Job Description
Front of House Designer
Company Overview: The Airedale Group are the leading market design, installation, and maintenance provider for commercial kitchens in the UK hospitality and food service industry. We work alongside clients from the initial designs through to bespoke fabrication and installation. Coupled with the largest body of professional maintenance engineers in the country, we offer the complete end-to-end solution to our extensive client base. We have long-standing relationships with many of the biggest multi-site brands in the UK.
Job Overview:We are seeking a highly skilled Commercial Catering Kitchen Designer to join our design‑led team, supporting the development of innovative, efficient, and operationally robust catering and retail environments. This role suits someone with strong technical capability, excellent commercial awareness, and the confidence to work independently while collaborating with wider project, commercial, and installation teams.
Key Responsibilities:
* Produce detailed commercial kitchen, foodservice, and front‑of‑house layouts using AutoCAD, Revit, and SketchUp.
* Develop accurate equipment schedules, specifications, and design packs aligned with operational flow, compliance requirements, and client brand standards.
* Prepare estimates, cost plans, and tender responses, ensuring pricing accuracy and value‑engineered options where appropriate.
* Work closely with project managers, sales teams, and clients to translate operational needs into practical, buildable design solutions.
* Contribute to front‑of‑house and retail design, including counters, servery layouts, grab‑and‑go concepts, and customer‑flow planning.
* Maintain meticulous attention to detail across drawings, costing sheets, and documentation.
* Manage design revisions, drawing updates, and coordination with M&E, ventilation, and architectural teams.
* Use Excel confidently to produce cost breakdowns, equipment lists, and project documentation.
* Work remotely with discipline and autonomy, managing your own workload and deadlines while maintaining strong communication with the wider team.
Experience Required:
* Proven experience in commercial catering, hospitality, or retail design.
* Proficiency in AutoCAD (essential), with working knowledge of Revit and SketchUp.
* Strong estimating and costing capability, ideally within catering equipment or construction‑related environments.
* Excellent understanding of kitchen workflow, equipment selection, compliance considerations, and space planning.
* Experience designing front‑of‑house and retail environments, including customer‑facing layouts.
* High level of accuracy and an exceptional eye for detail.
* Strong Excel skills, including structured costing sheets and data‑driven decision support.
* Ability to work remotely with minimal supervision while maintaining high standards of output.
* Based in the North West of the UK, with occasional travel to sites or client meetings as required.
Experience Required:
* Proven experience in commercial catering, hospitality, or retail design.
* Proficiency in AutoCAD (essential), with working knowledge of Revit and SketchUp.
* Strong estimating and costing capability, ideally within catering equipment or construction‑related environments.
* Excellent understanding of kitchen workflow, equipment selection, compliance considerations, and space planning.
* Experience designing front‑of‑house and retail environments, including customer‑facing layouts.
* High level of accuracy and an exceptional eye for detail.
* Strong Excel skills, including structured costing sheets and data‑driven decision support.
* Ability to work remotely with minimal supervision while maintaining high standards of output.
* Based in the North West of the UK, with occasional travel to sites or client meetings as required.
What We Offer:
The Airedale Group is expanding rapidly, employing circa 750 people across multiple locations in the UK. This is a fantastic time to be joining the business with opportunities for career progression.
* Company Car
* Bonus
* 23 Days Annual leave increasing with LOS
* Private Health Insurance
* Health Cash Plan
* Retail Discount
* Life Assurance