Senior Interior Designer / Space Planner in Arlington, Virginia at Distro

Location: Arlington, VA Worksite: Herbert R. Temple Jr. Army National Guard Readiness Center, 111 S. George Mason Drive, Arlington, VA Salary Range: $95,000-$115,000 Annually Employment Type: Full-time Clearance/Access: Must be able to pass required background checks and obtain/maintain access to a DoD/Government facility. CAC eligibility may be required.

Position Summary

BI-SI Solutions is seeking a highly experienced Senior Interior Designer / Space Planner to support the Army National Guard Facility Management Office at the Herbert R. Temple Jr. Army National Guard Readiness Center in Arlington, Virginia.

This position supports facility space management, interior design, office reconfiguration, furniture planning, construction/renovation support, CAD drawing development, project coordination, documentation review, and future facilities planning. The ideal candidate will have strong experience supporting government, commercial, institutional, or large-scale facilities environments where mission requirements, office space needs, furniture standards, construction schedules, and customer coordination frequently change.

This is not a decorative design role. This is a hands-on facilities interior design and space planning position that requires technical judgment, strong CAD skills, systems furniture knowledge, vendor coordination, project documentation, and the ability to work directly with facility managers, engineers, construction teams, furniture vendors, end users, and Government stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

The Senior Interior Designer / Space Planner will:

Develop, revise, and maintain interior space plans, furniture plans, demolition/renovation concepts, and design intent drawings using AutoCAD.

Survey existing spaces, furniture layouts, equipment, workflow, communication needs, organizational requirements, and future space requirements.

Support reconfiguration of offices, workstations, conference rooms, storage rooms, secure areas, directorate suites, front offices, break areas, and other facility spaces.

Prepare and update 2-D layouts, hardline drawings, CAD files, finish plans, furniture plans, and presentation materials for review by the Facility Management Office.

Coordinate with furniture vendors, construction contractors, installers, engineers, facility staff, and end users to support project planning, installation, punch list resolution, and closeout.

Assist with development and review of Statements of Work, Performance Work Statements, design packages, project files, finish schedules, furniture specifications, and vendor proposals.

Review furniture quotes, drawings, finish selections, product standards, warehouse inventory, lead times, installation schedules, and project status reports.

Support systems furniture planning, including workstation layouts, demountable walls, task chairs, conference tables, side chairs, storage solutions, panel systems, and furniture reuse.

Maintain and update project information in facility management systems, including active project lists, project notes, drawing updates, and status tracking.

Participate in weekly or recurring facilities, engineering, construction, and vendor coordination meetings.

Conduct field measurements, site walks, space assessments, and furniture/product evaluations.

Assist with project budgeting, rough order of magnitude estimates, scheduling, and cost tracking.

Support facility standards, workplace accommodation layouts, signage coordination, finish standards, furniture standards, and continuity documentation.

Provide professional written, oral, and graphic communication to present options, recommendations, layouts, and project updates clearly to stakeholders.

The PWS specifically requires interior design support involving hardline drawings, demolition/renovation plans, surveys of space/equipment/workflow needs, space management, workplace solutions, program analysis, cost estimating, CAD-based drawings/layouts, interior construction knowledge, building systems, codes, materials, furnishings, and protection of health, safety, and welfare.

Required Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in Interior Design, Interior Architecture, Architecture, Facilities Planning, Space Planning, or a closely related field.

Equivalent specialized experience may be considered if approved by program leadership.

Minimum of 7-10 years of relevant experience in interior design, space planning, facilities planning, systems furniture planning, or commercial/government workplace design.

Strong AutoCAD experience, including development and modification of floor plans, furniture plans, layout drawings, and design intent documents.

Experience with systems furniture, workstation reconfiguration, furniture standards, demountable walls, installation coordination, and punch list resolution.

Experience preparing or supporting SOWs, PWSs, project scopes, design packages, finish selections, furniture specifications, and vendor proposal reviews.

Ability to read and interpret basic architectural, engineering, construction, furniture, and building system drawings.

Knowledge of interior construction, building systems and components, furniture systems, materials, finishes, workplace standards, and applicable building/life-safety considerations.

Strong communication skills, including the ability to present layouts, recommendations, project updates, and design solutions to technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple active projects, shifting priorities, vendor follow-up, and customer requirements at the same time.

Proficiency with Microsoft Office, especially Word and Excel.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience supporting DoD, federal, state, county, or other government facility environments.

Experience working in occupied facilities where renovations, reconfigurations, and furniture installations must be coordinated around ongoing mission operations.

Experience with CAP 20/20 or similar furniture planning/specification software.

Experience maintaining as-built drawings, project files, furniture inventories, space standards, and facility documentation.

Experience with facility management systems such as FM Interact or similar tools.

Experience coordinating with vendors such as systems furniture dealers, installers, contractors, construction managers, and facility maintenance teams.

Prior experience supporting secure facilities, controlled access facilities, or environments requiring background checks/CAC access.

Georgia’s background supports the kind of candidate profile we should target: she has performed space planning/design for government buildings, developed finishes/specifications/budgets, coordinated vendors and contractors, managed KNOLL/systems furniture installations, maintained as-built AutoCAD drawings, oversaw installation quality, developed punch lists, and coordinated with client agencies relocating or reconfiguring office space.

Work Environment and Schedule

This position is primarily onsite at the TARC facility in Arlington, VA. The contract requires onsite support during core hours of 0900-1500, Monday through Friday, with telework only when coordinated and approved.

The environment is active and project-driven. The Facility Management Office supports frequent mission changes, renovations, cubicle and office reconfigurations, furniture refreshes, space planning requests, and multiple ongoing projects at the same time. The contract background notes that TARC historically has approximately 36 active projects ongoing each month, ranging from equipment replacement to complete cubicle and office reconfiguration.

Ideal Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate is a seasoned, practical, mission-focused interior designer who can operate independently in a busy government facility environment. This person must be comfortable walking spaces, measuring rooms, updating CAD files, working with engineers, translating end-user needs into workable layouts, coordinating with furniture vendors, reviewing proposals, tracking project details, supporting SOW/PWS development, and keeping multiple stakeholders aligned.

This person should be calm under pressure, detail-oriented, responsive, technically competent, and able to protect both design quality and operational practicality. The current MSRs show the role is heavily involved in real-time project execution, including SIPR renovation drawings, SOW development, FM Interact updates, Price Modern coordination, furniture inventory review, conference room layouts, demountable wall planning, workstation additions, and multiple active reconfiguration projects.

Team Fit and Mission Support Expectations

This position is part of a small, highly collaborative facilities engineering and facility management support team. The successful candidate must be willing to work outside a narrow job-title mindset when mission needs require it. While the primary role is Senior Interior Designer / Space Planner, the team regularly supports overlapping facility, engineering, space management, furniture, construction, vendor coordination, documentation, and customer-service requirements.

Candidates must be comfortable stepping into unfamiliar situations, asking good questions, learning quickly, and helping teammates solve problems even when the task is not strictly within their specialty. This does not mean performing work outside professional qualifications or safety limits. It does mean demonstrating humility, flexibility, initiative, and a team-first attitude in a fast-moving government facility environment.

The ideal candidate will bring strong technical interior design and space planning skills, but also the willingness to support the broader team, communicate openly, learn from others, and help move the mission forward when priorities shift.

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