Lead Design Painter

Role Overview

The Lead Design Painter is responsible for leading paint, surfacing, color development, and finish execution for show cars and Design Studio development models. This role ensures that every painted property achieves the studio’s highest standards for surface quality, body-line definition, color accuracy, gloss, depth, and overall visual presentation. Working closely with Design, Engineering, Modeling, Fabrication, and other studio partners, the Lead Design Painter translates design intent into physically compelling finishes while coordinating team priorities, technical processes, and project delivery. The ideal candidate combines concours-level automotive painting and surfacing expertise with strong leadership, refined visual judgment, and the ability to deliver flawless results in a fast-paced prototype environment.

Key Responsibilities

Paint, Surfacing & Finish Quality

• Lead the complete paint and surfacing workflow for show cars, concept vehicles, design properties, and studio development models.
• Establish and maintain concours-level standards for substrate preparation, surfacing, priming, sealing, color application, clear coating, curing, wet sanding, polishing, and final detailing.
• Evaluate surfaces, body lines, highlights, transitions, gaps, and reflections; direct corrections to ensure the finished property accurately communicates the intended design.
• Inspect work at each stage and ensure minor defects, contamination, texture variation, edge issues, or color inconsistencies are corrected before release.
• Develop and refine painting techniques, process controls, and quality checkpoints that consistently produce mirror-like, presentation-ready finishes.

Color Development & Design Intent

• Partner with designers and studio leadership to interpret color, material, gloss, and finish direction for each property.
• Lead custom color development, spray-out evaluation, color matching, tinting, and refinement of solid, metallic, pearl, translucent, multi-stage, and special-effect finishes.
• Assess color and surface appearance under studio, outdoor, photography, and show-lighting conditions to confirm hue, flop, depth, gloss, and visual balance.
• Document approved formulas, spray-out standards, application methods, and process notes to support repeatability and future development.

Team Leadership & Project Execution

• Lead, supervise, mentor, and train Design Painters, setting clear expectations for craftsmanship, safety, organization, and accountability.
• Plan work, assign priorities, coordinate schedules, and balance multiple concurrent studio programs while protecting finish quality and critical deadlines.
• Serve as the primary technical resource for complex paint, surfacing, color, and finish challenges.
• Communicate status, risks, material needs, and recovery plans clearly with cross-functional project partners.
• Lead by example through meticulous craftsmanship, attention to detail, calm problem-solving, and ownership from preparation through final presentation.

Equipment, Materials & Studio Support

• Manage paint materials, consumables, tools, and equipment to maintain appropriate stock levels and reliable studio readiness.
• Monitor spray equipment, booths, ventilation, lighting, sanding, polishing, and color-development tools; coordinate maintenance and corrective action as needed.
• Maintain a safe, clean, contamination-controlled, and highly organized work environment.
• Stay current with advanced paint systems, pigments, application technologies, finishing methods, and relevant design-studio practices.

Minimum Qualifications

• 10+ years of automotive painting experience at concours, show-car, concept-vehicle, or equivalent ultra-high-end quality, including 3+ years in a leadership role.
• Advanced expertise in surface preparation, substrate correction, primer systems, paint application, clear coating, wet sanding, polishing, and final finish inspection.
• Extensive surfacing experience creating and maintaining body lines, highlights, transitions, and reflection quality.
• Demonstrated expertise in custom color development, color matching, tinting, spray-out evaluation, and multi-stage or special-effect finishes.
• Exceptional visual judgment, color sensitivity, attention to detail, and commitment to uncompromised quality.
• Strong leadership, planning, communication, and team-development skills.
• Ability to manage multiple high-priority projects and deliver under tight Design Studio deadlines.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in an automotive Design Studio, concept and show-car shop, coachbuilding environment, or other low-volume prototype setting.
• Experience collaborating directly with automotive designers, digital and physical modelers, engineering teams, fabrication teams, and studio leadership.
• Experience preparing vehicles and properties for executive reviews, photography, auto shows, design reviews, and other high-visibility presentations.
• Knowledge of specialty pigments, bespoke finishes, pinstriping, airbrushing, graphics, and other advanced customization techniques.

Success Measures

• Consistent delivery of flawless, concours-level paint and surfacing quality on show cars and Design Studio properties.
• Accurate translation of design intent through color, gloss, depth, reflection quality, body-line definition, and finish execution.
• Predictable project delivery with quality protected across multiple concurrent studio programs.
• Effective development and technical support of the Design Painter team.
• Clear, repeatable color standards, paint processes, and quality-control practices.
• Safe, clean, organized, and reliable operation of the paint and finishing area.