Director of Design

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in Texas.

📋 Description

• Lead, mentor, and cultivate both internal designers and external design resources.

• Align design resources with the development pipeline and recognize when specialized expertise is required.

• Act as the senior design authority for complex, high-profile, or high-risk projects and decisions.

• Own and enhance the restaurant prototype, design standards, material palettes, finishes, furniture, fixtures, lighting, equipment integration, and reusable design elements.

• Ensure restaurants convey a recognizable Mendo experience while adapting to site conditions, market demands, and business priorities.

• Set and elevate the creative design vision by translating brand strategy into memorable, functional restaurant spaces.

• Maintain design standards that prioritize guest flow, ordering and pickup processes, digital and delivery activities, seating, accessibility, storage, serviceability, and daily operations.

• Collaborate with Operations, Culinary, Facilities, Construction, and equipment vendors to enhance kitchen planning, back-of-house flow, equipment integration, ergonomics, throughput, food safety, and maintainability.

• Integrate post-opening insights into future layouts, prototypes, and specifications.

• Oversee design delivery for new restaurants, remodels, and refresh initiatives from feasibility assessments and concepts through to permit-ready documentation and construction support.

• Establish design QA/QC and phase-gate practices to ensure complete, coordinated, code-compliant, and timely deliverables.

• Lead cross-functional reviews, interpret stakeholder feedback into actionable direction, and identify risks and trade-offs early.

• Collaborate with Construction to uphold design intent, enhance constructability, and minimize rework, RFIs, and change orders.

• Select, brief, manage, and assess architects, interior designers, engineers, and specialty vendors.

• Work with Construction and Real Estate on design cost factors and value-engineering suggestions.

• Balance brand expression, operational performance, durability, cost, schedule, and long-term unit economics.

• Monitor design-function performance, capacity, risks, and priorities; utilize post-project reviews to refine standards, tools, and partner performance.

• Develop the annual design operating plan in collaboration with Real Estate, addressing capacity, priorities, budget requirements, and key risks; provide regular updates on delivery status.

• Report directly to the VP, Design & Construction.

⛳️ Requirements

• Over 10 years of progressive experience in restaurant, retail, hospitality, architecture, interior design, or a related built-environment discipline.

• Experience in leading a design team, studio, function, or a significant network of external design partners within a dynamic, multi-project setting.

• Extensive hands-on experience with restaurant or similarly operationally intensive commercial design, encompassing prototype development, new-unit expansion, remodels, and site-specific adaptations.

• Strong understanding of restaurant operations and design, including FOH/BOH flow, kitchen equipment, labor and ergonomics, guest circulation and accessibility, pickup/delivery, food safety, storage, and maintainability.

• Experience overseeing architects, interior designers, engineers, and specialty vendors while meeting quality, schedule, scope, and budget expectations.

• Proficient knowledge of construction documentation, design QA/QC, permitting, building and health codes, design detailing, accessibility, shop-drawing review, and constructability.

• Financial acumen with design budgets, cost drivers, value engineering, specification trade-offs, lifecycle durability, and unit economics.

• Bachelor's degree in Architecture, Interior Architecture, Interior Design, Environmental Design, Product Design, or a related field; equivalent relevant experience may be considered.

• Proficient with Bluebeam Revu, Excel, PowerPoint, and project-management platforms.

• Familiarity with AutoCAD and/or Revit and SketchUp is preferred.

• Outstanding written, verbal, and visual communication skills, including the ability to create concise recommendations and executive-level presentations.

• Willingness to travel occasionally for market visits, project milestones, and team meetings.

• Ability to lift 25 pounds.

• Capable of sitting or standing for 6–8 hours.

• Proficient in hand use: single grasping, fine manipulation, pushing, and pulling.

• Ability to bend, twist, squat, and reach.

🏝️ Benefits

• Competitive salary.

• Meal privileges.

• Health benefits.

• 401k Plan.

• Paid Vacation.

• Occasional travel for market visits, project milestones, and team meetings.