Director, Architecture

kate spade new york•New York, NY

1d•$155,000 - $175,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Director of Architecture is responsible for leading the end-to-end retail design vision, standards, and execution across the globe with teams based in New York and key Asia markets. This role oversees both centralized design functions and regional design managers delivering individual store projects, ensuring consistency, innovation, and operational excellence.

Requirements

Experience leading end-to-end retail design vision, standards, and execution globally.
Experience managing teams based in different regions (e.g., New York and Asia).
Experience overseeing both centralized design functions and regional design managers.
Experience delivering individual store projects.
Experience ensuring consistency, innovation, and operational excellence in design.
Experience defining and leading global architectural design strategy.
Experience connecting cross-functional inputs (VM, merchandising, construction, operations) into a cohesive design direction.
Experience driving innovation in store design, materials, and execution methods.
Experience leading and inspiring teams.
Experience fostering local alignment, collaboration, and accountability.
Experience overseeing fixture designers and regional design managers.
Experience building a culture of high performance, confidence, and continuous learning.
Experience mentoring and developing team members.
Experience establishing and maintaining global design standards, guidelines, and toolkits.
Experience implementing processes that ensure quality of design.
Experience partnering with construction and procurement to align standards with cost, timelines, and operational requirements.
Experience providing oversight and guidance on store layouts and designs.
Experience ensuring projects are delivered with design integrity, on schedule, and within budget.
Experience acting as a senior escalation point for critical decisions.
Experience championing a culture of experimentation and forward-thinking design solutions.
Experience leading initiatives that incorporate new materials and technologies into store environments.
Experience driving adoption of improved workflows, tools, and design technologies (e.g., Monday.com).
Experience evaluating and refining design processes.
Demonstrate courage to speak up, challenge assumptions, and advocate for best design and business outcomes.
Navigate ambiguity with confidence and make informed decisions in complex situations.
Lead honest, transparent conversations across stakeholders.
Balance global standards with local needs, and creative ambition with operational and budgetary realities.
Leverage emerging and advanced technologies (e.g., digital tools, data, automation) to enhance design outcomes.
Identify and shape new or untapped opportunities.
Holistically connect inputs across people, customer experience, operations, and financial considerations.
Build and lead high-performing, inclusive teams.
Develop and elevate talent through coaching, feedback, and stretch opportunities.
Foster a culture of trust, collaboration, and continuous learning.
Identify and address capability gaps.
Take full accountability for outcomes and drive measurable business and design results.
Balance speed and quality in decision-making.
Operate with a strong sense of ownership across the full project lifecycle.
Demonstrate self-awareness and adaptability.
Champion and evolve a distinctive global store design identity.
Make strategic, data-informed decisions.
Align design direction with long-term brand and business strategy.
Build strong, influential partnerships across functions, regions, and external stakeholders.
Scale design impact across markets and formats.
Navigate organizational complexity effectively.
Extend the function’s impact beyond design delivery.
Courage: Doesn’t hold back anything that needs to be said; provides current, direct, complete, and “actionable” positive and corrective feedback to others; lets people know where they stand; faces up to people problems on any person or situation (not including direct reports) quickly and directly; is not afraid to take negative action when necessary.
Creativity: Comes up with a lot of new and unique ideas; easily makes connections among previously unrelated notions; tends to be seen as original and value-added in brainstorming settings.
Customer Focus: Is dedicated to meeting the expectations and requirements of internal and external customers; gets first-hand customer information and uses it for improvements in products and services; acts with customers in mind; establishes and maintains effective relationships with customers and gains their trust and respect.
Dealing with Ambiguity: Can effectively cope with change; can shift gears comfortably; can decide and act without having the total picture; isn’t upset when things are up in the air; doesn’t have to finish things before moving on; can comfortably handle risk and uncertainty.
Drive for Results: Can be counted on to exceed goals successfully; is constantly and consistently one of the top performers; very bottom-line oriented; steadfastly pushes self and others for results.
Interpersonal Savvy: Relates well to all kinds of people, up, down, and sideways, inside and outside the organization; builds appropriate rapport; builds constructive and effective relationships; uses diplomacy and tact; can diffuse even high-tension situations comfortably.
Learning on the Fly: Learns quickly when facing new problems; a relentless and versatile learner; open to change; analyzes both successes and failures for clues to improvement; experiments and will try anything to find solutions; enjoys the challenge of unfamiliar tasks; quickly grasps the essence and the underlying structure of anything.
Strategic Agility: Sees ahead clearly; can anticipate future consequences and trends accurately; has broad knowledge and perspective; is future oriented; can articulately paint credible pictures and visions of possibilities and likelihoods; can create competitive and breakthrough strategies and plans.
Developing Direct Reports and Others: Provides challenging and stretching tasks and assignments; holds frequent development discussions; is aware of each person's career goals; constructs compelling development plans and executes them; pushes people to accept developmental moves; will take on those who need help and further development; cooperates with the developmental system in the organization; is a people builder.
Building Effective Teams: Blends people into teams when needed; creates strong morale and spirit in their team; shares wins and successes; fosters open dialogue; lets people finish and be responsible for their work; defines success in terms of the whole team; creates a feeling of belonging in the team.

Responsibilities

Define and lead the global architectural design strategy across all retail formats and markets.
Connect cross-functional inputs (VM, merchandising, construction, operations) into a cohesive and future-forward design direction.
Drive innovation in store design, materials, and execution methods, continuously evolving the store experience.
Lead and inspire a team across New York and Asia, fostering local alignment, collaboration and accountability.
Oversee both fixture designers and regional design managers responsible for store-specific project delivery.
Build a culture of high performance, confidence, and continuous learning.
Mentor and develop team members, strengthening leadership capability and expertise across regions.
Establish and maintain global design standards, guidelines, and toolkits to ensure brand consistency and design excellence.
Implement processes that ensure quality of design based on global guidance.
Partner with construction and procurement to align standards with cost, timelines, and operational requirements.
Provide oversight and guidance to regional design managers on store layouts and designs.
Ensure projects are delivered with design integrity, on schedule, and within budget.
Act as a senior escalation point for critical decisions impacting design outcomes.
Champion a culture of experimentation and forward-thinking design solutions.
Lead and foster initiatives that incorporate new materials and technologies into store environments.
Drive adoption of improved workflows, tools, and design technologies (e.g., Monday.com).
Continuously evaluate and refine design processes to improve speed, quality, and cost efficiency.
Demonstrate the courage to speak up, challenging assumptions and advocating for the best design and business outcomes.
Navigate ambiguity with confidence, making informed decisions even in complex or evolving situations.
Lead honest, transparent conversations across stakeholders at all levels.
Balance global standards with local needs, and creative ambition with operational and budgetary realities.
Leverage emerging and advanced technologies (e.g., digital tools, data, automation) to enhance design outcomes and support business objectives.
Identify and shape new or untapped opportunities, driving innovation and advancing strategic initiatives within store design.
Holistically connect inputs across people, customer experience, operations, and financial considerations to inform design direction.
Build and lead high-performing, inclusive teams across regions, creating clarity of roles, expectations, and shared accountability.
Develop and elevate talent through coaching, feedback, and stretch opportunities, strengthening both technical expertise and leadership capability.
Foster a culture of trust, collaboration, and continuous learning that enables teams to operate confidently and independently.
Identify and address capability gaps, ensuring the organization is equipped to scale and adapt to future business needs.
Take full accountability for outcomes, driving decisions and actions that deliver measurable business and design results.
Balance speed and quality, ensuring the right trade-offs are made to meet timelines, budgets, and strategic goals.
Operate with a strong sense of ownership across the full project lifecycle, from concept through execution and post-opening performance.
Demonstrate self-awareness and adaptability, continuously refining leadership approach to maximize personal and team impact.
Champion and evolve a distinctive global store design identity that strengthens brand equity and customer experience.
Make strategic, data-informed decisions that balance creative vision with commercial performance and scalability.
Ensure design outcomes consistently reinforce brand positioning while driving measurable business value.
Align design direction with long-term brand and business strategy, anticipating future customer and market needs.
Build strong, influential partnerships across functions, regions, and external stakeholders to drive alignment and outcomes.
Scale design impact across markets and formats, ensuring consistency while enabling local relevance and flexibility.
Navigate organizational complexity effectively, influencing decision-making at senior levels across the business.
Extend the function’s impact beyond design delivery, positioning Architecture as a strategic driver of growth and innovation.