Associate Director, Workplace Design

The Associate Director, Workplace Design will partner closely with senior leaders and functional teams across the firm, including:

• Global Real Estate & Workplace Strategy leadership

• Office Managing Partners and Administrative Directors

• Technology, Security, Risk, and Compliance teams

• Brand, Communications, and Client Experience stakeholders

• External design, engineering, and construction partners

The role will act as a trusted advisor to leadership and a clear point of design accountability across all major office initiatives.

Core Responsibilities

Global Workplace Design Strategy

• Establish and lead the global workplace design vision, principles, and standards that reflect Simpson Thacher’s values: excellence, discretion, collaboration, and enduring quality.

• Serve as the firm’s design authority for major office projects, ensuring external architects and consultants clearly understand and deliver against the firm’s design expectations.

• Review and provide strategic direction on workplace design concepts, layouts, and materiality to ensure alignment with firm standards and long-term portfolio objectives.

• Balance innovation with stewardship—identifying opportunities to modernize the workplace while respecting the firm’s culture, brand, and professional traditions.

• Identify cost optimization and value-engineering opportunities without compromising design integrity, client experience, or attorney performance.

• Continuously refine design standards based on project learnings, attorney and staff feedback, and evolving best practices in professional services workplaces.

Workspace Design Program & Standards Management

• Develop and maintain global master planning, programming, and design guideline tools to support consistent execution across regions.

• Create an iterative design governance model that incorporates lessons learned from completed projects into future standards.

• Partner with procurement and real estate leadership on global sourcing strategies for furniture, fixtures, finishes, and specialty workplace components.

• Serve as a central escalation point for complex or high-visibility design and programming issues, driving resolution with clarity, discretion, and decisiveness.

• Oversee complementary workplace programs that support the broader employee experience, including artwork strategy, design enablement tools, and evolving workplace capabilities.

• Develop and oversee the firm’s global art program

Portfolio Modernization & Future Vision

• Play a leading role in shaping the 10-year modernization roadmap for the firm’s global office portfolio.

• Anticipate future workplace needs related to technology, flexibility, sustainability, and evolving work patterns within a top-tier law firm environment.

• Ensure design decisions made today are durable, adaptable, and aligned with long-term portfolio strategy.

• Actively contribute thought leadership to the firm’s real estate and workplace strategy, positioning Simpson Thacher at the forefront of professional services workplace design.

Team Leadership & Stakeholder Engagement

• Lead and develop a small, high-performing team of workplace programming and design professionals.

• Set clear priorities, performance expectations, and development paths, fostering a culture of excellence and accountability.

• Define an operating model that appropriately leverages internal expertise and external partners to support current and future demand.

• Communicate design decisions and standards effectively across regions, ensuring alignment while respecting local nuances.

• Build strong, trust-based relationships with partners, office leadership, and senior stakeholders.

Minimum Qualifications

Experience

• 15+ years of experience in related role/field

• Extensive experience in workplace design and/or project management for high-profile, complex corporate or professional services environments.

• Demonstr