Senior Retail Experience & Store Designer- BEAUTY

Aquent is seeking an exceptional Senior Retail Experience & Store Designer to partner with a leading global beauty brand. In this pivotal role, you will be instrumental in shaping immersive, premium retail environments that captivate consumers and bring the brand's unique identity to life. Your innovative designs will directly influence how customers interact with and experience the brand, creating memorable journeys that blend luxury aesthetics with cutting-edge science. This is an incredible opportunity to make a significant impact on a globally recognized brand, driving its physical presence and elevating the consumer experience through visionary spatial design.

About the Role

As a Senior Retail Experience & Brand Designer, you will be at the forefront of designing transformative retail spaces, from permanent boutiques and dynamic pop-up stores to engaging shop-in-shops and experiential activations. You will translate the brand's essence into compelling three-dimensional environments, crafting spaces that seamlessly integrate architectural thinking, storytelling, and functionality. This role offers the chance to innovate, balancing creative vision with commercial objectives to deliver exceptional consumer experiences that reinforce the brand's science-backed, clinical-luxury positioning. You will collaborate extensively across creative, marketing, and product teams, playing a crucial role in defining the future of the brand's physical presence and ensuring design integrity from concept through installation.

Key Responsibilities

• Design immersive retail environments for permanent boutiques, pop-up stores, shop-in-shops, experiential events, and branded activations.
• Translate the brand into compelling three-dimensional environments that create memorable, premium consumer experiences.
• Develop innovative spatial concepts that balance architectural thinking, storytelling, functionality, and commercial objectives.
• Design environments that enhance the guest journey while reflecting the brand's science-backed, clinical-luxury positioning.
• Ensure consistency across all physical brand touchpoints while maintaining flexibility for local market adaptations.
• Create concept presentations, mood boards, floor plans, elevations, renderings, and presentation decks that communicate design intent.
• Develop detailed design packages from initial concept through production-ready documentation.
• Produce high-quality 3D visualizations and renderings that effectively communicate spatial experiences to stakeholders.
• Present design concepts and rationale to cross-functional teams and senior leadership.
• Partner closely with Marketing, Creative, Retail, Visual Merchandising, Product Development, Architecture, and Global Brand teams to execute integrated retail initiatives.
• Collaborate with external agencies, architects, fabricators, production vendors, and contractors throughout project execution.
• Support photoshoots, retail installations, and on-site activations as needed to ensure design integrity.
• Balance creative vision with operational, construction, budget, and timeline considerations.
• Manage multiple retail design initiatives simultaneously from concept through installation.
• Prepare production files, specifications, fixture drawings, and documentation for fabrication partners.
• Conduct design reviews throughout fabrication and installation to ensure quality and brand consistency.
• Stay informed on emerging retail, hospitality, luxury, and experiential design trends to continuously elevate the consumer experience.

Qualifications

Must-Have Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Architecture, Interior Design, Environmental Design, or a related discipline.
• 5-8+ years of experience designing luxury retail environments, experiential activations, boutiques, or branded spaces.
• Portfolio demonstrating exceptional retail, experiential, hospitality, or luxury spatial design.

Technical Expertise

• Advanced proficiency in Rhino, SketchUp, Cinema 4D, or comparable 3D modeling software.
• Expert knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign).
• Strong rendering, visualization, and presentation skills.
• Experience producing technical drawings and fabrication-ready documentation.
• Familiarity with AI-powered visualization, rendering, and creative tools, with a willingness to continuously adopt new technologies and workflows.

Nice-to-Have Qualifications

• Experience in both agency and in-house creative environments.
• Experience working with premium beauty, skincare, fashion, hospitality, or luxury consumer brands.

What You Bring

• An exceptional spatial designer who combines architectural thinking with creative storytelling and a passion for building premium consumer experiences.
• Thinks conceptually while maintaining exceptional technical execution.
• Is passionate about retail, experiential design, architecture, and environmental storytelling.
• Has strong visualization and presentation skills, bringing ideas to life through compelling renderings and design narratives.
• Thrives in environments with ambiguity, shifting priorities, and evolving business needs.
• Is curious about emerging technologies, AI, and new design tools that improve creative workflows.
• Adapts quickly as software, production methods, and project priorities evolve.
• Is proactive, resourceful, and enjoys solving complex design challenges.
• Maintains exceptional attention to detail while balancing creativity with functionality and execution.
• Collaborates effectively across creative, marketing, retail, architecture, and production teams.
• Stays calm under pressure and delivers high-quality work in a fast-paced, high-volume environment.
• Brings a growth mindset, embraces feedback, and is excited to help shape the future of a growing global brand.

#LI-RM21