Senior Interior Designer, K-12

DLR Group is an integrated design firm with a promise to elevate the human experience through design. This fuels the work we do around the world and inspires our mission to improve the lives of our clients, our communities, and our planet. If this sparks your interest, you’re in the right place.

We have an opening for a Sr. Interior Designer focused on Educational Projects. This role is based in:

• San Diego, CA

About our Education Sectors at DLR Group

We fully embrace our responsibility to society by designing spaces that emphasize learning and social development. Creating spaces that foster creativity, learning and connection are the priority while ensuring that educators are supported so they can perform at their highest levels.

Position Summary

As part of our integrated practice, the Interiors discipline at DLR Group collaborates across all sectors to enhance design excellence, prioritizing human experience and wellness within interior environments. Leveraging industry insights and market research, our approach is grounded in evidence-based design.

Senior Interior Designers lead key aspects of projects, including interior design efforts, client interactions, and presentations. You’ll be responsible for daily design and technical development, coordinating the interior components of project documentation, and collaborating with the integrated design team to ensure quality outcomes that align with project scope, schedule, fees, and budget.

As a mentor to junior staff, you will help foster a work environment that embodies DLR Group’s core values. You’ll also work with leaders across various sectors to support the collaborative pursuit, acquisition, and execution of projects. Additional responsibilities may include participating in client interviews, marketing and business development activities, contributing to research and development initiatives, and assisting in the creation of sector-specific tools and marketing materials.

If you are a collaborative thought leader with a strategic mindset this might be the position for you. DLR Group is 100% employee owned and as such you’ll enjoy the opportunity to have ownership in the Firm. We rely on all our employee-owners to apply their financial acumen to grow the Firm profitably.

What you will do:

• Lead conceptual design, program development, and space planning within projects, utilizing expertise to guide the design process when appropriate

• Demonstrate a refined design approach that integrates functionality, programmatic alignment, and spatial performance, addressing all aspects of three-dimensional space

• Oversee and ensure quality in construction documents and design details for constructability, mentoring and developing junior staff in the process

• Ensure design intent is realized through careful selection of materials, FF&E, and products that align with sustainable commitments, while reviewing graphic presentations to effectively communicate design vision

• Attend site visits and construction administration meetings regularly, sharing lessons learned to support coordination within the integrated team

• Provide mentorship and leadership, proactively contributing to project success and fostering team growth

• Guide and mentor teams to produce high-quality deliverables, serving as a thought leader within your discipline and/or primary sector

• Champion design excellence and innovation within the integrated team

• Execute quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) to maintain design integrity throughout all project phases

• Communicate design intent and thought leadership clearly and consistently with project managers and the Integrated Design Team at each project phase

• Lead presentations and manage client expectations to build and maintain strong client relationships

• Ensure project schedules, delivery timelines, and profitability are met, balancing design priorities with project budgets

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Interior Design

• Minimum of 8 years of professional Interior Design experience

• Professional licensure

• Proficient in Revit and familiar with Bluebeam; strong proficiency in standard A/E/I/P software

• Demonstrated leadership in applying design techniques, tools, and sustainable principles to create precise technical plans, drawings, reports, and models

• Strong attention to detail with a proactive approach to process improvement, problem-solving, and high-quality decision-making

• Excellent written, verbal, and graphic communication skills with the ability to manage multiple tasks effectively

• Active participation in professional organizations, presents at industry conferences, and contributes to business development and marketing by pursuing client leads and opportunities

Preferred Qualifications:

• LEED AP or other green certifications preferred

*TO BE CONSIDERED, PLEASE SUBMIT CURRENT PORTFOLIO/WORK SAMPLES IN PDF FORMAT*#LI-JD

Our comprehensive Benefits at DLR Group include medical, dental, vision, disability, wellness programs, flex spending, paid holidays, and paid time off. We also offer a 401(k) plan, employee stock ownership, and bonus opportunities. Compensation considerations are based on location, experience, and skills. The suggested pay range for this position is:

Pay Range

$85,000—$120,000 USD

DLR Group is an integrated design firm delivering architecture, engineering, interiors, planning, and building optimization for new builds, renovations, and adaptive reuse projects.

We are 100% employee-owned: every employee is literally invested in our clients’ success. At the core of our firm are interdisciplinary teams engaged in every step of project lifecycles. Our teams champion true collaboration, open information sharing, shared risk and reward, value-based decision making, and proficient use of technology to deliver exceptional design. We are pursuing the goals of the 2030 Challenge, the ME2040, and the SE2050, and are an initial signatory of the China Accord and the AIA 2030 Commitment.

Through our values – commitment, creativity, environmental stewardship, fun, integrity, ownership, sharing, teamwork – we elevate the human experience through design, together.DLR Group follows a four-day in-office work model, with employees having the flexibility to work somewhere other than the office on Fridays.

We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action/M/F/Veteran/Disabled employer.