GM Design - Fort Lauderdale, FL

You will own the creative and commercial performance of the design studio—turning client visions into décor that fills restaurants, hotels, and branded spaces. This role decides what we design, how we fabricate it, and whether each project ships on brief, on margin, and on time. Success is a practice clients trust for custom work and a catalog the showroom and wholesale channels can sell with confidence.

Performance Objectives

• Set an annual design plan that grows custom-project revenue while holding studio margin at or above target.
• Lead concept-to-install on signature commercial projects so approved designs meet brand, budget, and schedule.
• Direct in-house designers so every piece is sourced, buildable, and ready for fabrication without costly redesign.
• Curate a sellable mix of custom décor and authentic marine antiques that strengthens the showroom and wholesale offer.
• Shorten design-to-production cycle time by standardizing briefs, reviews, and handoffs with the shop.
• Hold quality and authenticity standards so what is delivered matches what was sold.
• Coach the design team and add capacity as the project book grows.

Environment & Resources

You lead a small in-house design team and work daily with fabrication, sales, and the retail showroom. You report to ownership and have authority over design scope, vendor choices within agreed budgets, and the project calendar. Your resources are the studio, the shop floor, client sites, and the existing project archive—not a large corporate tool stack.

Essential Qualifications

• Led a small design or product team in commercial interiors, hospitality, or custom furnishings.
• Portfolio of work you took from concept through fabrication and installation.
• Working knowledge of materials, marine and architectural décor, and what can actually be built.
• Priced design and custom work so margin survived the beautiful idea.
• Communicated clearly with clients under real deadlines.

Why This Role

• Design authority inside a maker business, not a presentation studio.
• Work that ships into commercial spaces, not just a lookbook.
• A direct line to fabrication—ideas become objects in the same operation.
• Room to shape the catalog, the antiques program, and how clients buy custom work.
• A lean team where your calls show up in revenue and reputation.

Tom Collingbourne is the American Recruiters expert leading this search. Please upload your resume today!

Tom Collingbourne

American Recruiters 

tcollingbourne@ariteam.com 

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Job ID: 359978