Senior Design Lead Jobs in Normal, IL (NOW HIRING)

About the Company:
Industrious is the largest premium workplace-as-a-service provider and home to the highest-rated workplaces in the industry. Everything we do comes down to creating great days for teams of all sizes and stages, including our own. We believe that what makes a great day at work is the people on your team and the problems you get to solve together. We're looking for people who love thinking outside the box and thrive in a truly collaborative setting. As teammates, we encourage new ideas and toast every win. We're excited about having a meaningful impact on people's workplace experience.
Great days also start when everyone can be their authentic self at work. Diversity of backgrounds, thoughts, and ideas is critical to our success in delivering great workplace experiences, both for our members and for each other. Industrious is committed to creating an inclusive, respectful environment that embraces your individuality and quirkiness. You are valued for who YOU are. We celebrate our people as individuals who can accomplish great things when we work together as one team.
To learn more, visit www.industriousoffice.com/careers.
About the Role
With so much commercial real estate sitting vacant right now, Industrious is launching a new product line to activate underutilized second-generation office spaces, transforming them into premium, hospitality-forward workplaces at pace.
This is not a role where you inherit a playbook. As our Senior Design Manager, you are helping write it. You will be the creative engine behind a new product category, sitting at the intersection of real estate, design, construction, and operations to turn overlooked spaces into something genuinely beautiful.
The creative challenge here is real. You are not walking into a ground-up project with an unlimited budget and eighteen months to plan. You are walking into a tired, underutilized space with a tight timeline and a tighter budget, and you are transforming it into a place people are excited to work from every day. That constraint is not an obstacle to work around. For the right person, that is the whole point.
Your work will be visible, varied, and fast-moving. No two sites are the same. And if you have a genuine interest in circular design and finding smart, sustainable ways to reuse existing materials and infrastructure, you will find a lot to love here.
What Might Your Day Look Like
You start your morning walking an outdated office space with our Real Estate team and a landlord to evaluate a potential new location. The space has good bones, but it needs a total aesthetic overhaul to meet the Industrious standard. You don't have a massive ground-up budget or a year to plan. You have to work out what the space needs and start solving it.
By the afternoon, you shift gears to a completely different project that is further along in the pipeline. You are reviewing construction documents and working with external architects to value-engineer a concept. You are figuring out how to use circular design principles to reuse existing materials while still making the space look premium and fresh. You are making rapid, independent decisions, balancing the reality of contractor costs with the need for an incredible member experience.
You wrap up the day presenting a rapid-turnaround concept for yet another site to leadership at our Investment Committee meeting. You've worked really closely with the Real Estate and Construction teams to shape a deal that makes sense both financially and aesthetically, and you're excited to be part of the pitch team to the IC!
What You Will Own

• Evaluate new real estate opportunities and make fast, independent calls on the design feasibility of converting existing spaces into premium coworking environments.
• Lead the development of concept design packages, FF&E selections, and space planning strategies for our second-generation product line.
• Manage external architects and engineers to ensure high-quality, cost-effective design documentation.
• Partner directly with Real Estate, Construction, and Operations to keep fast-paced projects on schedule and strictly within budget.
• Champion circular design and sustainability practices, finding clever ways to reuse existing infrastructure while delivering a premium result.

You Will Love This Role If...

• You are highly entrepreneurial and love driving your own bus as an independent contributor.
• You view tight budgets and fast timelines as an exciting creative challenge rather than a roadblock.
• You have a knack for circular design and finding clever, sustainable ways to reuse existing materials.
• You thrive in environments where every project is a unique snowflake requiring a bespoke, scrappy approach.
• You are decisive and have a strong bias for action when solving complex spatial problems.

This Role Is Probably Not for You If...

• You prefer to work on massive, multi-year, ground-up construction projects with unlimited budgets.
• You need a large internal team of junior designers to collaborate with and delegate day-to-day production to.
• You find it frustrating when commercial realities and strict budgets force you to compromise on your initial design vision.
• You prefer a highly structured, predictable playbook over navigating ambiguity and making rapid pivots.

What We Are Looking For

• 8+ years of experience in interior design or architecture, with a strong portfolio across workplace, hospitality, retail, residential renovations, or flexible workspace environments.
• Deep understanding of the construction process, specifically regarding relative costs, constructability, and value engineering.
• Proficiency in AutoCAD or Revit, and Bluebeam.
• Proven ability to manage multiple fast-paced projects independently.
• Willingness to travel approximately 20% for site visits and project launches.

Compensation & Benefits
The base salary for this role is $115,000-$125,000, depending on experience, skills, and role alignment. This role is also eligible for an annual bonus and participation in our long-term incentive program.
At Industrious, we believe a good workplace supports the whole person. Our benefits include:

• Heavily subsidised medical, dental, and vision plans to support you and your family
• Flexible paid time off, to maintain balance
• Paid parental leave to help you welcome a new child and focus on what matters most
• Annual professional development grants so you can keep learning and growing
• 401(k) retirement savings program to support long-term financial wellbeing
• Wellness initiatives and additional employee support programs

Equal Employment Opportunity: Industrious is an equal opportunity employer that values diversity. We have a long-standing commitment to providing equal employment opportunity to all qualified applicants regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, veteran status, political belief, or any other basis protected by applicable law.