Senior Interior Designer - Hospitality

About Rice Fergus Miller

For nearly 40 years, RFM has committed its practice to projects that build and strengthen community. We are an Architecture, Interior Design and Planning firm with offices in Bremerton and Spokane, Washington. Our Hospitality practice spans casino, hotel, food and beverage, retail, spa, and conference environments: work that shapes how people experience the spaces where they gather, celebrate, and stay.

RFM offers competitive salaries, flexible hours, a generous benefits package including reimbursement for licensing/certifications, study materials for exams, and a host of other benefits.

Position Summary

This is a design leadership role for someone who knows hotel work deeply and is ready to bring that expertise to a firm where it will have real impact. As Senior Interior Designer, you will drive concept development and client-facing design presentations across a Hospitality portfolio centered on hotel, casino, food and beverage, spa, and conference projects. You will work in close partnership with the Principal in Charge and Senior Project Manager, owning design intent from early concept through construction documentation.

Hotel design is the core of what we are hiring for. The sensibility, operational fluency, and guest experience thinking that comes from serious hotel work translates directly into how RFM approaches high-end Senior Living. We bring food service and restaurant design into senior living environments as a deliberate differentiator, and this role will occasionally support that work when the crossover is the right fit.

Beyond delivering great projects, this is a role with room to grow. You will help shape the design direction of RFM's Hospitality practice, contribute to how the team develops, and build the kind of client and firm relationships that define a long career in design leadership. We are looking for someone who sees that kind of contribution as part of the job, not separate from it.

Strong candidates will bring ten or more years of Hospitality Interior Design experience with a portfolio weighted toward hotel work, NCIDQ licensure preferred, and the ability to lead a room as confidently as they lead a project.

BASIC INFORMATION: 

Reporting Structure: Reports to Hospitality Project Manager

Classification: Salaried, Exempt

Salary Range: $95,000 – $130,000 annually DOE

What You Will Do

Lead design and client presentations

• Drive concept development on Hospitality projects, translating client goals, brand direction, and operational needs into compelling design narratives
• Lead client-facing design presentations with confidence, clarity, and the ability to read the room and adjust in real time
• Develop and maintain design intent across all phases, ensuring the concept carries through from schematic design into construction documents
• Collaborate with the Senior Project Manager and Principal-in-Charge to align design decisions with schedule, budget, and client expectations

Deliver technically sound work

• Produce and oversee Interior Design documentation including finish specifications, material selections, and coordination with architectural and engineering disciplines
• Apply deep knowledge of building codes, accessibility requirements, life safety standards, and jurisdictional requirements to interior environments
• Coordinate with consultants on lighting, audiovisual, signage, and other specialty scopes to maintain design integrity across all systems
• Manage multiple projects at varying scales simultaneously, shifting focus as project phases and deadlines demand
• Bring working knowledge of FF&E to the design process, including manufacturer relationships, product costs, budget development, and procurement workflows; FF&E is one component of a fully integrated design approach, not a standalone service, and this role is expected to coordinate it accordingly.
• Travel to job sites, client meetings, and industry conferences as projects and relationships require; maintaining active manufacturer and vendor relationships is a core part of this role, not a peripheral one.

Contribute to practice and firm leadership

• Mentor junior and mid-level designers, sharing technical knowledge, design thinking, and professional judgment developed across a serious Hospitality career
• Review and provide constructive feedback on the work of less experienced team members
• Participate in pursuit conversations, helping RFM articulate its Hospitality design approach to prospective clients
• Contribute to firmwide conversations about design quality, market positioning, and where the Hospitality practice is headed
• Help build a studio culture where designers feel supported, challenged, and proud of what they deliver

Minimum Qualifications

• Professional degree in Interior Design
• Ten or more years of Hospitality interior design experience with a portfolio weighted toward hotel projects; casino, food and beverage, spa, and conference experience also valued
• NCIDQ licensure preferred but not required
• Demonstrated ability to lead concept development and client-facing design presentations on complex, large-scale projects
• Strong portfolio showing design range and depth within Hospitality environments
• Technical fluency in building codes, accessibility requirements, life safety, and finish specifications as applied to interior environments
• Working knowledge of FF&E including manufacturer landscape, cost benchmarking, budget development, and procurement processes as integrated components of interior design delivery.
• Experience in high-end Senior Living or food service design a plus; RFM actively brings hospitality design thinking into senior living environments
• Experience managing multiple concurrent projects at varying scales
• Interest in contributing to practice development, pursuits, and team leadership beyond individual project delivery
• Proficient in Revit, Bluebeam, and Microsoft Office Suite; experience with rendering and presentation tools such as Enscape, Lumion, or Adobe Creative Suite
  
• This position supports a hybrid work arrangement. When projects require full team co-location, all team members are expected to work on-site. This role also requires periodic travel to job sites, client meetings, and industry events. Applicants must reside in Washington, Oregon, Idaho or Montana or be willing to relocate.

Rice Fergus Miller provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.