Architectural Design Manager

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Job Description:

Parsons is looking for an amazingly talented Architectural Design Manager to join our team! In this role you will get to lead the planning, design, technical coordination, and delivery of complex architectural projects across commercial, infrastructure, and transportation developments. You will provide architectural leadership from concept through construction, ensuring design excellence, technical compliance, fire and life safety, multidisciplinary coordination, and successful project delivery in accordance with client requirements and applicable standards.

What You'll Be Doing

• Lead the planning, design, coordination, and technical delivery of complex architectural projects, including commercial, infrastructure, transportation, and associated facilities.
• Manage architectural activities throughout the full project lifecycle, from concept and schematic design through detailed design, construction documentation, construction support, and project completion.
• Provide technical leadership, oversight, and direction to architects, designers, BIM teams, and other architectural personnel.
• Review architectural designs, drawings, specifications, reports, calculations, technical submissions, and other project deliverables.
• Ensure architectural designs comply with project requirements, applicable building codes, authority regulations, fire and life safety requirements, accessibility standards, and international best practices.
• Promote design excellence while ensuring solutions remain practical, constructible, maintainable, and aligned with client objectives.
• Monitor the quality and progress of architectural activities across assigned projects to ensure production requirements, deliverables, and deadlines are achieved.
• Work closely with Project Managers and multidisciplinary discipline leads to identify and resolve design, staffing, quality, schedule, coordination, and productivity issues.
• Manage architectural scope, schedules, resources, and budgets while maintaining design integrity and technical quality.
• Develop staffing plans and resource forecasts to ensure appropriate architectural resources are available to support project and business requirements.
• Establish, implement, and maintain architectural design standards, procedures, technical guidelines, and quality assurance processes.
• Recommend improvements to architectural workflows, design processes, documentation standards, and technical review procedures.
• Lead multidisciplinary design coordination with structural, civil, mechanical, electrical, ICT, security, landscape, BIM, and other engineering disciplines.
• Review BIM models and multidisciplinary coordination outputs to identify design conflicts, interfaces, and constructability issues.
• Provide technical oversight of BIM execution, architectural modelling standards, documentation protocols, and digital design requirements.
• Lead architectural design reviews, technical workshops, coordination meetings, constructability reviews, and value engineering sessions.
• Act as a key architectural interface with clients, consultants, contractors, authorities, and other internal and external stakeholders.
• Coordinate with relevant authorities and stakeholders to support design approvals, permits, code compliance, and regulatory requirements.
• Provide technical guidance on fire and life safety requirements and ensure appropriate integration within the overall architectural design.
• Identify and resolve complex architectural and technical challenges through innovative, practical, and commercially appropriate solutions.
• Support value engineering and design optimization initiatives without compromising safety, functionality, quality, or architectural intent.
• Provide technical support during construction, including review of shop drawings, material submittals, RFIs, design changes, and contractor technical queries.
• Support site inspections and construction-stage design reviews to verify compliance with approved architectural requirements.
• Mentor and develop architectural staff, supporting technical development, knowledge sharing, succession planning, and professional growth.
• Foster a collaborative, inclusive, and professional working environment across architectural and multidisciplinary project teams.
• Support business development, technical proposals, client presentations, and other pre-contract activities as required.
• Promote continuous improvement, innovation, digital delivery, and adoption of emerging architectural technologies.
• Perform other responsibilities associated with this position as appropriate.

What Required Skills You'll Bring

• Bachelor's Degree in Architecture from an accredited university.
• Minimum 20+ years of progressive architectural experience, including significant supervisory, design management, and leadership experience.
• Internationally recognized professional architectural license or registration.
• Extensive experience leading architectural design and delivery for complex, large-scale projects.
• Proven experience managing multidisciplinary architectural teams throughout the full design and construction lifecycle.
• Expert knowledge of:
• Architectural design principles and standards
• International and local building codes
• Fire and life safety requirements
• Accessibility requirements
• Integrated building systems
• Design delivery methodologies
• Multidisciplinary coordination
• Construction documentation
• Design quality assurance and technical compliance
• Strong understanding of regulatory frameworks, authority approval processes, contractual requirements, and design risk management.
• Experience establishing and governing architectural design standards, technical procedures, documentation protocols, and quality requirements.
• Strong understanding of BIM execution and digital design coordination within multidisciplinary project environments.
• Experience reviewing architectural drawings, specifications, BIM models, technical reports, material selections, and contractor submissions.
• Proven ability to manage project scope, resources, schedules, budgets, and architectural deliverables.
• Strong knowledge of constructability, value engineering, maintainability, and design optimization principles.
• Proven ability to identify and resolve complex architectural, technical, and multidisciplinary interface issues.
• Excellent leadership, mentoring, team management, and staff development capabilities.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong presentation, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to communicate effectively with clients, authorities, consultants, contractors, and senior project leadership.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and project requirements within a fast-paced, multidisciplinary environment.

What Desired Skills You'll Bring

• Master's Degree in Architecture, Urban Design, or a related discipline.
• Experience delivering major commercial, transportation, infrastructure, mixed-use, or large-scale development programs.
• Experience working within PMC, Delivery Partner, design consultancy, or client-side project environments.
• Advanced knowledge of fire and life safety design and its integration within complex architectural projects.
• Experience managing multiple projects and design packages simultaneously while maintaining technical and design quality.
• Strong understanding of BIM, digital engineering, computational design, and emerging architectural technologies.
• Experience implementing digital design strategies that improve design quality, coordination, productivity, and operational efficiency.
• Knowledge of sustainable design principles, high-performance buildings, and relevant environmental certification frameworks.
• Strong understanding of market trends, client drivers, competitive positioning, and developments within the architectural services industry.
• Experience supporting business development, technical proposals, design competitions, and client presentations.
• Demonstrated ability to develop architectural standards, governance frameworks, and design quality assurance processes.
• Strong commercial awareness and understanding of design scope, risk, change management, and contractual obligations.
• Ability to mentor senior architectural professionals and develop high-performing design teams.
• Innovative approach to solving complex design, technical, constructability, and fire and life safety challenges.
• Commitment to design excellence, technical innovation, quality, and continuous improvement.

Parsons equally employs representation at all job levels no matter the race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, disability or genetic information.

We truly invest and care about our employee’s wellbeing and provide endless growth opportunities as the sky is the limit, so aim for the stars! Imagine next and join the Parsons quest—APPLY TODAY!

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