Design Architect II
YOUR ROLE:
As a Design Architect II, you are an experienced, registered architectural professional with a strong background in generating and translating design concepts into final solutions on a wide variety of project types as part of a multi-disciplinary project team.
You will work under mentorship of senior staff, leveraging communicating effectively and cultivating innovation to develop design concepts and produce accurate and complete documentation in all phases within the established design principles with strong customer focus. You coordinate with other disciplines and the client to ensure design intent meets the project budget and schedule. Through planning and aligning, organizational savvy and nimble learning, you have experience in developing and meeting project schedules and budgets.
As a Design Architect II, you utilize your tech savvy, interpersonal savvy, and resourcefulness to provide leadership in the building systems integration process during all phases of the design process within a multi-disciplinary project team, with limited oversite from senior staff.
WHAT YOU WILL DO:
Leadership
- Provide direction and leadership to team members in all phases of the design process including predesign, schematic design, design development, construction documentation, bidding, and construction administration.
- Ensure the overall design intent of the project established by the Performance Based Design is incorporated into the detailed documentation.
- Monitor and contribute to the design process from the conceptual phase through construction administration, ensuring the design intent is consistently and properly executed.
- Clearly communicate your design ideas to the project team and clients.
- Lead or guide others in Design Charrettes. Utilize hand sketching techniques to communicate design concepts.
- Lead and oversee the preparation of documentation in all phases of the design process, including designs, graphic presentations, and 3D renderings.
- Support a culture of excellence in quality and design appreciation, encouraging that this culture is embraced by all team members.
- Provide strong support with the conceptual and technical design documentation of projects.
- Resolve moderately complex design issues, ensure integration of disciplines, and provide strategies for meeting aggressive schedules and budgets.
- Attend interviews for new projects as well as interviews for potential staff as required.
Management
- Review project designs with the Director of Design on a timely basis in relation to the project schedule.
- Conduct field observations to monitor progress of construction or check in with others, if applicable, to help resolve issues such as unforeseen conditions, code issues and interpretation of construction documents.
- Understand the overall strategy for producing documents and check in with team members in reviewing the content of the deliverables at each stage of the work.
- Work successfully on multiple moderately complex projects, as well as designing projects of a routine nature.
- Assist the project teams in product research and selection and attend meetings with product representatives.
- Assist with quality assurance/quality control measures for all projects.
- Support overall coordination of the contract documents including the work of other disciplines and consultants.
- Utilize and provide guidance to others in the best use of design software/technology, including Revit, AutoCAD, Adobe, SketchUp, BSD Spec Link and other emerging technologies, for presentation and production purposes.
- Foster and maintain a collaborative professional working relationship with all the various disciplines, including consultants and vendors.
Staff Development
- Mentor and support the work of less experienced staff, including Architectural Student Interns, Graduate Architects, and Design Architects I.
- Provide technical support to other team members as required.
Project Quality
- Exhibit comfort in multiple project types and delivery methods.
- Help to ensure the overall design intent of the project established by the Performance Based Design process is incorporated into the detailed documentation.
- Provide support in programming and coordination in response to design intent and code compliance.
- Bring design thinking to the process of producing contract documents.
- Guide the communication and coordination with all disciplines, consultants, vendors, and contractors to ensure adherence to the contract documents and provide support as necessary.
- Coordinate design aspects of projects with other internal disciplines and outside consultants. Guide communication and coordination among all disciplines, consultants, vendors, and contractors to ensure adherence to the contract documents and provides support as necessary.
- Review completed designs and documentation for accuracy.
- Work with discipline leaders to establish best practices and quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) measures.
- Coordinate and track shared electronic documentation and files with internal and external project team members including clients, contractors, and consultants.
- Regularly communicate with Project Managers, Project Architects, and Practice Leaders to understand any changes to project design, scope, schedule, and budget.
- Act as an ambassador for company-wide values and ethical standards of practice.
- Attend and participate in or lead professional development activities including ‘Lessons Learned’ sessions.
Financial
- Ensure the design meets the overall project budget and schedule requirements.
- Provide input on anticipated complexity and hours needed to complete work to help generate proposals for new work.
- In partnership with Pre-Construction Estimator, make informed decisions regarding construction costs during the design process.
- Work with Practice Leaders and Project Managers to support the internal project budget for projects and advise on strategies to meet the project schedule.
- Develop strategies for producing the design deliverables that are efficient and consistent with the scope of work, schedule, and fee allotted to complete the work.
Commitment to Client Service
- Foster a commitment to external and internal client service.
- Clearly communicate, graphically and verbally, design ideas to clients during presentations or design charrettes.
- Clearly understand the client’s needs, goals, and aspirations, including better positioning clients in a competitive marketplace, understanding the key drivers that will lead to design adaption, and strong utilization of Performance Based Design tools.
- Exhibit comfort with client representatives and leadership regarding their area of expertise.
- Develop and maintain a positive relationship of trust with Practice Leadership regarding your area of expertise.
- Embrace the iterative nature of the design process and execute work in a timely manner.
People Matter
Each individual’s background, knowledge, ability, and experience contributes to strengthening our organization and projects. Our dedication to diversity includes company provided training and education, equitable recruitment, a grassroots employee DEI committee, and robust community partnerships.
Progressive Companies is comprised of people with a variety of abilities, races, colors, religions, genders, sexual orientations, national origins, ages, veteran statuses, and more. As an equal opportunity employer, we believe diversity, equity, and inclusion are essential elements of innovative design. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions.
Transforming Spaces. Empowering People.
The talented professionals of Progressive Companies are designers of a bold new future, creating high-performance structures and pathways, delivering on today’s needs and preparing for what’s to come. We live by the idea that design isn’t simply about beauty, it’s about improving strategic outcomes—what we call Performance Based Design. Our work spans across the nation, allowing team members to work on a variety of exciting projects and maximize impact as trusted partners to our clients and communities.
Sustainable and Inclusive
We are dedicated to human-centered, sustainable, and inclusive design practices. We believe diversity, equity, and inclusion are essential to building trust, respect, and truly innovative design making spaces welcoming and accessible to all. Our sustainability approach embraces the AIA 2030 Commitment, together with a range of high performance, restorative, and regenerative strategies with a focus on climate responsive results to maximize positive impact in our industry.
Employee Owned
We act like owners—because we are. From modest beginnings of four original engineering partners in 1962, to almost 300 architects, engineers, designers, and consultants across multiple regional offices today, the energy, resourcefulness, and entrepreneurial mindset you expect from a CEO come standard with every team member.
Culture of Excellence
The firm is continually ranked as one of the Best and Brightest Companies to Work For in the Nation®, with comprehensive benefits including an award-winning wellness program, hybrid work schedule, summer hours, profit-sharing, and employee stock ownership plan (ESOP). We take our work seriously, but have fun along the way, which fuels the creative spirit and supports a focus on work and life integration.
Progressive Companies is committed to development and growth of team members through continuing education, mentorship, growth opportunities, and more. We are dedicated to giving back to our communities, with paid service-learning hours available to every employee and corporate sponsorship for a wide range of community organizations and activities.
Other details
- Job Family Architecture
- Job Function Architect
- Pay Type Salary
- Required Education Master’s Degree
- 1811 4 Mile Rd NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49525, USA
- 330 S Tryon St, Charlotte, NC 28202, USA