Senior Design Leader

Apply now CannonDesign has an exciting opportunity for a Senior Design Leader for our Texas region.   This position can be filled in our Dallas or Houston offices.   We’re a firm motivated by our Living-Centered Design ethos to push boundaries and invent new ways to best achieve our clients’ goals. If you think your skills and experience, make you a good match for this position, we’d love to hear from you. Apply now ABOUT OUR FIRM In 2019, Fast Company named us as a world changing company and one of the most innovative design firms in the world. We continue to be recognized each year for design innovation and world-changing ideas. We embrace innovation as our regular way of working, pushing our people to take risks, explore unexpected ideas, challenge precedents, and forge bold connections. We are an integrated firm, more than 1200 people strong, bringing together a spectrum of services united around a drive to make this a better place through Living-Centered Design, no matter who we serve. ABOUT THE ROLE We are a seeking senior level creative leader who has the skills, experience and reputation that reflects the importance of this role in our design practice. You will be responsible for the successful implementation of our goal to be one of the most innovative, creative, and highly regarded design firms in the world. You will be an integral part of the office leadership team. You will help nurture and develop the people and culture of the office and be a leading voice for design excellence firm wide and to the outside world. As Senior Design Leader, you will report to the Executive Director of Design and the Office Practice Leader in your physical location. Your primary responsibilities include but are not limited to the following: Accountable for design excellence and the overall design quality of our work. Perform in a lead design role, communicating and representing design goals to the client and the team for the life of the project, with particular emphasis on early phase development. Partner with our most strategic thinkers, co-leading visioning, and setting conceptual direction. Collaborate with teams throughout all phases of development to ensure design quality. Create innovative design concepts that synthesize our clients’ culture, goals, and aspirations with the needs of people, community, society and the environment. Deliver solutions uniquely responsive to this expanded view of design impact. Prepare and direct the preparation of client presentation materials to convey the design in a compelling and sophisticated manner. Lead design presentations, with an emphasis on storytelling and aiding client understanding of the design. Capture and communicate key client goals and metrics and how our design solutions add value to our clients’ success. Collaborate with marketing and communications team to build strong narratives of our work. Work within our culture of being an integrated practice by collaborating with technical leaders, subject matter experts and others, creating holistic design solutions that fulfill the complex array of demands our projects require. Integrate performance-based and sustainable design strategies into design solutions. Further our goals to decarbonize the built environment and meet the AIA 2030 Commitment. Contribute to the firm’s portfolio with externally recognized design work. Publish projects in design and market-specific media outlets, as well as other potential opportunities for publication such as articles on research and innovation. You will be expected to regularly submit and successfully win design awards. Engage in activities that strengthen, differentiate, and promote our brand locally, regionally, and nationally. This includes cultivating your personal reputation as a creative leader in the profession. Presentation at and contribution to conferences and other speaking engagements is encouraged for our top design leaders. Culture, Growth and Mentorship Partner with us to create a strong design culture in your office and the firm. You will be responsible for: Mentoring and growing emerging and mid-career design professionals toward current and future creative leadership. You will set the standard for an environment that exemplifies collaboration, experimentation, innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship. Recruit, retain and grow entering through mid-career design talent. Creating a stimulating and rewarding environment that sets the tone for design excellence in the office and demonstrates it across the firm. Empowering staff and delegating effectively; building high-performance teams by encouraging innovation and continuous improvement. Provoking critical thinking and critique of our work. You will have a close working relationship with market and client leaders in the office and firm, contributing to business strategy. You will be responsible for developing and maintaining client relationships; building client trust and loyalty; and collaborating in bringing in work. You will be expected to build upon CannonDesign’s legacy clients, as well as your own prior relationships for these purposes. You will seek out and identify new client opportunities for CannonDesign in collaboration with the business development and marketing teams.  You will be expected to actively lead and participate in client and project pursuit strategies from the early identification of target clients and opportunities through the proposal submittal and interview process.   Business Plan Leadership You will be responsible for the ideation and implementation of key strategies in our business plans, focused on creative process, imagination, improving our work, investing all our staff in design and innovation, and disseminating ideas both internally and externally that achieve firm distinction. ABOUT YOUR QUALIFICATIONS Bachelor’s degree in architecture required.   Master’s degree in architecture preferred. Current US Architectural Registration preferred. 15 years minimum experience in a design leadership role, of which a minimum of 3 years are leading others in a design studio or design practice segment required. Additional accreditations and/or training relevant to this role is preferred, including LEED. Design portfolio of significant built and unbuilt work. Third party recognition of your work as a lead designer by local, regional, or national design awards programs and recognized design publications or digital platforms is required. Strong communication, presentation, and leadership skills required. Must have business acumen and proven ability to define and execute strategy. Must have professional acumen and maturity demonstrated by the ability to communicate authentically and respectfully. Travel required.  As a Federal Contractor, CannonDesign is required to comply with President Biden's Executive Order 14042.  Therefore,  as a condition of employment, all employees must provide proof of receipt of a full COVID-19 vaccination unless qualified for a valid medical or religious accommodation. ABOUT WORKING HERE We are relentless in our pursuit of client adoration (not simply satisfaction). Consistent delivery of the best service is what we are about. We are committed to ensuring our practice is equitable for all employees, representative of the communities around us – and focused on the future of design. We advocate for equity, diversity, and inclusion efforts through the leadership of our DEI Council, Employee Resource Groups and other community advocacy initiatives. We’re about communication and transparency here. If you want to talk to someone about an idea you have, or a challenge that needs addressing, we’re ready for you. Please note that candidates can only apply to our positions on our company Careers site. It's not uncommon for scammers to create positions that look legitimate on other sites; never enter your information or apply for CannonDesign positions on any platform. Should an issue arise that you feel we should be aware of, please contact us. Please provide your resume and portfolio when applying.As a condition of employment, all employees are expected to complete mandatory training, including compliance training, within required timeframes and adhere to our internal policies and our Code of Conduct. CannonDesign recognizes the value of diversity in our workforce. We are committed to equal opportunity. We consider all qualified employment applicants without regard to race, religion, color, gender, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, partnership status, protected veteran status, disability, or any other status protected by federal, state, or local law. Individuals who hold legal work authorization applicable to employment at CannonDesign in the United States will be considered without regard to citizenship/alienage.   Apply now