Senior Medical Planner

Stanford Health Care • Palo Alto, CA

71d • $65 - $86 • Onsite

About The Position

Shape how care is delivered by translating clinical strategy into spaces that work — today and for the future. As a Senior Medical Planner, Medical Planning at Stanford Health Care, your work will directly influence patient flow, care team effectiveness, operational efficiency, and our ability to grow with intention. This is an opportunity to help plan complex healthcare environments in a leading academic medical center, where space decisions have a direct impact on patients, providers, and the future of care delivery. In this role, you will lead medical and space planning efforts from early visioning through decision-making. You will translate clinical priorities into data-informed, feasible planning solutions that support high-quality care, operational alignment, and long-term flexibility. Working closely with clinicians, designers, facilities partners, and operational leaders, you will guide planning conversations, develop clear recommendations, manage scope and schedules, and support governance and approvals in a complex, fast-moving environment. The Senior Medical Planner is adept at navigating ambiguity, managing competing priorities, and leading collaborative teams toward shared goals. In this role, the Senior Medical Planner will create code-compliant test fits, support the development of planning standards, system‑wide coordination and executive‑ready presentations (Microsoft PowerPoint) to support decision making. mentor junior project managers and help evolve the processes that support our rapidly growing health system. This person will navigate complexity with clarity, interpret both architectural drawings and clinical workflows, and bring a high level of professionalism and organization to fast-moving projects. This role operates with significant discretion within established functional boundaries, contributing expert‑level planning insight that directly influences Facilities Planning & Design (FPD) outcomes. The Senior Medical Planner identifies and solves complex, multi‑faceted planning challenges and drives improvements to planning standards, tools, and processes across the health system. This person also understands how to communicate with leadership, bring forward data-informed recommendations, and develop presentations that support key governance decisions.

Requirements

• Experience in medical planning, healthcare architecture, or healthcare facilities planning
• Strong facilitation and communication skills
• Comfort working through ambiguity
• Ability to connect big-picture clinical strategy with practical space planning solutions
• Bachelor’s degree in Architecture (or closely related field) required.
• 12+ years architectural experience with 6+ years in medical planning, including leading user groups and complex projects; portfolio demonstrating master planning and programming required.
• Master‑level understanding of healthcare facility planning methods, emerging industry practices, and applicable regulatory environments, with ability to apply new knowledge to SHC initiatives
• Ability to evaluate complex systemwide planning considerations and develop recommendations that balance operational, financial, and clinical factors
• Strong knowledge of regulatory and code requirements, construction methods, and materials
• A strong portfolio of built work demonstrating experience and capabilities
• Strong visual communication skills, including PowerPoint presentations for executive audiences
• Experience collaborating with stakeholders and interpreting operational needs into design solutions
• Experience of leading and mentoring in-house team members
• Skilled in navigating multi-disciplinary teams, including engineers, contractors, and hospital staff
• Excellent and succinct verbal and written communication skills
• Proficient in AutoCAD, Revit, and other relevant drafting/design software

Nice To Haves

• Master's degree in Architecture (or closely related field) preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead day-to-day medical and space planning activities, translating clinical input into clear planning options, recommendations, and decision-ready materials.
• Partner with clinical, design, facilities, and operational stakeholders to align space needs, growth strategies, workflows, and project priorities.
• Support planning, governance, documentation, and decision-making at key project milestones.
• Help bring structure and clarity to complex planning efforts while balancing strategic thinking with detailed execution.
• Serve as an individual contributor in an onsite role based in Palo Alto, CA, with no direct people management responsibilities.
• Work independently to analyze non‑routine planning problems, applying professional judgment and experience to develop viable solutions
• Gather, analyze, and synthesize data (volumes, flows, adjacencies) to inform departmental layouts and master‑planning options
• Develop test fits and create well thought-out and visually compelling options for review with leadership and stakeholders
• Lead programming, planning, and design phases for complex or multiple facilities projects
• Develop scope and program in alignment with executive users and institutional requirements
• Develop and evaluate multiple planning strategies, assessing operational, financial, and clinical tradeoffs to inform executive decision‑making
• Manage all communications, timelines, and deliverables across stakeholder groups
• Ensure compliance with health system policies, code requirements, and safety standards
• Maintain complete, auditable project documentation and support reporting needs
• Manage outside architect and consultant partners, including scope definition, quality oversight, and performance management
• Serve as a planning subject‑matter expert for leadership, governance committees, and capital planning forums
• Establish, evolve, and enforce medical planning standards, templates, and best practices across the health system
• Lead development of innovative planning methodologies, tools, and workflows that advance systemwide facilities strategy and directly impact departmental business results
• Independently assess complex, ambiguous planning issues and recommend solutions where no precedents exist, leveraging deep knowledge of healthcare planning best practices
• Participates in planning activities requiring adherence to established project budgets and may support budgetary input for planning options
• Mentor and provide technical oversight to junior staff and serve as a thought partner to FPD leadership

Benefits

• Stanford Health Care sets a high standard for delivering value and an exceptional experience for our patients and families. Candidates for employment and existing employees must adopt and execute C-I-CARE standards for all of patients, families and towards each other. C-I-CARE is the foundation of Stanford’s patient-experience and represents a framework for patient-centered interactions. Simply put, we do what it takes to enable and empower patients and families to focus on health, healing and recovery.
• You will do this by executing against our three experience pillars, from the patient and family’s perspective: Know Me: Anticipate my needs and status to deliver effective care Show Me the Way: Guide and prompt my actions to arrive at better outcomes and better health Coordinate for Me: Own the complexity of my care through coordination

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior