Design Manager

Exhibit Studio is a design-build company specializing in custom environments. Our work spans corporate workplaces, trade show exhibits, museum installations, visitor experiences, and exterior architectural features.

We're looking for a Design Manager to lead our talented team of 3D and graphic designers, combining creative vision, technical expertise, and strong leadership to guide projects from initial concept through final execution. This role is responsible for fostering a collaborative design culture, maintaining exceptional design standards, and ensuring every project is delivered with creativity, precision, and purpose.

What You’ll Do

This is a working leadership role. The Design Manager is equally responsible for driving design direction and actively contributing to project work alongside the team.

• Lead and mentor the 3D and Graphic Design teams, setting a clear creative direction and maintaining a high standard of quality across all projects.
• Actively design in SolidWorks, contributing directly to spatial design projects rather than operating solely in an oversight capacity.
• Establish the creative framework at the outset of each project, giving the team a strong direction to work from.
• Review all 3D designs, production drawings, and graphic assets before submission to clients or production teams.
• Oversee the design workflow from brief to final approval, ensuring smooth handoffs, clear communication, and on-time delivery.
• Collaborate with fabrication teams and spend regular time in the shop working alongside fabricators and installers to ensure built outcomes match design intent.
• Participate in select client and sales meetings as a design consultant, presenting concepts, speaking to feasibility, and building confidence in the team’s capabilities.
• Play an active role in recruiting and onboarding new team members, and handle day-to-day personnel matters with professionalism and discretion.
• Source and manage freelance contractors for both 2D and 3D work when project demand exceeds in-house capacity, ensuring contract designers meet quality standards and integrate smoothly into active projects.
• Develop and maintain the design schedule, allocating resources across concurrent projects and flagging scope or timeline issues early.

What We’re Looking For

The ideal candidate is a skilled 3D designer with established experience leading a design team. They bring the confidence to make decisions, give direction, and lead people effectively with enough experience behind them that the leadership side of this role feels natural, not new. They are equally comfortable at their workstation and in front of a client, and they understand that great design is only as good as its execution.

Specific qualifications includes:

• Hands-on proficiency in SolidWorks is required. This role involves actively producing design work, not just reviewing it.
• Demonstrated experience leading a design team, with a track record of delivering high-quality work across multiple concurrent projects. This is not a first leadership role.
• Experience working across a range of spatial design projects: interior fit-outs, trade shows, museums, exterior installations, or similar custom-built environments.
• Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign) is an asset; experience with or willingness to direct graphic design work is expected.
• Strong communication skills, written and verbal, with the ability to present clearly to clients and translate design concepts for non-design stakeholders.
• Solid project management instincts: able to manage schedules, balance competing priorities, and keep multiple workstreams moving without losing detail.
• A calm, solutions-oriented approach to production challenges and shifting client requirements.
• Experience handling personnel matters, including performance conversations and team development, with professionalism and care.

What to Expect

• Full-time, primarily office-based with regular time in the fabrication shop.
• Occasional travel for client meetings, site visits, and project installations.
• A fast-paced environment with multiple active projects and deadline-driven work; flexibility during peak periods is expected.
• Reports to the Director of Operations and works closely with project managers, the sales team, and fabrication leads.

What We Offer

• Health and dental benefits.
• Profit sharing program.
• Paid vacation and sick days.
• Opportunity to work on a diverse range of custom, creative spatial design projects.
• Ongoing professional development and industry training support.

Why Exhibit Studio

Exhibit Studio is a place where design and craft come together. You will work on projects that get built, not just presented, and your creative decisions will be visible in real spaces used by real people. You will be supported by a skilled fabrication team, experienced project managers, and leadership invested in your growth. If you are a designer who wants to lead without leaving the work behind, we want to hear from you.