Kitchen Facility Designer

Job Title:

Facility Designer

Job Description

The Facility Designer supports a nationwide restaurant refresh and modernization program, contributing to both remodeling of existing locations and the design of new restaurants. This role focuses on facility layout and interior construction documentation for kitchens and order areas, with a strong emphasis on space planning, branding, and signage. The Facility Designer works closely with project managers, architects, and vendors to ensure that restaurant environments are efficient, visually consistent with brand standards, and compliant with accessibility guidelines.

Responsibilities

+ Support a major national remodeling and modernization initiative for North American restaurants, as well as design work for new locations.

+ Develop facility designs and layouts for restaurant kitchens and customer order areas to optimize operations and guest experience.

+ Analyze customer and employee traffic flow to increase efficiency of space utilization and improve overall design.

+ Participate in the placement and rearrangement of equipment, including kitchen, plumbing, utility equipment, and order stations.

+ Create and update interior construction documents in AutoCAD, including floor plans, elevations, sections, and details, with a focus on redlining and revising existing drawings.

+ Review shop drawings and coordinate with vendors and suppliers to ensure accurate implementation of design intent.

+ Adhere to ADA guidelines and other relevant standards in restaurant design and layout.

+ Contribute to architectural detailing and space planning to create functional and aesthetically consistent restaurant environments.

+ Review architectural drawings such as roof plans and building elevations produced by external A/E vendors to verify that building signage aligns with corporate brand standards.

+ View, mark up, print, and track changes on technical drawings in both 2D and 3D formats to maintain design consistency and accuracy.

+ Update counters and design new boards behind counters in café areas, including redlining plans and coordinating with outside architects on space planning.

+ Import technical plans received as PDF files into Autodesk Design Review, redline plans and elevations, and ensure proper branding and signage placement, dimensions, and locations.

+ Follow established prototype design guidelines that apply to the majority of restaurants, while applying appropriate flexibility within the framework as needed.

+ Provide support to project managers by taking on design and documentation workload, allowing them to focus on client-facing responsibilities.

+ Collaborate effectively with internal teams of architects, interior designers, graphic designers, and engineering professionals to deliver cohesive project outcomes.

Essential Skills

+ Bachelor's degree in Architecture or Interior Architecture is ideal but not required.

+ Minimum of 2+ years of professional experience; academic-only experience is not sufficient.

+ Proven experience producing construction documents, elevations, sections, and details in AutoCAD.

+ Demonstrated experience in facilities design, facilities planning, or space planning.

+ Ability to mark up and review technical drawings and plans with attention to detail.

+ Interest in and desire to be involved in building branding and signage.

+ Motivation to work on the client/owner side rather than within an architecture firm.

+ Proficiency in AutoCAD, with the ability to work daily in digital plan review tools such as Bluebeam or similar platforms (training in specific tools can be provided).

+ Strong communication skills and the ability to interact effectively with team members and external partners.

+ Ability and willingness to learn new concepts quickly.

+ Self-motivated mindset with the initiative to seek out additional work and support the team when tasks are completed.

+ Ability to work collaboratively as a team player and build positive working relationships.

+ Positive attitude and the ability to adapt quickly and resourcefully to shifting priorities.

+ Confidence to speak up, ask for help when needed, and proactively request additional responsibilities when available.

Additional

Skills & Qualifications

+

Experience with commercial, retail, or restaurant projects is a strong plus.

+ Kitchen design experience is a plus and highly relevant to the role.

+ Residential design experience is not applicable to this position.

+

Experience with branding, signage coordination, and ensuring consistency with corporate standards is beneficial.

+ Familiarity with Autodesk Design Review or similar tools for reviewing and redlining PDF-based plans and elevations is advantageous.

Work Environment

This role is based in a modern office located in the West Loop/Fulton Market area, surrounded by numerous restaurants and shops. The Facility Designer works on a team of approximately 4-8 people within a larger group of architects, interior designers, graphic designers, and engineering professionals, all…