Director of Design

Director of Restaurant Design

📍Columbus, OH 43215

Full-time in office

Summary

The Director of Restaurant Design leads all restaurant design initiatives for corporate and franchise locations across domestic and international markets. This role oversees the development and execution of restaurant layouts, renderings, equipment plans, and design standards for new builds, remodels, and non-traditional venues. The position is responsible for final design approval, maintaining brand consistency, managing design budgets and vendor relationships, and serving as the primary design resource for franchise partners worldwide.

What we’re looking for

• 5-10 years of experience.
• Strong knowledge of restaurant, retail, and multi-unit architectural design.
• Experience leading teams, managing external consultants and vendor relationships.
• Ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders and manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• Ability to create permit-ready design documentation; effectively manage outside architects, consultants.
• Excellent communication, organizational, project management, relationship-building skills.
• Revit experience preferred.

Proficiency with:

• AutoCAD
• Bluebeam
• Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, InDesign)
• 3D rendering software

A practical restaurant design leader who understands:

• Restaurant layouts
• Restaurant equipment
• Small-format footprints
• Franchise buildouts
• Multi-unit development environments

Responsibilities

• Lead design execution for all corporate and franchise development projects, utilizing internal resources and external architectural firms as needed.
• Develop prototype and small-format concepts for non-traditional venues, including kiosks, convenience stores, travel centers, casinos, and fast-casual environments.
• Manage design timelines to support new restaurant openings, remodels, permitting, and construction schedules.
• Review/approve construction documents, shop drawings, equipment layouts, FF&E packages.
• Oversee equipment specifications, procurement strategies, value engineering, material selection to optimize cost and quality.
• Collaborate with franchise consultants/vendors to resolve design, signage, branding issues.
• Work cross-functionally with Operations, Construction, Facilities, Real Estate, Culinary, IT, and Executive Leadership to align design initiatives and project execution.
• Partner with Marketing to translate brand updates into restaurant design, signage, and customer-facing environments.
• Lead, mentor, develop restaurant design team while assigning/managing project workloads.
• Design contact for international franchise partners, ensuring brand standards are implemented globally.
• Maintain and update design standards, playbooks, and brand guidelines.

Why Join Us?

This is a highly visible leadership role with the opportunity to shape the future of a growing restaurant brand through innovative design, brand evolution, and global franchise expansion.

Salary and benefits

• Base Salary: $100,000 - $130,000
• Target Bonus: 15% annual bonus
• Cell Phone Allowance: $120/month

Additional Job Application Terms

This job is part of LinkedIn’s Full-Service Hiring beta program. Eligibility is limited to candidates located in and performing services in the United States, excluding those based in Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, South Carolina, or West Virginia.

We’re committed to making our hiring process as smooth and timely as possible, and we understand that waiting to hear back can add to the anticipation. If you’re a potential fit, our team will reach out within two weeks to progress you to the next stage. If you don’t hear from us in that time, we encourage you to explore other opportunities with our team in the future, and we wish you the very best in your job search.