Job Title: Systems Designer - Curtain Wall & Facade Systems

Position: Systems Designer - Curtain Wall & Facade Systems

Location: Office

Reports to: Director of Design

Summary

The Systems Designer is responsible for the technical design and development of commercial curtain wall, window wall, storefront, and related exterior facade systems. This position is specifically focused on system design, not simply drafting or producing shop drawings.

The Systems Designer must understand how facade systems are conceived, detailed, extruded, fabricated, assembled, glazed, sealed, installed, and drained. The role requires the ability to develop new aluminum extrusion profiles and system components, create accurate die drawings, evaluate how components interface and function together, and ensure that completed systems provide the required structural support, water management, air control, thermal performance, constructability, and serviceability.

The Systems Designer works through technical problems from concept through production-ready design, developing practical solutions that can be manufactured and successfully installed in the field.

Role Expectations

The Systems Designer is expected to possess a strong working knowledge of curtain wall and facade system design and to understand why a system works, not merely how it is drawn.

The designer must be capable of taking architectural requirements and performance criteria and developing them into a functional facade system. This includes designing extrusion profiles and interfaces, understanding glazing pockets and gasket engagement, developing pressure-equalized and drained assemblies, maintaining continuity of air and water seals, accommodating fabrication and installation tolerances, and ensuring that individual components properly engage and function as a complete system.

The Systems Designer should be able to identify potential problems before they reach engineering, extrusion, fabrication, testing, or the field and develop practical solutions that balance performance, manufacturability, installation, cost, and architectural intent.

Strong proficiency in 2D CAD is required. Experience with 3D design software such as Inventor, Revit, SolidWorks, Rhino, or similar platforms is beneficial.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Design and develop curtain wall, window wall, storefront, sunshade, and other architectural facade systems and components.
• Develop new aluminum extrusion profiles based on system requirements, architectural intent, fabrication requirements, and installation conditions.
• Create accurate extrusion die drawings suitable for coordination with extrusion manufacturers and tooling vendors.
• Determine appropriate extrusion geometry, including wall thicknesses, screw splines, gasket races, glazing pockets, snap engagements, locating features, drainage paths, and connection interfaces.
• Design components so mating parts properly engage, assemble, seal, fasten, and function together.
• Understand extrusion manufacturing limitations and incorporate appropriate tolerances, radii, material thicknesses, dimensional controls, and other manufacturing considerations into component design.
• Develop curtain wall systems with a clear understanding of water management principles, including pressure equalization, compartmentalization, internal drainage, weep paths, end dams, sill conditions, and transitions.
• Maintain continuity of primary and secondary air and water seals throughout the facade system.
• Understand the relationship between exterior weather seals, internal seals, glazing gaskets, perimeter seals, splice joints, and system drainage.
• Understand typical insulating glass, laminated glass, spandrel glass, metal panel, and infill requirements as they relate to system design.
• Develop system solutions that accommodate thermal expansion, building movement, floor-to-floor movement, fabrication tolerances, erection tolerances, and glass movement.
• Coordinate system geometry with structural requirements and work with engineering to ensure components can accommodate required loads and attachment conditions.
• Understand how mullion depth, aluminum geometry, reinforcement, anchors, fasteners, and connection conditions affect system performance.
• Design anchors, clips, receptors, perimeter conditions, splice conditions, expansion joints, transitions, and other supporting components as required.
• Evaluate system interfaces at heads, sills, jambs, corners, parapets, entrances, slab edges, roofs, and transitions between different facade systems.
• Develop details that are practical to fabricate, assemble, glaze, ship, and install.
• Consider fabrication tooling, machining access, fastener installation, sealant access, gasket installation, assembly sequence, and field installation during system development.
• Review proposed designs for tolerance accumulation and identify conditions that could prevent proper fit or installation.
• Develop system concepts, sections, details, and component drawings necessary to communicate the design to internal teams.
• Build and maintain organized libraries of extrusion profiles, components, standard details, and system assemblies.
• Review existing systems and recommend improvements to performance, simplicity, manufacturability, installation efficiency, or cost.
• Support research and development of new facade systems and proprietary components.
• Participate in prototype development and system mockups.
• Assist in evaluating laboratory and field testing results and modify system designs when deficiencies are identified.
• Understand applicable facade testing concepts, including air infiltration, static and dynamic water penetration, structural loading, and related system performance requirements.
• Coordinate directly with extrusion manufacturers, gasket suppliers, fastener manufacturers, glass suppliers, sealant manufacturers, and other technical vendors when developing system components.
• Review extrusion samples, first articles, prototypes, and fabricated components to verify that manufactured products match the design intent.
• Troubleshoot system fit, fabrication, assembly, water-management, glazing, and installation problems.
• Provide technical support to project designers and engineering teams regarding system function and component selection.
• Assist project teams in adapting standard systems to project-specific conditions without compromising system performance.
• Maintain accurate documentation of revisions to system components and assemblies.
• Continually improve Kovach's curtain wall and facade system standards, component libraries, and technical design practices.

Technical Knowledge and Competencies

The successful Systems Designer should demonstrate knowledge in several of the following areas:

• Curtain wall and window wall system design
• Pressure-equalized rainscreen and curtain wall principles
• Air and water management
• Curtain wall drainage and weep systems
• Aluminum extrusion design
• Extrusion die drawing development
• Extrusion manufacturing limitations and tolerances
• Glazing pocket and gasket design
• Pressure plates and covers
• Shear blocks and screw-spline construction
• Split mullions and unitized system interfaces
• Stack joints and expansion conditions
• Splice joints and internal seals
• Curtain wall anchors and attachment systems
• Perimeter flashing and transitions
• Glass bite and glazing clearances
• Structural silicone glazing concepts
• Sealant joint design
• Fabrication and CNC machining considerations
• Assembly and installation sequencing
• Building movement and thermal expansion
• System testing and troubleshooting
• Architectural drawings and specifications
• CAD-based technical design and detailing

Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience designing curtain wall, window wall, storefront, or architectural aluminum systems.
• Strong understanding of commercial glazing and facade construction.
• Ability to develop an extrusion profile from a functional requirement or system concept.
• Ability to create and review extrusion die drawings.
• Ability to visualize how multiple components assemble and interact in three dimensions.
• Working knowledge of water-management principles within curtain wall systems.
• Strong understanding of tolerances and the effect they have on component fit and system assembly.
• Proficiency in AutoCAD or similar 2D CAD software.
• Experience with 3D parametric modeling software is preferred.
• Ability to read and interpret architectural, structural, and engineering drawings.
• Strong technical problem-solving and analytical skills.
• High level of attention to dimensional accuracy and detail.
• Ability to communicate technical concepts clearly with designers, engineers, manufacturers, fabricators, installers, and project teams.

Personal Characteristics

• Naturally curious about how systems work and why they fail.
• Able to visualize components, assemblies, and interfaces before they are manufactured.
• Approaches design from a functional and performance-based perspective rather than simply reproducing existing details.
• Identifies potential problems and develops solutions before they affect production or installation.
• Embraces challenges and views difficult technical problems as opportunities to improve the system.
• Takes ownership of designs and follows issues through resolution.
• Thorough and detail-oriented while maintaining awareness of the complete facade assembly.
• Innovative and willing to challenge existing details when a better solution can be developed.
• Collaborative and able to work effectively with engineering, manufacturing, fabrication, project design, and field teams.
• Professional, reliable, and committed to continuous improvement.