Lead Designer | Higher Education | Architecture

BHDP Architecture•Charlotte, NC

12d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Lead Designer leads design for large-scale projects in the higher education market, elevating project outcomes through strong design thinking aligned with client vision. The role provides design leadership across all project phases, serves as the final design authority for key decisions, and drives high-quality delivery through clear expectations, accountability, and effective team leadership. The Lead Designer also leads day-to-day design relationships with clients, translates client and user goals into compelling design outcomes, develops design talent, and aligns team structure and effort with project complexity, scope, fees, and schedules.

Requirements

Bachelor of Architecture degree; a NAAB-accredited program is preferred.
At least 18 years of experience in the design and/or architecture industry.
Licensed Architect.
Advanced Revit knowledge, including independently delivering defined drawing packages or projects and teaching best practices to others.
Advanced knowledge of SketchUp, Enscape, or Lumion.
Advanced experience with Adobe Creative Cloud.
Demonstrated ability to delegate, coach, and improve team performance.
Demonstrated initiative and ability to see challenges as opportunities.
Strong attention to detail.
Strong communication and collaboration skills within a team.
Professional workplace behaviors, including reliable follow-through, constructive feedback, and calm, solutions-oriented communication with coworkers and clients.

Nice To Haves

NAAB-accredited Bachelor of Architecture program.

Responsibilities

Lead design delivery for large projects by setting expectations, aligning team members to roles, and sustaining design quality and client trust across all phases.
Serve as final design authority for high-impact design decisions; coach team members through productive feedback; manage design effort for revenue efficiency; and communicate options, tradeoffs, and impacts to clients.
Lead day-to-day design relationships with clients on large-scale projects, translating client goals into clear direction, decisions, and design outcomes.
Manage client expectations throughout project phases by communicating design intent, options, and tradeoffs; aligning stakeholders; and protecting design quality.
Develop and retain high-performing design talent by setting expectations, modeling BHDP’s design philosophy, and fostering an environment for excellent work.
Coach and grow designers through delegation, timely feedback and critique, and targeted development opportunities while maintaining accountability for project outcomes.
Build and sustain project discipline structures across capabilities, aligning team composition with project complexity, design ambition, and delivery demands.
Direct team utilization by clarifying roles and design decision authority, balancing workloads and skills, and adjusting staffing to protect quality, accountability, and performance.
Set and sustain an inspiring, high-quality design vision for large-scale projects, translating client and user aspirations into compelling concepts and measurable design solutions.
Lead teams in delivering design excellence through every phase by elevating critique, ensuring cohesion across disciplines and capabilities, and protecting design intent amid project constraints.
Align design ambition, scope, and team effort to deliver high-impact outcomes within planned fees and schedules.
Elevate design value by focusing on decisions that matter most to clients, protecting design intent, and adjusting approach and resourcing to reduce rework and increase client benefit.