Director of Design

Position Summary

The Director of Design drives excellence in design and creates the future of Home by leading Blue Herons architectural design teams standards and processes. This role is responsible for ensuring that all design work reflects Blue Herons design ethos supports our brand and is executed with a high degree of constructability efficiency and client satisfaction.

Partnering closely with the Vice President of Design the Director of Design oversees design quality from early conceptual development through seamless transfer to Production. They lead designers refine processes and tools and collaborate cross-functionally to align design direction with project needs client expectations and business goals.

Key Responsibilities

Organizational Leadership & Design Ethos

• Support the Vice President of Design in maintaining best-in-class performance and advancing Blue Herons growth and brand through integrated operations team alignment and proactive problem solving.
• Incorporate and reinforce Blue Herons design standards for conceptual design integration and support best-practice development and documentation.
• Oversee that overall design direction and project solutions align with Blue Herons design ethos and brand promise.
• Provide architectural design direction and oversight for Luminary homes and other key product lines.
• Act as moderator of the Blue Heron Design Committee actively calibrating committee members to current priorities and ensuring consistent application of design standards.

Design Delivery Quality & Constructability

• Ensure project team adherence to design tools processes and standards to drive efficiency effectiveness and repeatability.
• Monitor and help deliver projects within established budgets and schedules balancing design innovation with feasibility and cost.
• Guarantee comprehensive seamless timely and accurate project transferincluding plans elevations interior architecture and plan optionsto the Production team without additional errors and drawing modifications.
• Champion constructability by coordinating with Production and Construction teams so design solutions are both bold and buildable.
• Monitor and reduce design-related error rates through continuous improvement reviews and feedback loops.

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Market Support

• Positively and actively collaborate with leadership and cross-departmental teams (Construction Operations Purchasing Sales Marketing Accounting) to ensure adherence to internal processes and quality standards.
• Provide insight on project design and the Blue Heron design ethos as needed by Sales and Marketing teams to support positioning storytelling and client engagement.
• Ensure accuracy of collateral from Elite Design to support Sales & Marketing including plans imagery and options.
• Collaborate and coordinate with Visualization for Luminary homes to ensure renderings animations and visual materials accurately reflect design intent.
• Assist with sales presentations and pre-sale meetings presenting design concepts and solutions in a compelling and client-friendly manner.
• Present SketchUp models and visualization assets to potential clients for Luminary homes and other key offerings.

Discovery Assets & Front-End Design Support

• Oversee the creation and management of Discovery assets as required by Discovery and Sales teams including presentations lot fits KMZ view studies and other early-stage design materials.
• Ensure these assets are delivered on time accurately reflect constraints and opportunities and help support confident decision-making by clients and internal teams.

Team Leadership Talent Development & Culture

• Manage designer staff including workload distribution across multiple projects and priorities.
• Interview hire and onboard qualified design team members ensuring alignment with Blue Herons values and design ethos.
• Provide ongoing training coaching and mentoring to designers developing both technical and conceptual design skills.
• Create monitor maintain update and train on processes and procedures for all design-related tasks.
• Lead by example performing as a designer on high-profile or complex projects as needed.
• Foster a culture of accountability creativity collaboration and continuous improvement within the design team.

Tools Systems & Best Practices

• Create and refine project design processes systems training materials and best practices that support scalable consistent delivery.
• Encourage routine and consistent use of design software including SketchUp Revit and Bluebeam; promote ongoing skill development with these tools.
• Collaborate within and across design teams to ensure processes and procedures are implemented and followed on project teams.
• Work with other departmental leaders to align design systems and standards with broader operational and production workflows.

Essential Qualifications

• Minimum 6 years residential and/or hospitality architectural experience in an architecture firm or hands-on homebuilding/construction organization with 3 years of architectural management experience.
• Professional Bachelors or Masters Degree from an accredited Architecture program.
• Architectural registration preferred or actively on track for licensure.
• Proven experience leading design efforts and ensuring adherence to design standards guidelines and brand ethos.
• Experience working cross-functionally with interdisciplinary teams including Construction Operations Purchasing Sales Marketing and Accounting.
• Routine use of SketchUp Bluebeam and Microsoft Office Suite; familiarity with Revit Adobe Creative Suite Lumion and/or Enscape preferred.

Skills & Attributes

• Exceptional cross-functional collaborative attitude and a strong drive to deliver effective integrated results.
• Demonstrated ability to be decisive in establishing priorities setting expectations and providing clear direction.
• Strong leadership skills with the ability to pivot as needed motivate and develop team members and hold teams accountable.
• Experience working in a high-energy fast-paced environment with multiple concurrent priorities.
• Exceptional professionalism; effective written verbal and visual communicator and proactive problem solver.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Error Rate: Reduction in design-related errors and rework.
• Schedule: On-time delivery of key design milestones and handoffs.
• Work Plan Adherence: Alignment with staffing and work plans; effective utilization of design resources.
• Budget Adherence: Design decisions that support and respect approved project budgets.
• Constructability: Quality of design solutions as measured by field performance RFIs and feedback from Production/Construction.
• Client Acceptance: Client approvals satisfaction and alignment with expectations at major design milestones.