Design Director

The Design Directors overall responsibility is to champion excellence within a designated Perkins&Will studio assuring all projects adhere to the firms commitment to creating a better beautiful more equitable world through Living Design. As a key Houston office leader and central part of the studios Management Operations and Design (MOD) leadership team the Design Director works collaboratively with firmwide and studio leaders to uphold our commitment to high-quality design across all practices and disciplines. A Design Director should foster a culture of creativity within their studio and are responsible for the recruitment mentorship and professional development of a diverse bench of next-generation addition to promoting the firms core values internally the Design Director represents our commitment to design externally through public cultural and academic engagement.

Common and Baseline Responsibilities include:

• Partnering with the Managing Director and Operations Director to lead the studio by setting strategic goals and ensuring adherence to the goals.
• Provide visionary design leadership by setting a clear direction for the studio guiding teams in the creation of design concepts and ensuring alignment with project goals and client expectations.
• Oversee the quality of the design process product and delivery for the studio.
• Champion creative excellence and ensures all projects in each practice area of the studio fulfill the firms Living Design Framework.
• Participate in project scope delineation work plan creation and implementation and fee negotiations.
• Participate in staffing and team organization and composition by helping to identify team members for project teams in alignment with client goals team member skillsets and aspirations.
• Lead mentor and inspire multidisciplinary design teams to foster a collaborative and creative work environment.
• Collaborate with clients stakeholders and project teams to understand project requirements and develops innovative design solutions that meet functional aesthetic and financial objectives.
• Ensure all project information is up to date in HUB.
• Provide guidance to project teams and conducts regular design and quality control reviews to ensure that the firms standards and design goals are being met.
• Work with firmwide leadership to request organize and execute peer workshops at the appropriate point for each project.
• Engage with studio colleagues and project teams to request organize and execute peer workshops at the appropriate point for each project.
• Establish and maintain strong relationships with key decision makers and influencers on client teams.
• Partner with local Talent Managers and studio leadership to identify interview recruit and mentor design staff.
• Partner with the Interiors Design Director to provide visionary design leadership by setting a clear direction for the studios design guiding teams in the creation of design concepts and ensuring alignment with project goals and client expectations.
• Advance the design culture of the firm at the local studio level focusing on firmwide initiatives like DEI (Diversity Equity and Inclusion) career development and talent advancement.
• Mentor staff to ensure their personal and professional development goals are met.
• Actively participate in the Design Leadership Group. Represents and champions Design Council directives and goals Crafts and maintains the studios manifesto in partnership with the Managing Director Operations Director and other principals.
• Facilitate the professional development of all design staff through sponsorship of educational seminars conferences and internal design discussions.
• Build relationships with professional organizations and academic institutions.
• Keep abreast of current developments trends and practices within the design industry.
• Monitor advise review and actively participate in studio marketing activities helping to strategize and win stand-alone and integrated work to include all go/no-go decisions go-to market interview strategy preparation and has a leadership role at interviews.
• Demonstrable track record of peer recognized award winning built/unbuilt designs that have been published nationally and potentially internationally.
• Partner with design teams to compose written and graphic presentations for clients stakeholders and peer reviewers to include the choreography of internal design submittals for peer juried workshops and competitions.

Requirements

• Architectural license NCIDQ or LARE as appropriate
• Bachelors degree in architecture interior design landscape architecture urban design or related discipline required
• LEED GA within 6 months of hire
• Professional accreditation in one area of Living Design that interests you: LEED AP with Specialty BREEAM AP WELL AP SITES AP CPHC/CPHE Passive House Institute Certified Passive House or ILFI Living Future Accreditation
• Working knowledge of Revit. Working knowledge of conceptual modeling tools such as Rhino and Grasshopper
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office / Adobe Suite
• Working knowledge of visualization tools such as Enscape and VRay

Qualified and interested candidates should submit a resume and work samples. Include your resume and a compact representative sample of your work (no larger than 4MB).

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Perkins&Will has established and adopted an Equal Employment Opportunity Employment policy (EEO) which is part of the Companys Human Resources Policy. The purpose of this EEO policy is to ensure that all employment decisions are made on a non-discriminatory basis and without regard to sex race color age national origin religion disability genetic information marital status sexual orientation gender identity or expression gender reassignment citizenship pregnancy or maternity veteran status or any other status protected by applicable national federal state or local some cases local laws and regulations may provide greater protections than those outlined here and employees will be covered by the laws of their local jurisdiction.

Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination Provision

Perkins&Will will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about discussed or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge (b) in furtherance of an investigation proceeding hearing or action including an investigation conducted by the employer or (c) consistent with the contractors legal duty to furnish information.

At Perkins&Will we believe that inclusion spurs creativity and that innovation is born from an engaged culture of diverse people ideas. By moving beyond barriers and stereotypes of gender race color religion national origin ancestry age medical condition disability sexual orientation gender identity veteran status; we are committed to building an organization that reflects the diversity of the communities and clients we serve.

Required Experience:

Director