Architectural Designer

Saxbys | Philadelphia, PA | $70,000/year + Bonus & Benefits | Occasional Travel
ABOUT THE ROLE
Saxbys is more than a cafe company. It’s an Experiential Learning Platform. Every Saxbys cafe is run by a Student CEO who operates the location as a real business, and every cafe begins as a design challenge: fitting a working cafe into an existing library, student center, or academic building on a university campus, each with its own constraints.
As our Architectural Designer, you’ll be the design engine of the Design & Construction team. You’ll turn early concepts into the plans, models, and renderings that help university partners say yes. You’ll develop approved concepts into schematic packages that hand off cleanly to our architects and engineers of record (AOR/EOR), and you’ll make sure the design intent carries through to what gets built. You’ll work side by side with our Construction Administrator, who keeps you connected to schedules, submittals, and field conditions. This is a hands-on role for an early-career designer who wants to see their drawings become real spaces, and who wants to grow into project management over time.
WHAT YOU’LL OWN
Concept Development & Existing Conditions: Turn sketches, verbal direction, site surveys, and photos into base drawings, test fits, space plans, and design options for new cafe locations.
Partner Presentation Materials: Produce renderings, 3D views, material boards, and presentation drawings that bring the Saxbys brand to life and help university partners say yes.
Schematic Design Packages: Develop approved concepts into schematic design packages, including plans, elevations, equipment layouts, finishes, and design intent, for partner approval and clean handoff to the AOR/EOR.
Design Intent Through Construction: Be the team’s point of coordination with the AOR/EOR from construction documents through punch. That means reviewing consultant sets, tracking revisions, reviewing submittals and shop drawings, coordinating RFIs, and walking punch lists.
Design Standards: Build and maintain concept templates, Revit families, typical layouts, and our finishes library, so every project starts further ahead than the last.
WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE
100% of schematic design packages reach the AOR/EOR on schedule
Test fits and design options delivered within 5 business days of direction
80% of partner presentations approved within 2 review rounds
Design-intent reviews of submittals and shop drawings returned within 3 business days
WHO YOU ARE
You’re an early-career designer with 1–3 years of experience at an architecture or interior design firm. Strong internship experience counts. You’re fluent in Revit and AutoCAD, and you can take a space from a blank floor plan to a polished presentation set without needing someone to walk you through the software. You’re comfortable with rendering tools like Enscape, Twinmotion, V-Ray, or Lumion, along with Adobe Creative Suite and Bluebeam. You know how construction documents come together, and how codes and accessibility shape early design decisions. You’re a collaborator who gives credit where it’s due, you take feedback well, and you’re excited to learn what makes a great cafe work. Hospitality, retail, food service, or higher-ed experience is a plus, but it isn’t required. Our standard modules and equipment layouts are very learnable.
WHAT’S REQUIRED
Bachelor’s or master’s degree in architecture, interior architecture, or interior design
A project portfolio showing your recent work, submitted with your application. Applications without a portfolio won’t be considered.
Occasional travel to campus project sites for existing-conditions surveys, progress walks, and punch lists. A valid driver’s license and reliable transportation are required.
Ability to stand and walk for extended periods, stoop and kneel, lift up to 35 lbs, and climb ladders and stairs on job sites
Support, exhibit, and promote Saxbys Mission and Core Values in all daily activities
WHY SAXBYS
This is the chance to design spaces that change how students learn, working in-house where you’ll see your test fits become open, busy cafes on campuses across the country. You’ll work directly under a licensed architect, so your hours count toward licensure (AXP for architecture, CIDQ for interior design). Along with the compensation and comprehensive benefits, you’ll get a clear path to grow from design into project management as our cafe portfolio grows.
Ready to design something great? Apply today!