Associate Principal or Principal Architect – Civic
About The Position
Are you a strategic, relationship-driven leader with a passion for shaping the future of civic environments? Do you thrive at the intersection of design excellence, market growth, and mentoring high-performing teams? If so, we’re looking for you: a Principal to help lead, grow, and elevate our civic project practice in the Bay Area. This role blends executive leadership, business development, and project oversight, offering the opportunity to influence firmwide strategy while building meaningful, long-term client partnerships. You’ll play a key role in advancing our mission, vision, and standards of excellence within the Civic market.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in architecture, engineering, or interior design (or equivalent).
- Minimum of 16 years of relevant professional experience.
- Established Northern California professional network within justice, government and other public sector project markets.
- Strong leadership, communication, and relationship-building skills.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook).
- California Licensed Architect
Nice To Haves
- LEED accreditation.
Responsibilities
- Serve as a leader of the Civic market, building and sustaining strong client relationships throughout the Bay Area and Northern California.
- Collaborate with Market and Firm leadership to develop and execute long-term market and practice strategies.
- Provide leadership for planning, programming, design, and project management across a portfolio of complex education projects.
- Participate in firmwide leadership initiatives, strategic planning efforts, and management committees.
- Lead marketing and business development efforts aligned with the Firm’s strategic plan.
- Identify and pursue new market opportunities, including team formation, proposal development, and participation in interviews.
- Represent the Firm at industry events and within professional and client networks.
- Meet or exceed performance metrics related to business development, contracts secured, and client satisfaction.
- Serve as Principal-in-Charge for assigned projects, overseeing quality, profitability, staffing, and revenue performance.
- Review and develop fee proposals, service scopes, and staffing plans to support project success.
- Support project managers with contract negotiations, additional services, and financial performance monitoring.
- Lead Quality Control/Quality Assurance efforts and champion Firm standards and lessons learned.
- Foster a collaborative, respectful, and high-performing work environment.
- Act as a mentor and coach to support professional growth, leadership development, and succession planning.
- Collaborate across studios, markets, and disciplines to support Firm-wide initiatives and shared goals.
Benefits
- Competitive compensation package
- Robust bonus program
- Comprehensive health benefits (medical, dental, and vision)
- Generous paid time off
- 401(k) with employer match
- Hybrid work flexibility
- Every-other-Friday off options
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Principal
