Design Manager

Hospitality Design Manager

About gin design group

gin design group is an award-winning hospitality design firm dedicated to creating immersive and inspiring spaces that elevate guest experiences. We are seeking a talented Project Designer to join our dynamic team and contribute to the creation of world-class hospitality environments.

Role Description

As a gin design group Design Manager, you will play a central role in guiding hospitality interior projects from initial spark through final execution. Based on-site in Houston, Texas, you’ll direct project workflows, champion creative vision, and mentor junior designers to deliver exceptional spatial experiences. You will collaborate closely with clients, architects, artisans, and external consultants to ensure design concepts, schedules, and deliverables align seamlessly with each brand's story. From refining design presentations and leading site visits to shaping experiential, multi-sensory spaces, this role requires a blend of creative storytelling, attention to detail, and strong project leadership.

Project Management & Leadership

• Lead project kickoff and milestone planning, ensuring clear timelines, deliverables, and ownership are established for all phases of projects.
• Oversee day-to-day project management, maintaining momentum and proactively addressing obstacles to protect schedule and budget.
• Conduct site evaluations and client meetings, providing expert insight, documenting findings, and translating operational needs into actionable design direction.
• Monitor scope, raise flags early, and develop solutions to mitigate scope creep or outline additional services when needed, while maintaining client trust and project integrity.
• Drive communication across all project stakeholders: clients, vendors, contractors, and internal teams, ensuring questions, updates, and deliverables flow clearly and promptly.
• Manage project billing cycles, forecasting, and progress billing in coordination with the Director of Operations, ensuring accuracy and alignment to project progress.
• Maintain organized, labeled, and up-to-date project documentation, ensuring the team has clear access to the latest information.

Design Process & Creative Direction

• Contribute to a culture rooted in hospitality, creativity, collaboration, and innovation, elevating the studio’s design aesthetic through thoughtful, guest-centric solutions.
• Interpret client goals and brand standards into practical, experiential, high-impact interior environments aligned with project budgets and schedules.
• Leverage your F&B operations background to advise clients on interior hospitality standards, highlighting requirements, opportunities, and best practices they may not know to ask about.
• Develop and review design documentation from programming through construction documents, and construction administration ensuring accuracy and consistency throughout.
• Produce drawings, 3D views, design presentations, and physical material samples for internal reviews and client presentations.
• Review and guide furniture selections, specifications, and budgets while collaborating with GEWL and junior team members.
• Lead design charrettes, bringing fresh ideas, references, and design solutions that support project progression.

Team Mentorship & Studio Support

• Mentor junior designers and interns, offering constructive feedback on design thinking, documentation, space planning, and studio operations.
• Engage in interviews with potential design hires, evaluating experience, creative cohesion, and overall fit, and share comprehensive feedback with the Creative Director and/or Director of Operations.
• Demonstrate design leadership by challenging design decisions, process improvement, and gdg standards where needed, ensuring constant desire for efficiency and growth.
• Foster team alignment through consistent communication, transparency, and supportive leadership.
• Attend vendor meetings, showroom visits, and trade shows; bring back and share materials, insights, contacts, and creative inspiration to support the studio’s collective design innovation.

Qualifications & Skills

• Experience: 5–8+ years of professional interior design experience, with proven leadership managing hospitality projects (restaurants, bars, F&B, boutique commercial) from concept through installation.
• Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Interior Design or Architecture.
• Project Management Expertise: Track record of driving design schedules, managing deliverables across multiple active projects, tracking budgets, and balancing creative intent with real-world deadlines.
• Technical & Documentation Skills: Strong command of Revit (for CD sets and millwork details), SketchUp, and Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign, Photoshop), along with proficiency in project management and specification software.
• Team & Workflow Leadership: Experience guiding, delegating to, and mentoring project designers and junior designers—monitoring workflow, maintaining documentation quality, and ensuring design output remains consistent and precise.
• Technical Hospitality Knowledge: Deep understanding of commercial finishes, custom millwork construction, lighting integration, ADA accessibility, and local building codes.
• Consultant & Client Coordination: Natural ability to lead client presentations, collaborate seamlessly with general contractors and architects, and partner with local artisans, vendors, and procurement teams to bring custom elements to life.