Sports Practice - Senior Architectural Project Designer

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Our award-winning AECOM Sports and Venues practice is seeking a Senior Architectural Project Designer for immediate employment based in either of our three offices, located in Kansas City, MO, Los Angeles, CA and New York, NY. The candidate is to lead and execute interdisciplinary projects with a focus on Sports, and Public Assembly, including professional and collegiate arenas, stadia and coliseums, recreation centers. 

Our Sports practice is an established leader in the market with over three decades of success. This studio sized practice focuses its work on everything from performance and development facilities to primary competition venues, ranging anywhere from small collegiate clients to the largest of professional leagues and franchises.  We look to combine beauty, sustainability, resiliency, equity, and innovation in our projects and believe these values can be instilled in any project regardless of size or budget.

Under AECOMs Buildings + Places business line we embody the spirit of a nimble, fully integrated design firm within a fully global infrastructure organization. Our culture is dynamic, offering autonomy and the feel of a smaller, collaborative studio backed by the resources of a large interdisciplinary firm. Services include architecture, interiors, building and system engineering, urbanism, and planning (inclusive of landscape design), strategy +, economics, technology solutions, asset advisory, and cost and program management.  This diverse team assists our clients from strategy through project realization, creating positive outcomes for those who occupy and use the buildings and environments we help to create.

Position Overview:

Working closely with the Sports Studio Leader, you'll work with talented teams of architects, championing creative solutions that redefine spaces, enhance communities, and align with our commitment to innovation and sustainability. Your leadership and design acumen will shape projects that resonate with clients, inspire our teams, and leave a lasting positive impact.

Job Summary/Responsibilities

• Facilitating client engagement and leadership within our architectural studio is paramount. You'll need to establish and nurture strong relationships with clients, becoming their trusted advisor. Your role involves understanding their vision, aspirations, and unique needs, translating these into compelling design solutions.
• Working closely with clients and teams in various arenas, you will lead ideation sessions, translate concepts into compelling design narratives, and oversee their development into actionable plans.
• Lead design teams to reach their full potential by fostering an environment that nurtures creativity while maintaining a high standard of performance. Encourage exploration, experimentation, and risk-taking within a framework that supports and guides, allowing for innovative solutions to thrive. Emphasize collaboration, constructive feedback exchanges, and a culture of continuous improvement, empowering individuals to excel while preserving the freedom for creative expression.
• Cultivate and maintain a visible design culture within the Sports practice, creating standards for visual communication and the design process. Foster an open-minded design culture within the Architecture studio, encouraging a dynamic exchange of ideas, diverse viewpoints, and innovative approaches based on design research and current best practices.
• Champion a positive and inclusive environment where team members feel empowered to explore unconventional concepts, challenge traditional norms, and collaborate freely, fostering a rich tapestry of creativity and pushing the boundaries of design excellence.
• Partnering closely with the business development and marketing team, you will participate in the project pitch process, RFP/RFQ responses, and project interviews via story development, strategy, graphics development, and client-facing presentation meetings.
• Represent AECOM at conferences and other market facing engagements related to your areas of focus.
• Uphold AECOM's high design standards, conducting regular reviews to ensure compliance, efficiency, and sustainability benchmarks are met.
• Stay abreast of current and emerging design trends, materials, and technologies within the field of architecture, ensuring our design approach remains progressive, responsive, and relevant.
• Must be proficient in all the latest architectural and graphic design software platforms.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in architecture or related discipline + 8 years of related experience or demonstrated equivalency of experience and/or education

Preferred Qualifications:

• Registered architectural licensed is preferred
• 10 + years of relevant experience
• Strong preference for a Designer who brings 5+ years of experience leading the design of major projects, leading client relationships, and leading design teams.
• Enthusiastic about collaborating with Architects and Designers at all stages of their professional development.
• Participate in the recruitment of junior design Architects who meet or exceed the level of excellence established by your contributions to the Architecture studio
• Working knowledge in relevant zoning and building codes, including local city and county codes, state building codes, accessibility compliance codes, etc.
• Good working knowledge of sustainable and emerging technologies, integrated design, and future trends in digital innovation (parametric design, AI, etc.); additional professional certifications desired (PMP, LEED, WELL, etc.)
• An ability to work collaboratively as a team player with both junior staff and senior leadership.

About AECOM

AECOM is proud to offer comprehensive benefits to meet the diverse needs of our employees. Depending on your employment status, AECOM benefits may include medical, dental, vision, life, AD&D, disability benefits, paid time off, leaves of absences, voluntary benefits, perks, well-being resources, employee assistance program, business travel insurance, service recognition awards, retirement savings plan, and employee stock purchase plan.

AECOM is the world’s trusted infrastructure consulting firm, delivering professional services throughout the project lifecycle – from advisory, planning, design and engineering to program and construction management. On projects spanning transportation, buildings, water, new energy and the environment, our public- and private-sector clients trust us to solve their most complex challenges. Our teams are driven by a common purpose to deliver a better world through our unrivaled technical and digital expertise, a culture of equity, diversity and inclusion, and a commitment to environmental, social and governance priorities. AECOM is a Fortune 500 firm and its Professional Services business had revenue of $14.4 billion in fiscal year 2023. See how we are delivering sustainable legacies for generations to come at aecom.com and @AECOM.

Freedom to Grow in a World of Opportunity 

You will have the flexibility you need to do your best work with hybrid work options. Whether you’re working from an AECOM office, remote location or at a client site, you will be working in a dynamic environment where your integrity, entrepreneurial spirit and pioneering mindset are championed.

You will help us foster a safe and respectful workplace, where we invite everyone to bring their whole selves to work using their unique talents, backgrounds and expertise to create transformational outcomes for our clients.

AECOM provides a wide array of compensation, benefits and well-being programs to meet the diverse needs of our employees and their families. We’re the world’s trusted global infrastructure firm, and we’re in this together – your growth and success are ours too.

Join us, and you’ll get all the benefits of being a part of a global, publicly traded firm – access to industry-leading technology and thinking and transformational work with big impact and work flexibility. As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we believe in each person’s potential, and we’ll help you reach yours.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.