Location: Las Vegas, NV preferred | Remote considered for West Coast candidates
Compensation: $150,000–$180,000 base salary + bonus and long-term incentive opportunity
Travel: Approximately 30%–50%
A growing multi-brand restaurant and hospitality organization is seeking a hands-on Director of Design & Architecture to lead the creative vision, prototype development, and execution of restaurant environments across its portfolio.
This leader will develop scalable, memorable concepts that strengthen brand identity and guest experience while improving operational efficiency, construction costs, and speed to market. The ideal candidate combines strong creative instincts with the practical ability to turn bold ideas into functional, repeatable restaurant formats.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead the development and evolution of restaurant prototypes across multiple brands
- Create scalable formats for freestanding, drive-thru, inline, end-cap, food court, airport, casino, stadium, and other nontraditional locations
- Establish architectural, interior design, FF&E, finish, material, and store-design standards
- Lead restaurant interior design, including guest circulation, ordering areas, kitchen layouts, lighting, furniture, millwork, and back-of-house spaces
- Review and approve architectural drawings prepared by outside firms
- Adapt prototypes to site conditions, landlord requirements, and local municipal standards
- Partner with Operations and Culinary to improve kitchen workflow, equipment placement, customer flow, speed of service, labor efficiency, and ease of maintenance
- Collaborate with Construction on value engineering, field conditions, material selections, mock-ups, and project execution
- Manage architects, engineers, interior designers, kitchen consultants, signage vendors, fabricators, FF&E suppliers, and contractors
- Build and mentor an internal Design & Architecture team as the organization grows
- Partner directly with founders and executive leadership to shape the future direction of each brand
Qualifications
- 10+ years of experience designing restaurant, hospitality, retail, entertainment, or consumer-facing commercial environments
- Proven experience developing prototypes for national or multi-unit brands
- Strong understanding of restaurant operations, kitchen planning, guest flow, and brand experience
- Experience leading multidisciplinary design teams and managing outside consultants
- Strong knowledge of construction documents, permitting, building systems, and project execution
- Proficiency with tools such as AutoCAD, Revit, SketchUp, Bluebeam, Adobe Creative Suite, and Microsoft Office
- Ability to manage multiple projects in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment
- Bachelor’s degree in Architecture, Interior Design, Environmental Design, or a related field preferred
- Portfolio demonstrating prototypes, completed locations, remodels, restaurant environments, retail environments, or experiential design work required
- Ability to travel approximately 30%–50%
Ideal Background
Strong consideration will be given to candidates from nationally recognized restaurant, hospitality, retail, entertainment, or themed-environment organizations where physical design is central to the customer experience. Experience creating highly visual, memorable, and experiential environments is especially valuable.
Company Description
The Restaurant Zone is a leading hospitality recruitment agency specializing in connecting top-tier talent with restaurants, hotels, and hospitality groups across the United States. We partner with growing brands and established operators to deliver high-quality candidates for management, executive, and specialized roles. Our team combines industry expertise, a vast candidate network, and a results-driven approach to help businesses build strong, reliable teams. At The Restaurant Zone, we focus on speed, quality, and long-term fit—ensuring both clients and candidates succeed.