Senior Interior Designer - Hospitality/Hotels

Client of Portico Recruitment

As a Senior Interior Designer, you will be at the forefront of shaping innovative, luxury interior designs while maintaining the creative, collaborative spirit that defines our studio. You will strive to lead and inspire multidisciplinary teams on high-impact, local & global projects, ensuring the highest standards of design excellence, client satisfaction, and environmental responsibility. This role requires both creative vision and leadership as you will be working closely with other members of the design team to support a unified vision and the successful completion of projects through presentations, finishes, materials, design documentation and administration of construction.

MIN. REQUIRED SKILLS

Design skills:

• Has an understanding of interior design processes during all project stages with hands-on design involvement. Strong UAE experience is preferable, with knowledge of local building codes, regulations, and environmental considerations.
• Advanced Software skills:
• Proficient in design software tools, including Revit, BIM, AutoCAD, Rhino, and/or similar programs, and familiarity with design visualisation tools. Adobe InDesign and Photoshop.
• Strong Leadership & Team Management abilities:
• Able to deliver 1-2 projects simultaneously, with the ability to lead junior team members, independently sketch, produce mood imagery and 3D model to communicate design ideas, and delegate responsibilities effectively.
• Strategic Thinking - Problem Solving & Decision-making:
• Assists in implementing short and long-term strategies to address potential challenges and mitigate risks during design processes.
• Excellent Communication skills:
• Verbal and written to effectively interact with various stakeholders, clients, and team members. Act as an ambassador for the firm, representing its values, vision, and collaborative culture both internally and externally.
• Project Experience:
• Creative portfolio demonstrating a history of Hospitality, High End Residential and F&B projects.

Personal Traits:

• Strong communication skills and collaborative style, open to feedback.
• Strong analytical and time management skills
• Highly organised and detail-oriented
• Adaptable and able to thrive in a fast-paced environment
• Cultural sensitivity, especially in a diverse and international setting like Dubai.
• Ability to work independently and lead and handle multiple design scopes at a time with confidence under the guidance of your Design Principal.

Key Responsibilities and Objectives:

Project Delivery:

• Working closely with the Design Principal, you will help create design narratives and visions for projects through design intent sketches, models, mood boards and 3D modelling. You will develop designs from Concept through to Construction Documentation and lead coordination efforts with collaborators and vendors for each project to troubleshoot problems and ensure quality of work.

Client Interaction / Satisfaction:

• Liaise with Clients and Consultants on design matters, technical coordination, schedules and deliverables.

Team Performance:

• Lead and mentor project teams, ensuring Design Principal direction is followed by providing guidance and technical expertise.

Project Scope Management:

• Oversee production of design presentations, renderings, modelling and design documentation to ensure project success. Lead coordination efforts with support from your Design Principal with all sub consultants.

Project Risk Management:

• Raise potential issues or conflicts on projects to your senior management to ensure projects are delivered with excellence and efficiency. Provide troubleshooting ideas to ensure smooth delivery.

Innovation:

• Maintain a strong understanding of global interior design trends and sustainability practices and drive the implementation of cutting-edge technologies, including software and systems, to improve design quality and workflow efficiency.

Project Setup

• Participate in collating information from briefing meetings with clients to communicate the project vision with team members.
• Assist in providing planning of the design teams' workflows and assignments in alignment with project requirements and programs.
• Oversee the preparation of drawing documentation with the design teams and BIM Leads.
• Ensure compliance with BIM standards, communication protocol and project filing.

Design

• Follows design direction of the project set by the Design Principal, ensuring alignment with client goals, site context, and project requirements.
• Leads the design of project scopes under the guidance of the Design Principal from early conceptual design phases through to technical design phases and effectively apply your leadership to the assigned team members as appropriate.
• Mentor and inspire design teams by fostering a collaborative, experimental studio environment that promotes exploration and critical thinking.
• Adopt creative and innovative solutions to project designs and develop appropriate research and documentation to support these solutions.
• Participates in design critiques, providing and receiving actionable feedback to maintain quality, innovation, and rigor.
• Produces design outputs to ensure interior design excellence, contextual sensitivity, and technical feasibility throughout all stages of the project.
• Participates in regular internal design reviews and client reviews and presents the design progress to the client with the Design Principal.
• Champions innovation in design by integrating new materials, construction methods, parametric tools, and digital design technologies to drive continuous improvement to elevate the overall quality of the work.
• Ensure that sustainability, environmental performance, and wellness principles are embedded holistically within the design process.