role partners with client stakeholders, account leadership, and internal teams to translate business needs, real estate strategies, operational requirements, and prototype standards into scalable, code-conscious design solutions. The Design Manager provides hands-on technical direction, quality control, workload coordination, and process improvement support to ensure consistent, efficient, and high-quality delivery.
Job Description
The Design Manager is a client-facing design professional responsible for managing design execution, standards governance, and continuous improvement across a high-volume, multi-site retail design program. This role partners with client stakeholders, account leadership, and internal teams to translate business needs, real estate strategies, operational requirements, and prototype standards into scalable, code-conscious design solutions. The Design Manager provides hands-on technical direction, quality control, workload coordination, and process improvement support to ensure consistent, efficient, and high-quality delivery.
Principal Responsibilities
Design Program Leadership
- Retail Program Execution: Manage design delivery across a high-volume, multi-site retail program, ensuring each project supports business objectives, operational requirements, customer experience, and established prototype standards.
- Standards Governance: Maintain, interpret, and evolve design standards, prototype guidelines, space planning criteria, and documentation requirements to support consistency while allowing flexibility for site-specific conditions.
- Program Alignment: Coordinate design requirements across new locations, remodels, prototypes, test fits, and special projects to ensure scope, schedule, documentation, and deliverables remain aligned with client priorities.
- Process Improvement: Translate lessons learned, stakeholder feedback, and evolving business needs into scalable design processes, tools, templates, checklists, and documented best practices.
Program Coordination & Delivery Support
- Workload Coordination: Coordinate design workload, priorities, deliverables, and timelines across active projects in partnership with account leadership and design resources.
- Design Direction: Provide technical guidance, design input, and standards interpretation to support consistent execution across projects and deliverables.
- Hands-On Support: Provide design production and technical support when needed, particularly for complex projects, high-priority deliverables, templates, standards updates, and design assets.
Technical Execution & Quality Control
- Technical Design Review: Review test fits, space plans, design documents, Revit models, and drawing packages for accuracy, completeness, code considerations, and alignment with standards.
- Code & Compliance Awareness: Apply working knowledge of IBC, ADA, and jurisdictional considerations to identify design risks, review drawing compliance, and support decision-making.
- Design Problem Solving: Resolve complex planning, documentation, coordination, or technical design challenges in partnership with designers, stakeholders, consultants, and account teams.
- Technology Enablement: Support effective use of Revit, Bluebeam, design tools, templates, and workflow improvements to increase consistency, efficiency, and quality of deliverables.
Requirements
- Education: Bachelor’s degree in Architecture, Interior Design, or a related design discipline from a NAAB- or CIDA-accredited institution preferred.
- Professional Experience: 7+ years of professional design experience, with demonstrated experience supporting retail, restaurant, corporate, workplace, or multi-site design programs.
- Program Coordination Experience: Experience coordinating design priorities, deliverables, timelines, and cross-functional inputs within a retail, restaurant, corporate, workplace, or multi-site design environment.
- Technical Proficiency: Strong Revit and AutoCAD experience required; proficiency with Bluebeam, Microsoft Office Suite, and Adobe Creative Suite preferred.
- Standards & Documentation: Experience managing design standards, prototype guidelines, templates, drawing packages, planning criteria, or scalable documentation processes.
- Code Awareness: Working knowledge of IBC, ADA, and design compliance considerations related to space planning and drawing review.
- Client Leadership: Strong client-facing communication skills with the ability to advise, influence, present recommendations, and build trusted relationships with stakeholders.
- Execution & Accountability: Ability to manage multiple concurrent priorities, take ownership of requests through completion, and deliver accurate, high-quality work in a fast-paced environment.
- Problem Solving: Strong analytical, organizational, communication, and decision-making skills with attention to detail and quality control.
Preferred Qualifications
- NCIDQ certification, architectural licensure, or equivalent professional credential.
- Experience with retail rollout, restaurant, franchise, prototype, or high-volume multi-site design programs.
- Experience supporting design process improvement, Revit standards, BIM workflows, automation tools, or design technology implementation.
- Experience coordinating with architects, consultants, vendors, procurement teams, construction partners, or operations stakeholders.
- Experience developing dashboards, reports, metrics, or workflow tracking tools to support design program management and project performance.
Cushman & Wakefield also provides eligible employees with an opportunity to enroll in a variety of benefit programs, generally including health, vision, and dental insurance, flexible spending accounts, health savings accounts, retirement savings plans, life, and disability insurance programs, and paid and unpaid time away from work. In addition to a comprehensive benefits package, Cushman and Wakefield provide eligible employees with competitive pay, which may vary depending on eligibility factors such as geographic location, date of hire, total hours worked, job type, business line, and applicability of collective bargaining agreements.
The compensation that will be offered to the successful candidate will depend on factors such as whether the position is covered by a collective bargaining agreement, the geographic area in which the work will be performed, market pay rates in that area, and the candidate’s experience and qualifications.
The company will not pay less than minimum wage for this role.
The compensation for the position is: $ 68,000.00 - $80,000.00
Cushman & Wakefield is an Equal Opportunity employer to all protected groups, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities. Discrimination of any type will not be tolerated.
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA), if you have a disability and would like to request an accommodation in order to apply for a position at Cushman & Wakefield, please call the ADA line at 1-888-365-5406 or email Accommodations@cushwake.com. Please refer to the job title and job location when you contact us.
INCO: “Cushman & Wakefield”
