Senior Designer

Welcome to Expo City Dubai, where innovation and sustainability meet to create a city of endless possibilities. We are a dynamic business hub, host a vibrant cultural scene, and deliver through innovative educational initiatives—we are the city of the future. We are more than just a destination - we are an ecosystem of opportunity, offering a unique chance to be part of something extraordinary. Together, we are building a sustainable, tech-enabled and human-centric city that will inspire future generations. Here, you will support us in creating the future and experience a world of innovation, growth and prosperity for people and planet. This is a working design leadership role. You will design every week. You will also lead: clients, procurement, contractors on design matters, and in time a growing design team. We are not hiring someone to manage designers from a distance, and we are not hiring a production resource. We are hiring the person who owns design across the studio, rolls up their sleeves, from concept sketch to as-built, and who builds the department around the way they, and we, work. You report directly to the Managing Director and on a project basis to the Projects Director. The main responsibilities for this role include: Lead and personally produce design across concept, schematic, detail, and construction documentation for interior fit-out and workplace projects Own the client design relationship from brief to handover: present, listen, defend the design where it should be defended, and adapt it where the client is right Design to budget. Translate briefs into commercially viable schemes and value-engineer without losing the idea Manage FF&E and materials procurement: specification, sourcing, supplier negotiation, samples, and lead times Direct contractors and subcontractors on design intent: review shop drawings, resolve site queries, and protect design quality through construction Prepare design packages for landlord and authority approvals in Dubai, and specify materials within sustainability frameworks including LEED requirements Build the systems the studio runs on: design standards, material libraries, templates, and quality review processes Hire, mentor, and develop designers as the studio grows Knowledge, Qualifications and Skills required: Essential: 10+ years in interior design and fit-out, with substantial UAE experience and a portfolio of built work. Delivered projects, not concepts Experience in a design and build or otherwise commercially accountable environment, where your design decisions carried cost consequences you owned Direct client-facing experience at decision-maker level Hands-on procurement experience: you have specified, sourced, negotiated, and chased materials yourself Fluency across the core design toolset: AutoCAD, SketchUp, 3ds Max and/or Revit, and Adobe Creative Suite, with working BOQ literacy. The ability to move efficiently from concept through technical documentation, procurement, and delivery. Familiarity with Dubai authority and landlord approval processes Transparency by default. When a problem appears on a project, you raise it early and bring options Desirable: Experience with Enscape, V-Ray, or similar visualization tools