Senior Project Designer, K-12 Education

DLR Group is an integrated design firm with a promise to elevate the human experience through design. This fuels the work we do around the world and inspires our mission to improve the lives of our clients, our communities, and our planet. If this sparks your interest, you’re in the right place.

DLR Group's Charlotte Office has an opening for a Senior Project Designer. 

About the K-12 Education at DLR Group

As a Design Leader within our Charlotte office, you will be responsible for leading and collaborating on all aspects of the design process. While excelling as a strong communicator with a passion for solving both design and business challenges, you will ensure the design is aligned with client goals, budgets, and schedules. You will generally be engaged in multiple projects, in various phases of development, at any one time, and support a work environment that fosters innovation while providing a positive responsiveness to client goals and objectives. You will oversee design excellence, design value, and design recognition across the K-12 sector.

Position Summary

As a key leader in our team, you will take responsibility for significant aspects of projects, guiding the development and delivery of project documents. You will collaborate closely with our integrated design team to produce high-quality work, ensuring that all project activities align with schedules, budgets, and work plans. This role offers an opportunity to make a substantial impact on our projects while contributing to our commitment to excellence in design.

If you are a collaborative thought leader with a strategic mindset, this might be the position for you. DLR Group is 100% employee owned, and as such, you’ll enjoy the opportunity to have ownership in the Firm. We rely on all our employee-owners to apply their financial acumen to grow the Firm profitably.

What you will do:

• Lead project development and manage client relationships in coordination with the Project Manager and Project Designer


• Oversee all aspects of project implementation, ensuring alignment with schedules and profitability goals


• Implement quality assurance/control processes and adhere to company practice standards


• Coordinate project teams and communication with clients and stakeholders


• Develop and lead conceptual designs or technical strategies for projects


• Supervise and mentor teams to ensure high-quality deliverables and design excellence


• Present technical and design solutions to clients, acting as a subject matter expert


• Ensure design intent is maintained throughout all phases of the project


• Manage project timelines, budgets, and profitability while prioritizing design elements

Required Qualifications:

• Comprehensive technical knowledge with strong collaboration and communication skills


• Undergraduate Degree in Architecture required; graduate degree not required unless mandated for licensure


• Minimum of 8 years of professional experience in architecture


• Proficient in Revit and Bluebeam, with high proficiency in standard architecture software


• Skilled in applying design techniques and sustainable principles to technical plans and models


• Strong problem-solving and decision-making abilities with attention to detail and accuracy


• Ability to multitask while maintaining quality and productivity


• Active participation in professional organizations and involvement in marketing and business development efforts

*TO BE CONSIDERED, PLEASE SUBMIT CURRENT PORTFOLIO/WORK SAMPLES IN PDF FORMAT*

DLR Group is an integrated design firm delivering architecture, engineering, interiors, planning, and building optimization for new builds, renovations, and adaptive reuse projects.

We are 100% employee-owned: every employee is literally invested in our clients’ success. At the core of our firm are interdisciplinary teams engaged in every step of project lifecycles. Our teams champion true collaboration, open information sharing, shared risk and reward, value-based decision making, and proficient use of technology to deliver exceptional design. We are pursuing the goals of the 2030 Challenge, the ME2040, and the SE2050, and are an initial signatory of the China Accord and the AIA 2030 Commitment.

Through our values – commitment, creativity, environmental stewardship, fun, integrity, ownership, sharing, teamwork – we elevate the human experience through design, together.

DLR Group follows a four-day in-office work model, with employees having the flexibility to work somewhere other than the office on Fridays.

We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action/M/F/Veteran/Disabled employer.