Lead Interior Designer

Founded in Lisbon in 2018, Vida Plena is a hospitality group that starts with the guest and works backwards — from how a room should feel, to the light, the materials, and the flow. Over 8 years and 15+ venues, we've kept that creative direction in-house, because the details are where the experience lives.

We're guest-obsessed and place-driven. We don't impose a concept on a space — we find locations with true potential and turn them into something that feels inevitable. Every detail lives in service of how people will feel.

We're now in a new chapter. After years of focused, quiet work, we're opening our most ambitious projects yet — hotels in Lisbon and the Portuguese countryside, each built around a strong F&B identity. Our Project team of 9 across design, project management, and guest experience is moving into a dedicated office and operating under its own entity. The person we hire today will help build what that becomes.

The Role

We're looking for a Lead Interior Designer to become the creative engine of our project team — the person who owns execution, leads our designers, and elevates our founder's vision with precision, taste, and relentless attention to detail.

You'll work directly under the creative direction of our founder, who stays close to every project and goes deep on details. Your job is to take that direction and run with it.

You'll manage our design team, lead multiple projects from concept to delivery, and play a founding role in building a department that will keep growing. This is not a maintenance position. It's a building one.

Your Key Responsibilities

– Lead the design process from concept through construction delivery across multiple hospitality projects simultaneously.

– Translate the founder's creative direction into detailed, executable design packages — mood boards, material palettes, technical drawings, and FF&E specifications.

– Manage and mentor the design team, setting the standard for quality, craft, and process.

– Coordinate with contractors, consultants, and project managers to ensure design intent is preserved through construction.

– Conduct regular site visits to oversee quality, resolve on-site issues, and protect the design.

– Champion the guest experience in every decision — spatial flow, material feel, atmosphere, details.

– Contribute to building the culture and working methods of a growing design department.

What We Expect From You

Background

– 8+ years of interior design experience, with full project delivery exposure.

– Minimum 3 years of hospitality projects (restaurants, hotels, F&B spaces).

– Proven experience managing or mentoring a design team or junior designers.

– Experience working in or with studios abroad is a strong advantage.

– Bachelor's or Master's degree in Interior Design or Architecture.

Technical Skills

– Strong proficiency in Revit (mandatory), AutoCAD, SketchUp, and Adobe Creative Suite.

– Solid command of FF&E selection and detailed drawing, spatial planning, and material specification.

– Comfortable managing project documentation end to end.

Who You Are

– An exceptional eye — you notice details others miss and know what to do about them.

– Genuinely passionate about hospitality and how space makes people feel.

– A clear communicator, able to translate design decisions to contractors, and non-designers.

– Organized and autonomous — you manage multiple live projects without dropping anything.

– Collaborative by nature — you work with strong opinions but without ego.

Language

– Excellent English, written and spoken — mandatory.

– Portuguese is a plus but not required.

Why This Role

– You'll collaborate directly with a founder who cares about design as much as you do — and goes into the details. This isn't a brief-and-execute relationship; it's a real creative partnership.

– The projects are genuinely exciting: boutique hotels with bold F&B concepts, built to become destinations.

– You're joining at the start of something new — a dedicated design team, a new office space, a new chapter. You'll help shape the culture and process, not inherit someone else's.

– Lisbon base — a city where great hospitality design is increasingly on the world's radar.

– A fast-learning environment: 8 years and 15+ venues of accumulated knowledge, now applied to bigger, more complex projects.

What's in For you?
At Vida Plena, you're not just taking a position; you are joining a community that values joy, respect, and a collective pursuit of excellence. If you're prepared to bring your expertise, passion, and innovation to our team, we're excited to welcome you into our fold.

• A salary that respects your work — competitive pay from day one
• Performance that pays off— team performance bonus and fair tip distribution, because great service deserves real recognition
• A schedule that respects your time — no split shifts and, whenever possible, consecutive days off, giving you proper time to rest and recharge
• Enjoy the experience yourself— group discounts for you and your guests across all our venues
• Wellbeing is a priority — a mental health partner and weekly activities on us, from yoga and boxing to meditation, keeping you energised on and off the floor
• Celebrations that bring us together— regular team-building events and group parties, because the best teams also know how to have fun
• Room to grow — be part of an expanding hospitality group with internal mobility and career progression opportunities.