Behavioral Health Design Leader — Hybrid, Remote Fridays

DLR Group; Phoenix (AZ); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

DLR Group seeks a Behavioral Health Design Leader to advance planning and design of environments that support care, safety, dignity, and recovery. You will guide projects from programming through delivery, partnering with clients and care teams to translate needs into thoughtful architectural and interior design solutions.

This role requires leading design conversations, mentoring colleagues, and advancing the firm’s behavioral health expertise within a national network of studios.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in architecture, interior design, or a related design field.
• Significant experience planning or designing behavioral health environments.
• Experience leading design work and collaborating with clients and multidisciplinary project teams.
• Understanding of behavioral health care settings, clinical workflows, and the relationship between therapeutic design and safety.
• Knowledge of trauma-informed and evidence-based design principles.
• Ability to communicate design ideas clearly through presentations, drawings, and written materials.
• Strong facilitation, collaboration, and problem-solving skills.
• Professional architecture license or NCIDQ certification.
• Experience across multiple behavioral health settings and healthcare facility design.

Responsibilities

• Lead behavioral health planning and design from early programming and concept development through project delivery.
• Partner with clients, care providers, staff, and other stakeholders to understand services, workflows, safety needs, and goals for the patient experience.
• Guide architectural and interior design solutions for crisis care, inpatient and outpatient treatment, residential treatment, and community-based behavioral health programs.
• Translate clinical and operational requirements into clear programs, functional layouts, and design concepts.
• Apply trauma-informed and evidence-based design principles to support dignity, comfort, recovery, and staff wellbeing.
• Integrate safety, observation, privacy, and de-escalation considerations into therapeutic environments.
• Collaborate with architects, interior designers, engineers, planners, and specialty consultants across integrated project teams.
• Lead client workshops, design presentations, and discussions to help stakeholders evaluate options and decisions.
• Provide guidance on behavioral health design requirements, materials, furnishings, and building systems in coordination with project specialists.
• Mentor colleagues, share expertise across teams, and contribute to research, thought leadership, and business development.

Skills

Behavioral health design

Project leadership

Client collaboration

Clear communication

Facilitation

Education

Bachelor’s degree in architecture, interior design, or related design field

Tools

Revit

Job description

DLR Group seeks a Behavioral Health Design Leader to advance planning and design of environments that support care, safety, dignity, and recovery. You will guide projects from programming through delivery, partnering with clients and care teams to translate needs into thoughtful architectural and interior design solutions.

This role requires leading design conversations, mentoring colleagues, and advancing the firm’s behavioral health expertise within a national network of studios.