Level 5 — Senior Interior Designer II
Position Summary
The level 5 — Senior Interior Designer II is responsible for delivering a world-class experience to clients through effective listening, communication, and ensuring project teams are empowered to achieve project goals. The position develops a thorough understanding of client criteria and leads the development of responsive interior design concepts, narratives, presentations and documentation. The position promotes the firm’s vision, mission, core values, and long-range plans through action and contributes to initiatives and operational improvements aligned with achieving the firm’s objectives.
The level 5 — Senior Interior Designer II is able to effectively deliver multiple, concurrent complex projects across typologies. The position demonstrates exceptional design, meeting facilitation, and leadership skills, ensuring high-quality, sophisticated and innovative design concepts and compelling client presentations. The position requires advanced creativity, excellent listening skills, and the ability to manage and exceed client expectations.
This position is hybrid: 4 days a week in the Boston, MA office and 1 day remote.
Key Duties and responsibilities
Project and Design Leadership and Client Service
- Manages and develops interior design concepts for multiple complex projects across typologies, concurrently and successfully.
- Engages clients in explorations that respectfully challenge and inspire their understanding of appropriate and sustainable interior design solution.
- Directs preparation of and conducts interior design presentations to clients.
- Expresses clear philosophy for design tasks and methodology for achieving goals, verbally and/or graphically.
- Communicates design narrative and intent in a clear and compelling way; demonstrates the incorporation of client’s requirements and goals within the design solution.
- Leads the creative design direction during all design phases, being mindful of clients’ needs and vision, requirements, project budget, schedule, and site issues.
- Assures the integrity of the design concept throughout the life of the project.
- Independently researches and develops new and unique approaches on design solutions.
- Initiates and creates space plans, three-dimension concepts and materials palettes.
- Stays current with or influences the latest interior design trends, art, lighting, signage, color, products and materials, technology, and strategies for current workplace solutions.
- Provides constructive feedback to individuals working on projects, providing ongoing design direction to ensure consistent and high-quality design throughout all project phases.
- Reviews design and construction documents and specifications to ensure compliance with design intent.
- Collaborates with the Interior Project Manager on design-related aspects of the construction and FF&E budgets, design and design-related aspects of the construction schedules.
Firm Leadership
- Proactively collaborates with colleagues in all departments to build more effective and efficient firm and project operations.
- Actively contributes to one or more programs or initiatives that contribute to meeting firm objectives.
- Collaborates with other senior leaders to determine staffing level needs.
- Collaborates with Talent and Culture to recruit, interview, evaluate and select new hires.
- Assists with employee onboarding and off-boarding to ensure proper knowledge transfer.
- Fosters an inclusive and collaborative office environment.
- Pursues opportunities to speak, present and/or author thought leadership pieces within the firm, professional organizations, and client community.
- Participates in networking activities, developing and fostering relationships in broader design community; keeps well connected with manufacturers and design industry professionals to ensure access to newest and most innovative products and services available.
Supervisory Responsibilities
- Directs the work of project team members on projects.
- Provides performance feedback to team members and to their performance managers.
- Manages the performance and professional development of performance advisees, as assigned.
Required Education, Experience and Credentials
- Bachelor’s degree in interior design from a CIDA accredited program or a B.Arch
- At least twelve (12) years of experience as an interior designer in a client services firm
- Professional design portfolio
- NCIDQ certification or Registered Architect
- Sustainable Building Materials certified
- LEED GA
- WELL certified
Required Skills and Abilities
Leadership, Communication and Emotional Skills
- Ability to demonstrate the firm’s core values: Integrity, Purpose, Collaboration, Empathy, Conscientiousness, Accountability.
- Strong service orientation with the ability to anticipate problems and needs and proactively find solutions.
- Ability to listen to understand and tailor responses appropriately.
- Ability to communicate relevant information clearly and concisely, with the appropriate tone.
- Strong attention to detail, especially in written and visual communications.
- Ability and desire to receive feedback and learn from other’s perspectives.
- Ability to include all, collaborate, and recognize others’ contributions.
- Ability to be flexible and to adapt to changes in priority or direction.
- Ability and desire to self-start, ask questions, learn and grow.
- Ability to manage time and workflow.
- Ability to remain calm under pressure.
- Ability to manage conflict and diffuse situations.
- Ability to nurture client relationships and manage expectation.
Technical Skills and Applied Knowledge
- Exceptional design aptitude informed by empathy, synthesis and abductive thinking, and the ability to rapidly experiment.
- Advanced knowledge of:
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- Design, trends, construction process and methodology, materials application and manufacturer-supplier appropriateness.
- Furniture fixture and equipment (FF&E) including specifications, selection, budgeting, and expectation management.
- Architectural/interior finishes, lighting applications and selections, art, signage, color and materials to carryout design intent.
- Sustainability, integrated design, LEED and WELL guidelines and material health.
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- Ability to prepare and deliver presentations clearly and compellingly.
- Ability to plan, lead and facilitate effective meetings.
- Ability to act independently and decisively from a sound background in interior design principles.
- Demonstrates flexibility, creativity, foresight, and mature judgment in anticipating and solving interior design issues.
- Fully competent in all conventional aspects of interior design processes.
- Ability to manage digital files in adherence with office standards.
- Advanced technical skills with:
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- Adobe Creative Suite, including Photoshop and InDesign
- Revit
- AutoCAD
- Sketchup
- Enscape
- Designer Pages for furniture specifications
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- Proficiency with Deltek Vision.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite.
- Ability to perform work using a Windows operating system.
- Proficiency with Deltek Vantagepoint, preferred.
Working Conditions, Physical Activities and Demands
- Office environment, no adverse environmental conditions expected on a usual basis.
- Occasionally visiting construction sites with exposure to outdoor elements, variable temperatures, hazards, and noise.
- Constantly repeating motions that may include the wrists, hands and/or fingers.
- Constantly assessing the accuracy, neatness and thoroughness of the work assigned.
- Constantly remaining in a stationary position, often sitting for prolonged periods.
- Constantly communicating with others to exchange information.
Benefits and Perks
- Ten (10) paid vacation days per year.
- Eleven (11) paid fixed holidays and two (2) paid floating holidays per year.
- Ten (10) paid sick days per year.
- Health insurance, 70% employer.
- Dental and vision insurance, 70% employer paid.
- Health Reimbursement Account, Health Savings Account and/or Flexible Spending Account for pre-tax medical and dependent care expenses.
- Employer paid life, AD&D, short‑, and long-term disability insurance, w/optional additional employee paid coverages.
- 401(k) with employer match.
- Employee Assistance Program for counseling, legal, and financial assistance.
- Free annual membership to Blue Bikes.
- Pre-tax commuter and parking benefits.
- Free shuttles to and from the Innovation & Design Building and South Station or North Station during peak commute hours.
Elkus Manfredi Architects provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, creed, ancestry, national origin, citizenship, sex or gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, and pregnancy-related conditions), gender identity or expression (including transgender status), sexual orientation, marital status, religion, age, disability, genetic information, service in the military, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws and ordinances. Equal employment opportunity applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leave of absence, compensation, and training. If you are interested in a career with Elkus Manfredi, please email a resume, cover letter and portfolio to: