Job Description
Senior Interior Designer
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Birmingham, West Midlands
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£45,000 – £55,000
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There comes a point in the growth of a design studio when the next hire needs to be more than simply another designer.
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They need to become someone the founder can trust with the whole process.
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The client conversation. The initial idea. The presentation. The drawings. The detailing. The site questions. The difficult decisions. And, eventually, the finished space.
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Modus Careers is working with an established luxury residential interior design studio in Birmingham that has reached exactly that point.
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This is a small, close-knit studio working on some exceptional private homes. Properties can sit comfortably in the £3m to £6 bracket, with clients investing anywhere up to £1.5m into their interiors.
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The work is highly bespoke, deeply considered, and increasingly arriving through reputation and recommendation.
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Now they need a Senior Interior Designer who can take real ownership of it.
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The Opportunity
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You'll join a team of five and work closely with the studio's founder, gradually taking responsibility for projects from concept right through to completion.
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That means developing ideas and presenting them to clients, but it also means opening AutoCAD and resolving how those ideas are actually going to work.
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You'll lead client conversations, develop concepts, specify FF&E and materials, coordinate suppliers and contractors, visit site and make sure the finished project delivers on the original vision.
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Technically, you'll need to be strong.
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Bespoke joinery is a significant part of the studio's work, alongside detailed drawing packages covering areas such as M&E, electrical layouts and partitioning.
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This isn't a role for a Senior Designer who has moved completely away from the drawing board.
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Equally, it isn't a technical design position disguised as something more creative.
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They need both.
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Someone who can sit confidently with a private client discussing the vision for their home, then get into the detail required to make it happen.
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Who Are We Looking For?
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You'll probably have around 10 years or more within interior design and a portfolio demonstrating genuinely high-quality, delivered work.
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Luxury residential experience would make immediate sense, particularly if you've worked on substantial private homes, bespoke interiors or projects involving significant joinery and craftsmanship.
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More important than a particular studio name on your CV, though, is the level at which you've operated.
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Can you take ownership of a project?
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Can you build trust with a client?
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Can you make creative decisions?
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Can you produce and interrogate technical information?
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And can you carry a project through when the inevitable challenges appear?
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You'll need strong AutoCAD skills alongside good knowledge of SketchUp and Adobe software, excellent material, furniture and lighting knowledge and the confidence to work with clients, contractors and suppliers.
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You'll also need a full driving licence for project and site visits.
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A Different Kind Of Studio Culture
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There is another side to this opportunity that's worth talking about.
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This is an ambitious design studio, but not one that believes great work requires people to sacrifice everything outside it.
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It's a team where several people have young families and where flexibility actually means flexibility.
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Need to manage a school run? No problem.
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Need to adjust your hours occasionally around life? Have the conversation and make it work.
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For the first six months, you'll be based in the studio full-time. That's important. You're coming into a small team, taking on significant responsibility and building relationships with both colleagues and clients.
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Once you're established, there is scope for some home working alongside that wider flexibility.
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Why Consider This Role?
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Because there aren't many Senior Interior Designer positions where the opportunity is quite this tangible.
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You won't disappear into a large design team.
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You won't spend your days working on one small piece of somebody else's project.
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You won't be Senior in title while somebody above you continues making every important decision.
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You'll be joining a successful independent studio that wants to give you genuine responsibility, recognition and room to influence how projects are delivered.
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For the right designer, this is an opportunity to become a trusted senior figure within the business and help deliver some genuinely beautiful homes.
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If you're an experienced Interior Designer who still enjoys both the creative and technical sides of the job, and you're ready for genuine ownership, we'd like to hear from you.
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