Back to jobs
New

Contract External Interior Designer Partner

Charleston, South Carolina

About Pacaso:
Pacaso exists to enrich lives by making second home ownership possible and enjoyable for more people. Our innovative co-ownership model is the easiest, smartest and most responsible way for people to experience the joy of a second home. We provide all the benefits of true ownership without the hassles through our simplified financial structure, easy and equitable scheduling, and dedicated local property management.Founded by former Zillow executives, Pacaso has facilitated over $1 billion in gross real estate transactions and service fees across more than 40 markets nationwide, as well as internationally in Paris, London, and Cabo.

We have been featured in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Forbes, CNBC and more.Pacaso is a certified Great Place to Work and has received numerous accolades for its workplace culture. Fortune and Great Place To Work named Pacaso to the 2024 Best Workplaces in Real Estate list. In 2023, Pacaso was recognized as a Best Workplace in the Bay Area™, and in 2022, it ranked among the Best Medium Workplaces™, Best Workplaces for Real Estate™, and Best Workplaces for Millennials™. Additionally, Pacaso was ranked #6 on Glassdoor's 2022 list of Best Places to Work and was one of LinkedIn's top startups in 2022.

 Overview

Pacaso is building a trusted network of pre-vetted contract designers to extend our internal design team as acquisition volume grows. This is not a traditional freelance posting. We are looking for experienced residential designers who want an ongoing source of well-defined, repeatable project work within a structured creative framework.

Contract designers work on a project-by-project basis — either per home or on a flexible retainer depending on pipeline needs — and are compensated on a flat project fee tied to FF&E budget scope. Designers who complete a successful pilot engagement are added to the approved Pacaso Design Partner Roster and are prioritized for future assignments.

The Opportunity

Pacaso homes are co-owned luxury residences — designed to feel elevated, personal, and effortlessly livable for multiple owners year-round. Our internal design team leads all creative direction, but with 33 projected acquisitions in 2026 and peak volume reaching 3–5 homes per month in Q3 and Q4, we are building an external partner network to scale alongside us.

As a contract designer, you will execute full FF&E design for individual Pacaso homes — from space planning through final documentation — working within Pacaso's brand standards, vendor frameworks, and production templates. The Senior Manager of Design reviews and approves all work at defined milestones.

Think of this as a hospitality-minded approach to residential design: beautiful spaces that are also durable, broadly appealing within a regional aesthetic, and built to perform across heavy use. If you thrive in structured creative environments and value steady, repeat work over one-off bespoke commissions, this is the right fit.

What You'll Do

Core Design Deliverables (per home)

  • Develop space plans using your preferred tool
  • Build a Design Schematic in Pacaso's Canva template, presenting concept direction and FF&E selections in a format ready for owner-facing use
  • Specify full FF&E using Pacaso's preferred vendor list and sourcing frameworks
  • Populate the Spec Book in Google Sheets with complete, accurate product and placement data
  • Produce Placement Documents in Canva per Pacaso standards
  • Attend all milestone reviews with the Senior Manager of Design: space plan, schematic/FF&E, budget alignment, and final documentation

Project Collaboration

  • Receive and work from the Pacaso Design Assignment Packet provided at project kickoff
  • Partner with Pacaso's Procurement and Sourcing teams to confirm product availability and budget compliance
  • Collaborate with cross-functional partners (Operations, Onboarding, Logistics) to support successful installation
  • Travel to onboardings and manage in-person staging and styling as needed (project-dependent)
  • Communicate proactively, meet deadlines, and deliver clean documentation at every stage

Design Refresh & Ongoing Work

  • Support existing Pacaso homes with replacement FF&E sourcing and periodic design audits
  • Contribute to full-home design refreshes as assigned

What We're Looking For

Experience & Credentials

  • Bachelor's degree in Interior Design or Architecture (NCIDQ / CID preferred)
  • 5+ years of professional experience with a focus on high-end residential and/or hospitality design
  • Demonstrated portfolio of luxury residential work with strong regional aesthetic sensibility
  • Hospitality, multifamily, or investment residential experience is a strong plus — familiarity with client-directed, operationally conscious design processes
  • Active project experience in or near one of our target markets (Kiawah/Charleston, South Florida, Mountain West, SoCal, or Wine Country)

Design & Technical Skills

  • Proficiency in Revit and AutoCAD required; SketchUp Pro and/or Rhino preferred
  • Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, Acrobat) required
  • Comfort working in Google Workspace (Slides, Sheets, Docs, Drive) and Canva — these are Pacaso's primary workflow tools
  • Exceptional design presentation skills — your concept decks are polished, client-ready, and clearly communicate a point of view

Working Style & Mindset

  • You thrive in structured creative environments and deliver excellent work within defined budgets and vendor frameworks
  • You are documentation-oriented, deadline-driven, and easy to collaborate with remotely
  • You bring a hospitality sensibility to residential work: spaces that feel personal and elevated without being precious
  • You have the bandwidth and business structure to take on contract engagements alongside existing projects
  • You operate as a registered business entity and carry professional liability insurance

How the Partnership Works

The Vetting Process

Every designer goes through the same process before being approved for a Pacaso home. This is a six-step process owned by the Senior Manager of Design:

  • Portfolio review (internal, no contact required)
  • Initial outreach — brief introduction to Pacaso's model and partnership structure
  • 30-minute discovery call — assessing communication style, bandwidth, and fit
  • Reference check — one to two past clients or collaborators
  • Deep dive on one completed project — walk us through budget, vendor choices, documentation, and install
  • Paid pilot engagement — one project together before formalizing the relationship

The pilot engagement is the most important step. It's an opportunity for both parties to experience the working relationship before making a longer-term commitment. Pacaso evaluates the work against our standards; you experience our process firsthand.

Once Approved

Approved designers are added to the Pacaso Design Partner Roster — a living document maintained by the Senior Manager of Design. There is no standing retainer or volume commitment. When a project is identified as appropriate for an external partner, we select from the approved roster based on market fit and availability.

Partners are evaluated after each engagement on timeliness, accuracy, budget discipline, ease of collaboration, and install outcomes. Strong performers are prioritized for future work.

You’ll love working at Pacaso because of our ...

  • Competitive salary and stock options.
  • Unlimited, flexible PTO for exempt employees.
  • Excellent medical, dental and vision insurance.
  • Sponsored memberships to One Medical, Ginger and Carrot.
  • 401(k) to help you save for the future.
  • Paid maternity and paternity leave.
  • Generous home office stipend and monthly cell phone reimbursement.
  • Quarterly remote team building events and L&D opportunities.

Pacaso encourages applications from people of all races, religions, national origins, genders, sexual orientations, gender identities, gender expressions and ages, as well as veterans and individuals with disabilities.     

 

Create a Job Alert

Interested in building your career at Pacaso ? Get future opportunities sent straight to your email.

Apply for this job

*

indicates a required field

Resume/CV*

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Select...
Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in Pacaso ’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

Select...
Select...
Race & Ethnicity Definitions

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability

Form CC-305
Page 1 of 1
OMB Control Number 1250-0005
Expires 04/30/2026

Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp.

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
  • Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
  • Blind or low vision
  • Cancer (past or present)
  • Cardiovascular or heart disease
  • Celiac disease
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
  • Diabetes
  • Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
  • Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
  • Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
  • Intellectual or developmental disability
  • Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
  • Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
  • Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
  • Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
  • Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
  • Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
  • Short stature (dwarfism)
  • Traumatic brain injury
Select...

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.