Director, Project Design

Job Description

Director, Project Design

We are seeking an exceptional design leader to elevate our creative capabilities across aquatic play, splashpads, and commercial venue environments. This is a unique opportunity to shape the design direction of a growing organization — building methodology, culture, and product innovation from the ground up — while leading a talented multi‑disciplinary team of designers and 3D modeling technicians.

This leader will be as comfortable presenting a master plan narrative to a resort developer as mentoring a junior designer on spatial storytelling. They will bring vision, process discipline, and genuine curiosity about human experience to every project.

Our current team executes well on splashpads and mid‑scale projects but is ready to grow into larger, more complex commissions. We serve three distinct customer groups, each with different expectations and creative languages:

• Parks & Recreation departments, where functionality, safety, and community identity drive decisions.
• Landscape Architects and planning firms, where design language, site integration, and close collaboration are expected.
• Commercial Venues — resorts, amusement parks, and hospitality operators — where immersive storytelling, brand experience, and master planning are central to the value proposition.

To succeed across these segments, we need stronger design methodology, richer storytelling tools, and a leader who can codify best practices that the whole team can learn from and build upon.

What You’ll Do

• Provide creative direction and mentorship to a team of project designers (dotted line), setting a high bar for both craft and communication.
• Develop and formalize a design methodology adapted to our project types — from small community splashpads to large‑scale commercial immersive environments.
• Create repeatable frameworks for user experience design, spatial storytelling, and master planning that can be trained across the team.
• Build a visual language library, design standards, and presentation templates that reflect our brand positioning.

Win & Deliver Complex Projects

• Lead design on large‑scale and commercial projects, with particular focus on narrative‑driven environments for resort, hospitality, and amusement customers.
• Drive compelling design presentations that communicate vision and user experience, not just technical layouts.
• Partner with project management and operations to ensure design intent is faithfully carried through construction.
• Identify product development opportunities through design gaps observed in projects, site visits, and customer conversations.
• Conduct structured customer and end‑user interviews to surface unmet needs and inspiration for new product directions.
• Collaborate with product and commercial teams to translate design insights into viable development opportunities.

What We’re Looking For

• 8+ years of progressive design experience, with at least 3 years in a leadership or creative direction capacity.
• Demonstrated experience leading projects with strong user experience or experiential design components — themed environments, resort amenities, public space, hospitality, or comparable.
• Proficiency in 3D visualization and design communication tools (e.g., 3ds Max, SolidWorks, Unreal); ability to work alongside 3D modeling staff.
• Experience working within multi‑disciplinary teams that include engineers, project managers, and fabrication/construction partners.
• Professional degree in a design‑related field (Landscape Architecture, Architecture, Interior Design, Industrial Design, Environmental Design, or equivalent).
• Licensure (PLA, AIA, NCIDQ, or similar) is an asset but not required; demonstrated capability and portfolio carry more weight.
• Strong communication/presentation skills in English and French (comfortable pitching to executives and customers). Advanced level of English is required.
• Cross‑functional team player who possesses a strong storytelling ability (translating technical/spatial ideas into an emotional narrative for non‑technical stakeholders).

Proficiency in English is required for this role as approximately 40% of the responsibilities involve regular communication with stakeholders based in the United States and Europe.

At Vortex, innovation, collaboration, and fun are at the heart of everything we do.

We Offer:

• A collaborative, creative, and supportive culture.
• Hybrid work model for eligible roles.
• Company‑paid training and education reimbursement.
• Health & Dental benefits, Telemedicine, Employee Assistance Program, RRSP matching, and bonus program.
• Free on‑site gym and parking.
• Personalized onboarding with a dedicated buddy.

Ready to help bring more play to the world? Join Vortex!

#J-18808-Ljbffr