Skidmore Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM)

Urban Designer

Real Estate & Construction
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Professional degree in Architecture, Planning, Urban Design, or Landscape Architecture.
  • Licensure or AICP certification is required; LEED accreditation preferred.
  • Minimum 10 years of relevant experience required.
  • Expertise in large-scale urban design and planning projects, both domestically and internationally.
  • Understanding of sustainable strategies and principles, familiarity with LEED ND or similar systems.
  • Strong communication skills across verbal, written, and graphic formats.
  • Practical experience with digital design tools like Rhino, Grasshopper, and Enscape.

Responsibilities

  • Promote the City Design Practice within the organization.
  • Develop strategic plans and policies for complex projects.
  • Direct all phases of planning and urban design project delivery.
  • Ensure quality and consistency in work products related to urban design and planning.
  • Mentor and train junior staff while contributing to office culture.
  • Facilitate strong relationships with clients and partners throughout project development.
  • Engage in business development by cultivating new consultant relationships.

Benefits

  • Opportunities for professional development and training.
  • Involvement in innovative urban design initiatives.
  • Collaboration with a diverse and talented team.
  • Recognition and reward for contributions to the office and projects.
  • Engagement in strategic planning and team building activities.
Full Job Description

Position Responsibilities

  • Actively promotes the City Design Practice within the home office.

  • Develops plans and policies, directs research, and helps provide strategic direction for complex projects.

  • Develops and directs efficient approaches to develop ideas, communicate design intent, and fulfill scope requirements.

  • Directs delivery of planning and urban design projects in all phases.

  • Ensures adherence to quality and consistency standards for all CDP planning and urban design work products – research, analysis, site planning, design guidelines, renderings and visualization.

  • Ensures regular and active review of deliverables for compliance with project requirements."

  • Helps elevate project thinking, manage the project team, and oversee project work plans and support practice initiatives.

  • Collaborates with and provides regular updates to the project leaders.

  • Participate in organizational management including team building and staff training, contributing to office culture, strategic planning. 

  • Support project staffing and manage resources.

  • Coordinate with project managers to implement on financial management"

  • Participate in mentorship of junior staff and support office-wide studio culture

  • Actively engage in recruitment and retention of key staff; encourage and support individualized professional development of entire studio

  • Facilitates decision making in the public interest

  • Prepare clear and cogent client/public presentations.

  • Cultivates and maintains strong relationships with clients, consultants, contractors and others during various stages of project development.

  • Engage in new business development, cultivating relationships with consultants, and supporting the provision of exceptional service to clients.

  • Actively participates in local City Design Practice initiatives and makes substantive contributions to the advancement of activities of the CDP Global Practice. Lead annual awards cycles / applications

Leadership Responsibilities

  • Actively leads multiple projects and teams.

  • Established as an officewide resource in an area of expertise for market, discipline, or department.

  • Directly supervises, trains, and mentors team members.

  • Engages in talent strategy to find specialists, leaders, and future professionals for the firm through resume review, interviews, and leveraging personal network.

  • Demonstrates leadership in the implementation of sustainable strategies in all project assignments and the associated development of staff knowledge.

  • Creates and drives new ways of working through contributing to the development of services, standards, procedures based in an understanding of the business principles that protect SOM from financial and legal risk.

Minimum Qualifications

  • Professional degree in Architecture, Planning, Urban Design, or Landscape Architecture.  

  • Licensed in state of practice or must be AICP or equivalent certification; LEED Accredited preferred.

  • Minimum 10 years of experience or equivalent knowledge, skills and abilities.

  • Experience in the urban design and planning of domestic and international large-scale and complex urban districts, campus planning, new communities and/or regional planning projects.

  • General understanding of sustainable strategies and principles including familiarity with LEED ND or equivalent sustainable community rating systems.

  • Strong verbal, written, and graphic communication skills.

  • Practical understanding of the application of digital tools such as Rhino, Grasshopper, Enscape, etc.

  • Demonstrated ability to successfully lead and inspire project teams and manage and provide oversight for project schedule, budget and program.

  • Experience in successful engagement with client and community and project entitlement.

  • Office-wide recognition for contribution and achievement.

  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office, Adobe Suite, Google Suite, and AutoCAD.

Compensation for this role is based upon experience, qualifications, location, and education and typically ranges from $115,000 to $160,000.

Portfolios must be submitted for all design and project management positions (Architecture, Interiors, City Design, Graphics, etc).Applications without work samples will not be reviewed.  Portfolios should be one PDF attachment, 10-20 pages, maximum 5 MB. Submit portfolios as part of your application in the section where the application asks you for your Resume or CV.

About Skidmore Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM)

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) is an American architectural, urban planning, and engineering firm. It was formed in Chicago in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel Owings; in 1939 they were joined by John O. Merrill. The firm opened its second office, in New York City, in 1937 and has since expanded all over the world, with offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., London, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Mumbai and Dubai. SOM is one of the largest architectural firms in the world.
Learn more about Skidmore Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM)
Size
2,000 employees
Industry
Founded
1936

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