Design Manager in London

We’re looking for a Design Manager to lead a design team for high-end stone and marble projects across London’s most prestigious residential, hotel, spa, and boutique developments. Reporting to the head of the design function, you’ll own the design process end-to-end: planning workload, managing internal and external resource, maintaining quality and consistency, and ensuring timely information release to support procurement, production, and site delivery. You’ll be the point of accountability for design coordination across multiple stakeholders, including clients, architects, main contractors, and EDM London’s commercial, production, and site teams.

About EDM London: We’re one of London’s leading stone and marble specialist subcontractors, working on high-end projects across central London in partnership with major contractors, architects, and designers. Our clients include luxury brands, private residential developers, hotels, historic buildings, and boutique operators. We only work on high-end projects where quality, precision, and finish are non-negotiable.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Design Management & Delivery: Own, implement, and continuously improve the design process, from initial design intent through to IFC/production-ready information. Line manage Design Coordinators (and oversee external drafters/freelancers): coaching, 1:1s, objective setting, performance management, and development. Support hiring, onboarding, and training of new design team members, including setting expectations. Define and enforce team standards for drawing quality, detailing, revisions, naming conventions, and document control. Own EDM’s design standards and assets (templates, title blocks, layer standards, CAD standards) and continuously improve them. Establish and run a formal QA/checking and sign-off process for all design deliverables prior to issue. Plan and manage design workload across internal Design Coordinators and external drafters. Ensure drawings, details, and cutting lists are issued in line with the delivery programme. Act as the quality gate for design output, driving internal reviews and ensuring a consistent standard, approach, and quality across the team.
• Coordination & Information Flow: Manage design information flow across clients, consultants, and project teams to ensure the right information reaches the right people at the right time. Be the escalation point for design issues from Project Managers, site, and production, and drive resolution with clear owners and deadlines. Lead client design workshops and coordination meetings, setting agendas, chairing discussions, and issuing clear minutes and actions. Coordinate and manage RFIs raised by the design team, including tracking, escalation, and close-out. Establish and maintain effective communication and handovers between design, commercial, production, and site teams. Maintain accurate project design records and documentation (including the DRS). Own the design “controls” pack for each project: drawing register, approvals tracker, change log, issue schedule, and RFI log discipline.
• Commercial & Cost Control: Own design resourcing and external drafter spend, tracking costs month-on-month and managing within agreed budgets. Identify design changes and client requests early and brief the Commercial team to progress variations.
• Risk, Compliance & Standards: Assess, mitigate, and manage design risks, including programme and technical risks. Ensure design outputs align with Employer’s Requirements (ERs), relevant standards, and project specifications. Ensure the design work meets Health & Safety legislation, sustainable building standards, and industry codes of practice.

What We’re Looking For

• Essential: Degree in Architecture (or closely related discipline). 5+ years’ experience coordinating and/or managing design delivery for specialist packages, within interior fit-out or construction environments. Proven experience line managing designers/technicians, including developing people and holding quality/standards. Excellent AutoCAD capability (BIM/Revit helpful). Experience leading a team, including managing internal and external design resource. Strong ability to plan workloads, manage competing priorities, and deliver to programme. Strong stakeholder management skills, with confidence dealing directly with clients and consultants. Strong understanding of manufacturing constraints and how design decisions affect cutting sheets/cutting lists, tolerances, and buildability. Strong documentation control discipline (registers, approvals, change control, issue discipline). Strong written and spoken English.
• Preferred: Experience in stone, joinery, façade, or other specialist materials/packages. Experience working directly with manufacturing teams to take designs through to production. Experience implementing team standards and QA systems (templates, checklists, sign-off). Experience creating (or briefing) CAD automation/scripts (e.g., AutoLISP, Python), or a strong understanding of how CAD automation can be used to improve output quality and speed.

Personal Attributes: Structured, organised, and process-driven. Detail-oriented, with a consistent focus on quality and accuracy. Calm under pressure and comfortable making decisions. Proactive, accountable, and solutions-oriented. Collaborative and able to set a clear standard for others.

Why This Role: Quality of work: High-end luxury projects where detail and finish genuinely matter. Ownership: Full responsibility for the design process and standards. Influence: Central role in improving how the business delivers design and information flow. Reputation: Work directly with leading architects, designers, and premium brands. Dynamic culture: A fast-paced, exciting environment with a fun, collaborative team and strong career progression opportunities within EDM London. Growth & mobility: Be part of a fast-growing, ambitious group (Ateliers De France) specialising exclusively in high-end projects, with opportunities to grow internationally and transfer to sister companies abroad.

What’s Included: Salary: £50,000–£60,000 per year (negotiable depending on experience). Private health insurance. Company pension. Cycle to work scheme. Monthly travel card (Zones 1-3). 28 days annual leave (excluding bank holidays). Working hours: Standard hours are 9:00am–6:00pm, Monday to Friday. International team: Multicultural environment with colleagues from multiple countries. Location: Office is based in Kensington, London.

How to Apply: This is a London-based position. Interviews will be conducted in person at our office in central London. Apply using the 'Apply Now' button, with your CV and a short note explaining why this role suits you.