INTERMEDIATE DESIGNER

Designer title ... leadership trajectory

TEAM VANROOY

WHO WE ARE

Full-time, in-office (Santa Ana, CA)

Salary:

$60,000 – $80,000
($28.85/hr) – ($38.46/hr)
based on 40-hour work week
based on capability and potential

Significant growth opportunity tied to performance.

At VANROOY, we design hospitality spaces with the understanding that beautiful design is only one part of the equation. The work also has to operate well, communicate clearly, support staff, support guests, and hold up under real-world pressure.

All of us come from hospitality backgrounds ourselves … hotels, restaurants, food and beverage. We understand the pace, the moving parts, the unpredictability, and the level of detail required to make an experience feel effortless.

We tend to work best with people who are naturally curious, highly observant, collaborative, and comfortable solving problems as a team. People who notice things. People who care about how something feels, not just how it photographs.

Our projects are hands-on and deeply collaborative. We stay close to the work from concept through construction, working directly with owners, operators, consultants, and builders throughout the process. We value communication, accountability, adaptability, and people who are willing to jump in when things get complicated.

This is not a “design from a distance” studio.

It’s a team environment built around trust, high standards, thoughtful execution, and a genuine respect for hospitality as an industry.

If you’ve worked in hospitality before, you already understand a lot of what matters to us.

THE ROLE

This is not a “PRODUCTION ONLY” DESIGN POSITION.

We are looking for an Intermediate Interior Designer who can design, develop, document, communicate, and problem-solve.

- You should be far enough into your career that you understand how a project actually comes together, but still hungry to learn, experiment, and become significantly better.
- You will work directly with VANROOY’s principals and project leadership on restaurants, hotels, resorts, and select residential projects.
- You will contribute from the beginning of the design story through construction.
- You will be expected to bring ideas… not wait for them.

You will be expected to understand the reasoning behind your design decisions.

And you will be expected to take ownership of your work.

If you want to spend your career doing one narrow piece of a project… this probably isn’t the right studio.

If you want to understand the entire process and become a stronger designer because of it… keep reading.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

Phase 1: Understand + Contribute

Understand the project narrative, client objectives, operational needs, budget, brand requirements, and design intent before jumping into solutions.

Contribute to:

- Design narratives and concept development
- Mood and imagery presentations
- Space planning: Floor, power, flooring, and furniture plans
- Reflected ceiling and lighting plans
- Interior elevations
- Material finish and FF&E selections and Specifications
- Custom furniture and lighting
- Design presentations
- Construction documentation

You will work across restaurants, bars, hotels, guestrooms, lobbies, meeting spaces, public areas, and other experience-driven environments.

You should be able to look at a problem, understand what needs to happen next, and begin working toward a solution.

Phase 2: Design + Develop

As you become integrated into the studio, you will take greater ownership of portions of projects. You will:

Develop design concepts from initial idea through detailed execution.

Space plan hospitality environments with an understanding of:

- Guest behavior
- Operational flow
- ADA requirements
- Brand requirements
- Client objectives
- Furniture clearances
- Scale and proportion
- Real-world functionality

Select and specify material finishes and FF&E.

Develop custom specifications and details.

Work directly with vendors to understand:

- Pricing
- Lead times
- Minimums
- Availability
- Installation requirements
- Material performance
- Appropriate applications

And most importantly… know why you selected something.

We are not interested in filling a room with things that “work.”

We want designers who search for the right solution.

Phase 3: Document + Coordinate

Great ideas are meaningless if they cannot be built.

- You will help translate design intent into clear, coordinated construction documents.
- You should be comfortable working in AutoCAD and developing a full construction set.
- You will pick up redlines accurately and understand the reason behind them.
- You will coordinate with Architects, MEP engineers, Kitchen consultants, Lighting designers, Acoustical consultants, Procurement teams, Vendors and fabricators, Contractors, Hotel brands, and Ownership teams.
- You will learn to spot conflicts before they become field problems.
- You will ask questions when something doesn’t make sense.

And you will understand that documentation is not separate from design. It is design.

Phase 4: Own + Lead

As your capability grows, so will your responsibility.

You will begin to:

- Own larger portions of projects
- Present work internally and to clients
- Coordinate directly with consultants
- Review submittals and RFIs
- Participate in site visits
- Assist with construction administration
- Review shop drawings
- Help resolve field conditions
- Track project decisions and deliverables
- Mentor and support junior designers
- Review junior team members’ work
- Identify potential scope creep before work proceeds
- Think ahead instead of waiting for the next assignment

At this stage, you are no longer simply completing design tasks.

You are helping move the project forward.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

We are not hiring based on a resume alone. We are hiring based on how you think, how you design, and how you work.

You might be a perfect fit if you are:

Obsessive about design: You notice proportion, lighting, materials, details, furniture, graphics, transitions, and all the tiny decisions most people walk past.

Curious: You want to understand why something works.

Technical: You understand that the best designers aren’t afraid of drawings, dimensions, details, codes, coordination, or construction.

Resourceful: You research. You ask questions. You figure things out.

Opinionated: You have ideas and are willing to share them, but you’re equally willing to listen, collaborate, and change direction when a better idea emerges.

Accountable: If something belongs to you, you own it.

Hospitality-minded: You understand that we are not simply designing rooms.

We are designing experiences for guests, workplaces for staff, and businesses for our clients.

You should be comfortable:

Working across several projects at different stages
Managing overlapping deadlines
Receiving direct, honest design feedback
Defending an idea with reasoning
Letting go of an idea when something better emerges
Working collaboratively rather than protecting your territory
Communicating when you need help
Communicating before something becomes a problem
Working in a fast-moving studio where priorities occasionally shift
Taking ownership of your work from idea → execution → refinement

You should have:

Approximately 2–5+ years of professional interior design experience, ideally within hospitality.

Experience with restaurants and hotels is strongly preferred.

You should have strong working knowledge of:

AutoCAD
SketchUp or comparable 3D software
Microsoft Office / Excel
ADA requirements
Basic building-code requirements as they relate to interiors

You should be able to:

Read architectural and consultant drawings
Develop floor plans and elevation sketches / drawings
Create compelling design presentations
Translate conceptual ideas into buildable solutions
Select materials appropriate to their actual application
Communicate effectively with vendors and consultants
Manage your own workload and deadlines
Keep project files, samples, selections, and information organized
Move between creative thinking and technical problem-solving

A degree in Interior Design, Interior Architecture, Architecture, Industrial Design, or a related discipline is required.

Equivalent professional experience will absolutely be considered.

NCIDQ, CID, LEED, or other professional credentials are a plus, not a requirement.

DEAL BREAKERS

This will not work if you:

Wait to be told what to do
Care more about how something photographs than how it functions.
Think construction documents are someone else’s problem.
Produce the first acceptable solution instead of looking for the better one.
Struggle with direct feedback
Hide mistakes instead of communicating them.
Miss deadlines without early communication.
Need constant validation or supervision to stay organized.
Or consistently choose speed over thoughtfulness.

Also… character matters.

We are building something meaningful. We expect:

Respect
Integrity
Curiosity
Consistency
Follow-through
Humility
High standards

And we expect you to care about the people you work with (clients, team members, & vendors)

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE

You will understand VANROOY’s design approach deeply enough that you can take an idea and help carry it all the way through.

You won’t simply make something beautiful.

You will understand:

why it belongs there.
how it supports the experience.
how it gets built.
what it costs.
how it performs.
and what happens when real people start using it.

Your project leaders will trust you with increasingly larger pieces of the work. Junior designers will begin coming to you for guidance. Consultants will trust your coordination. Clients will trust your thinking.

And eventually, we will be able to hand you a significant portion of a project and know that you will move it forward.

GROWTH OPPORTUNITY

This role is designed to grow.

This role is designed to grow.

If you can make this work … you won’t stay an Intermediate Designer.

The trajectory is toward: Senior Designer → Project Designer / Project Manager → Studio Leadership

The exact path depends on your strengths.

Some designers become exceptional creative leaders.
Some become exceptional technical leaders.
Some become exceptional project leaders.
Some become a combination of all three.

We want to understand what you are exceptional at and help you build from there.

You will:

Work directly with our founders.
Be involved in real project decisions.
See projects from concept through construction.
Gain exposure to clients, operators, consultants, vendors, fabricators, and contractors.
Learn the business behind design, not just the aesthetics.

And if you’re truly exceptional… we will support your long-term growth at VANROOY as well.