Lead Interior Designer & Team Lead

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TYPE OF WORK

Full Time

SALARY

55000

HOURS PER WEEK

8

DATE UPDATED

Oct 10, 2026

JOB OVERVIEW

About Us:
Snug Nest Designs is a premium Interior Design studio based in Melbourne, Australia. We provide end-to-end interior design and project management for people building their dream home, moving into a new home, or revamping an existing one. We are committed to enhancing quality of life through the power of exceptional design, and we believe every space should be a true reflection of its owner's personality and lifestyle. Our team works across Melbourne and the Philippines.

About the Role:
We are looking for an experienced, creative and highly organised Lead Interior Designer to join our team as a Team Lead. This is a hybrid role: you will lead a small number of residential design projects, and you'll be the day-to-day manager of our Philippines design team, responsible for allocating work, managing workloads and deadlines, coaching designers, and lifting the team's quality and efficiency.

You will report directly to the Founder and work closely with our Melbourne team. The ideal candidate is a strong designer who is equally comfortable leading people: clear in direction, organised, a patient coach, and eager to use technology and AI to improve how a design team works.

Key Responsibilities:

Team Leadership & Delivery:
• Day-to-Day Team Management: Lead the Philippines design team, assigning work, setting priorities, and making sure projects move forward on time.
• Workload & Capacity Planning: Manage workloads, deadlines and deliverables across all projects. Monitor and manage team capacity.
• Coaching & Design Quality: Give clear direction, feedback and hands-on guidance to junior designers. Review their work before it goes to the Founder for final approval, so quality and consistency improve over time.
• Goals & Performance Reviews: Set individual goals aligned with company goals, run monthly performance reviews, and support each designer's development and career growth.
• Cross-Team Collaboration: Stay closely aligned with the Founder and Melbourne team, with clear updates on progress, risks and priorities.
• Onboarding & Culture: Onboard new team members, train them on company SOPs and tools, and help build a positive, accountable and collaborative team culture.

Design Leadership:
• Project Leadership: Lead residential design projects from concept through to delivery, working closely with the junior designers to bring each design to life.
• Concept Development: Develop design concepts, mood boards, material palettes and client presentations aligned with client requirements and the studio's design direction.
• Space Planning & Design Development: Review architectural plans, create functional layouts and develop concepts into detailed designs, including custom joinery, feature walls and built-ins.
• 3D Modelling & Visualisation: Oversee accurate 3D models and presentation-ready visuals that communicate the design intent.
• FF&E & Material Sourcing: Coordinate sourcing of furniture, lighting, finishes and materials for your projects, including overseas suppliers such as those in China, covering pricing, specifications, samples and lead times.
• Technical Documentation: Review technical drawings, elevations, joinery details and specifications for accuracy and consistency before they are issued.
• Budget & Cost Management: Obtain and compare quotations, monitor project costs, and find design solutions that fit project budgets.

Process & Technology:
• SOPs & Process Improvement: Follow and refine company SOPs, templates and workflows to improve efficiency, consistency and delivery across the team.
• AI & Technology: Stay up to date with AI and emerging technologies, and actively use relevant tools to improve design development, research, documentation and team workflows, working alongside our automation lead.
• Reporting: Provide the Founder with clear, regular updates on team capacity, project status and upcoming deadlines.

Qualifications & Experience:
• Degree or qualification in Interior Design, Architecture or a related field. A professional licence is an advantage.
• At least 6 years of professional residential interior design experience, including at least 2 years leading designers or projects.
• Proven experience managing, mentoring or coaching designers, and managing workloads, timelines and deliverables across multiple projects.
• Strong understanding of residential interiors, space planning, materials, furniture, lighting and detailing.
• Experience with FF&E sourcing and supplier coordination.
• Strong 3D modelling and visualisation skills. Please include a portfolio link in your cover letter.
• Excellent written and verbal English communication, with confidence working directly with Australian colleagues and clients.
• Excellent attention to detail, strong organisation, and the ability to balance your own design work with leading a team.
• Comfortable working Australian business hours.

Software Proficiency:
• Proficiency in AutoCAD, SketchUp, Adobe Creative Suite, Canva, Microsoft Office (including Excel), Google Workspace, and project management tools (ClickUp or similar).
• Experience with rendering software and AI-powered design tools is highly desirable.

What Success Looks Like:
• 1st month: You have taken over people management from our current leads, understand how the studio operates, have built strong relationships with the team, and are leading at least one project.
• 2nd month: You are managing the team's overall workload, distributing work, keeping projects on timeline, helping the team meet deadlines, and refining processes to improve efficiency.
• 3rd month: You are running the Philippines team's workload independently, with streamlined processes, clear visibility of capacity and deliverables, and the judgement to tell us when it is time to hire.

What We Offer:
• A leadership role in a growing premium design studio, working directly with the Founder.
• The chance to shape how the team works, including processes, SOPs and the use of AI and automation.
• Work on high-quality residential projects with clients in Australia.
• Compensation that is competitive and based on your experience.
• A clear path to grow as the studio grows.

How to Apply:

Please share:
• Your CV

• A cover letter that includes your portfolio link

• A 2–3 minute video introducing yourself, in which you share an example of a time you managed or led a team of designers, including what you did and what the result was
• Please share your video as a link (for example Loom, YouTube unlisted or Google Drive, with viewing access turned on).

SKILL REQUIREMENT
Architectural Services Project Management Team Leadership
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