Director, Global Restaurant Design

Department Overview

Restaurant Experience Team Overview

The Global Restaurant Experience Team is responsible for elevating CX & EX through transforming a restaurant's physical space into a functional, visually appealing, and immersive environment that enhances the overall dining experience, making the McDonald's experience distinctively golden.

The scope includes but is not limited to the following: Design/Experience Strategy, Interior Decors, Customer & Crew Components & Corporate Design.

Collaborates with development leads for US, IOM (International Owned Markets), and IDL (International Development Licenses) Segments & the Global Development team to identify and address opportunities to elevate the customer & employee experience, fueling the ability to accelerate new store development & grow sales of the existing portfolio.

Duties

Role Overview: 

The Director manages the entire creative process, transforming design briefs into innovative concepts and guiding projects through development, prototyping and piloting states. This role balances creative vision and operational discipline, leading a distributed team to strengthen global design capabilities.

Key Responsibilities:

• Enhance Customer Experience (CX) and Employee Experience (EX) through innovative aesthetic and experiential design solutions.
• Scope includes interior and terrace decor, crew facilities, brand extensions, family and play areas, acoustics, lighting, sustainability challenges, optimisation of initial investment, and operational efficiency—while ensuring alignment with brand identity and allowing local market adaptations. Note: Restaurant architecture aspects such as layouts, façade design, and exterior signage are managed by the Architectural Brand standards team.
• Contribute to the creation of design briefs.
• Translate design briefs creatively into globally applicable interior restaurant design concepts.
• Lead and guide the creative process from brief development through concept creation, prototyping, and piloting.
• Build, mentor, and expand global design capabilities by establishing and maturing international Centres of Excellence (COEs).
• Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders (creative agencies, Subject Matter experts, suppliers) to develop holistic design solutions that meet business needs and are adaptable worldwide.
• Identify and develop relationships with suppliers and consultants.
• Partner closely with Global Stakeholders—including Brand, Insights, Development, Operations, Digital, and Sustainability teams—to deliver integrated experiences.
• Drive prototyping of components and materials and refine pilots in initial markets to validate and optimise design solutions for global scaling.
• Continuously improve quality and value in existing methods as part of daily operations.
• Produce 3D models to support conceptual design work.
• Oversee the technical aspects of product design with the ability to connect visual storytelling with manufacturing logic, translated into efficient prototyping
• Oversee the development of comprehensive systems and a portfolio library to streamline design implementation, creating a centralised knowledge hub.
• Oversee design reviews, supplier prototype evaluations, and mock-ups to ensure feasibility and scalability.
• Establish a unified, scalable design framework that supports both customer and employee experiences.
• Support the Integration Team by:
  • Establishing approval processes for products and solutions required by aesthetic and experiential designs to be incorporated into Global Restaurant Solutions (GRS) (e.g., lockers).
  • Developing guidelines and delivering training to Segment teams to ensure design excellence.
  • Addressing inquiries from Segments, especially high-profile locations or those requiring unique solutions and concept localisation.
  • Designing Brand Flagship locations.
  • Developing engineering solutions and standards to facilitate procurement via GSSS.
  • Seeding new experience designs within Segments.
• Transfer knowledge to the design activation team to enable the creation of guidelines and training materials for global rollout.
• Influence through persuasion rather than direct authority to drive change.
• Demonstrate strong communication skills to engage effectively with diverse stakeholders, fostering collaboration toward shared goals.
• Actively contribute to overall team performance and success.

Qualifications

• BA or equivalent in architecture, special, or experiential design 
• 10+ years of experience in creating spaces with retail, multi-site food and beverage design, hospitality and Consultants worked on target industries are preferred.
• Requires knowledge of specific technical/operational practices.
• Proven track record driving outcomes with internal and external stakeholders
• Focus on customer experience and the ability to lead related initiatives.
• Ability to produce high-quality 3D models/visuals
• Strong sense of ownership, initiative, and creative curiosity
• Resilient under feedback and capable of managing multiple priorities
• Open, collaborative, and inclusive in the creative process
• Demonstrate experience in leading and mentoring teams effectively, with a proven ability to guide team members towards achieving their goals. having a track record of successfully establishing new teams from the ground up is highly advantageous.
• Project management skills is a plus to ensure relevant work assignment and tracking
• Experience in product design and “technical know-how”