Director, Design & Technical Services

• Pay or shift range: $150,000 USD to $175,000 USD The estimated range is the budgeted amount for this position. Final offers are based on various factors, including skill set, experience, location, qualifications and other job-related reasons.

Proper Hospitality is seeking a highly experienced Director, Design & Technical Services to help lead the design, development, and technical execution of projects across the portfolio.

Position Overview Working closely with the VP of Architecture & Design, this role will provide senior-level leadership across new development, renovations, capital projects, management opportunities, and existing hotel assets.

The Director will be responsible for ensuring that projects achieve Proper’s expectations for exceptional design while also meeting the technical, operational, functional, budgetary, and long-term performance requirements of luxury hospitality.

The ideal candidate combines exceptional design judgment with deep architectural and technical expertise. This individual must be equally comfortable evaluating an interior design concept, reviewing architectural plans, identifying building-system coordination issues, working through operational requirements with hotel teams, and representing Proper in meetings with owners, developers, architects, designers, engineers, contractors, and consultants.

This is a hands‑on leadership position for someone who understands how exceptional hotels are conceived, documented, built, opened, and operated.

• Partner with the VP of Architecture & Design to establish and maintain the design vision and quality expectations for Proper Hospitality projects
• Protect and advance Proper’s design philosophy across new developments, renovations, conversions, branded residences, and capital projects
• Provide design leadership across architecture, interiors, lighting, landscape, signage, FF&E, OS&E, art, and other disciplines influencing the physical guest experience
• Review projects throughout concept design, schematic design, design development, construction documentation, construction, installation, and opening
• Ensure that each property maintains a distinct sense of place while delivering a recognizable level of Proper quality and sophistication
• Provide clear, actionable design direction to external architects, interior designers, and specialty consultants

• Lead the development of comprehensive Proper Design Standards for use across the portfolio
• Translate lessons learned from existing hotels into scalable standards and design criteria for future projects
• Establish standards covering guestrooms, bathrooms, public spaces, F&B, wellness, back‑of‑house areas, materials, fixtures, equipment, lighting, technology integration, and other recurring hotel components
• Develop processes for maintaining, updating, and communicating standards as the portfolio grows
• Balance brand consistency with Proper’s philosophy of creating individual, site‑specific properties rather than standardized hotels

• Provide technically rigorous review of architectural and consultant documentation
• Review and understand the integration of all major building systems
• Identify technical coordination issues that could compromise design intent, guest experience, operations, schedule, cost, or long‑term asset performance
• Coordinate with architects, engineers, contractors, ownership teams, and specialty consultants to resolve complex design and technical issues
• Review consultant drawings, specifications, RFIs, submittals, mockups, shop drawings, and other project documentation as appropriate
• Participate in site visits, construction reviews, model room reviews, punch…