Design Lead Jobs in Missouri

INTRODUCTION

If you think your skills and experience make you a good match for this position, we’d love to hear from you.

ABOUT THE ROLE

We are seeking a creative leader who has the skills, experience and reputation that reflect the importance of this role in our design practice. You will be responsible for the successful implementation of our goal to be one of the most innovative, creative, and highly regarded design firms in the world. You will be an integral part of the office leadership team. You will nurture and develop the people and culture of the office and be a voice for design excellence firm-wide and to the outside world.

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL DO

As a Design Leader, you will report to the Senior Design Leader in your physical location [or Region when applicable]. Your primary responsibilities include but are not limited to the following:

• Perform in a lead design role communicating and representing design goals to the client and the team for the life of the project, with particular emphasis on early phase development. Partner with our most strategic thinkers, co-leading visioning, and setting conceptual direction. Collaborate with teams throughout all phases of development to ensure design quality. Support Senior Design Leaders on significant strategic pursuits.

• Create innovative design concepts that synthesize our clients’ culture, goals, and aspirations with the needs of people, community, society and the environment. Deliver solutions uniquely responsive to this expanded view of design impact.

• Prepare and direct the preparation of client presentation materials to convey the design in a compelling and sophisticated manner. Lead design presentations, with an emphasis on storytelling and aiding client understanding of the design. Capture and communicate key client goals and metrics and how our design solutions add value to our clients’ success. Collaborate with marketing and communications team to build strong narratives of our work.

• Work within our culture of being an integrated practice by collaborating with technical leaders, subject matter experts and others, creating holistic design solutions that fulfill the complex array of demands our projects require.

• Integrate performance-based and sustainable design strategies into design solutions. Further our goals to decarbonize the built environment and meet the AIA 2030 Commitment. Contribute to the firm’s portfolio with externally recognized design work. Submit projects for publication and to awards programs.

• Engage in activities that strengthen, differentiate, and promote our brand locally, regionally, and nationally. This includes cultivating your personal reputation as a creative leader in the profession. Presentation at and contribution to conferences is encouraged.

Culture, Growth and Mentorship

Partner with us in creating a strong design culture in your office and region. You will be responsible for:

• Mentoring and growing emerging professionals toward future creative leadership. You will assist in nurturing an environment that exemplifies collaboration, experimentation, innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship.

• Recruiting and retaining design talent.

• Creating a stimulating and rewarding environment that sets the tone for design excellence and demonstrates it across the firm.

• Empowering staff and delegating effectively; building high-performance teams by encouraging innovation and continuous improvement.

• Provoking critical thinking and critique of our work.

• Leading by example, pursuing and winning design work that represents our future selves and advancing our Living-Centered Design philosophy.

Client and Business Development

You will be responsible for developing and maintaining client relationships; building client trust and loyalty; and collaborating in bringing in work. You will be expected to build upon CannonDesign’s legacy clients as well as your own prior relationships for these purposes. You will seek out and identify new client opportunities for CannonDesign in collaboration with the business development and marketing teams. You will be expected to participate in client and project pursuit strategies from the early identification of target clients and opportunities through the proposal submittal and interview process. In service of top line success, you will have a contributory goal of $2M in net signed fees annually in collaboration with your office practice and market leaders.

Targets and performance metrics for this role are subject to change as CannonDesign periodically evaluates our performance metrics.

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL NEED

• Bachelor or Master degree in Interior Design, Interior Architecture, or Architecture required.

• 15 years minimum experience in a design leadership role, of which a minimum of 3 years are leading others in a design studio or design practice segment required.

• Current US Architectural Registration OR Certified Interior Designer preferred.

• Additional accreditation and/or training relevant to this role is preferred, including LEED.

• Design portfolio of significant built and unbuilt work. Third party recognition of your work as a lead or supporting design role by local, regional, or national design awards programs and recognized design publications or digital platforms is preferred.

• Strong oral presentation and storytelling skills required.

• Must be able to understand and execute business strategy.

• Must have professional acumen and maturity demonstrated by the ability to communicate authentically and respectfully.

• Travel required.

ABOUT OUR FIRM

CannonDesign is a design practice where strategy, experience, architecture, engineering, and social impact converge. We don’t just dream up solutions — we create and bring them to life in ways to solve some of the biggest challenges facing our clients and society. At the heart of everything we do is Living-Centered Design, a bold commitment to using our talents to not just improve the world but to truly reshape it for the better. It’s more than a philosophy — it’s who we are, and it drives us to make a meaningful, lasting difference every day.

ABOUT WORKING HERE

• We are relentless in our pursuit of client adoration (not simply satisfaction). Consistent delivery of the best service is what we are about.

• We are committed to ensuring our practice provides equal opportunities for all employees, as we strive to connect with communities around us and focus on the future of design. We support equity, diversity, and inclusion efforts that benefit all employees through the leadership of our DEI Council, our Employee Resource Groups which are open to everyone, and other community initiatives.

• We’re about communication and transparency here. If you want to talk to someone about an idea you have, or a challenge that needs addressing, we’re ready for you.

Please note that candidates can only apply to our positions on our company Careers site. It's not uncommon for scammers to create positions that look legitimate on other sites; never enter your information or apply for CannonDesign positions on any platform. Should an issue arise that you feel we should be aware of, please contact us. Please provide your resume and portfolio when applying.

As a condition of employment, all employees are expected to complete mandatory training, including compliance training, within required timeframes and adhere to our internal policies and our Code of Conduct.

CannonDesign is an Equal Opportunity Employer. CannonDesign is committed to maintaining a work environment that is free from any and all forms of unlawful discrimination and harassment. It is therefore the firm’s policy to prohibit discrimination and harassment against any applicant, CannonDesign employee, vendor, contractor, or client on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, pregnancy, veteran status, genetic information, citizenship status, or any other basis prohibited by applicable law. It is also CannonDesign’s policy to prohibit any and all forms of retaliation against any individual who has complained of harassing or discriminatory conduct, or participated in a firm or agency investigation into such complaints.