Building Performance Specialist

KieranTimberlake; Philadelphia (Philadelphia County); Hybrid; USD 100,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off & holidays

Health plan with employer-funded HRA

Dental & vision coverage

Disability & life insurance

Paid family leave

401(k) with ESOP

One remote day per week

Job summary

KieranTimberlake seeks a Building Performance Specialist in Philadelphia to advance sustainable design across our civic, academic, cultural, and institutional projects. You will lead energy, daylight, and comfort modeling, set performance targets, and translate analysis into design direction with Design Computation researchers.

You’ll work with architects and consultants, shaping design from early stages, advocating ambitious environmental goals, and contributing to automated workflows and

Qualifications

• The ideal candidate has 5+ years in building performance analysis and sustainable design.
• Expertise in energy, daylight, thermal comfort, and embodied carbon modeling.
• Experience guiding projects through performance and certification frameworks.

Responsibilities

• Advance office-wide performance literacy and sustainable design ambition.
• Advise project teams on performance strategies across all project phases.
• Collaborate with architects to shape design from the start.
• Execute energy, daylight, and comfort modeling to inform early design.
• Translate analysis into clear visual feedback for iterative design.

Skills

Energy modeling

Daylight analysis

Embodied carbon modeling

Communication

Scripting for automation

Education

Bachelor's degree in architecture or engineering

Tools

Energy modeling software

Daylight simulation tools

BIM/design computation tools

Job description

KieranTimberlake is seeking a Building Performance Specialist to join our Philadelphia studio. Our projects span civic, academic, cultural, and institutional work, and you’ll work alongside colleagues who engage deeply across all phases, from early design through construction administration, and who are invested equally in design excellence and environmental performance.

Founded in 1984, KieranTimberlake unites the expertise and talents of professionals from diverse backgrounds in a practice that is recognized globally. In 2025, after 40 years as a founder-led firm, we transitioned to 100% employee ownership, a milestone that reflects a deep commitment to our staff.

Your Role

The Building Performance Specialist will be a member of KieranTimberlake's Research Group and will work to advance sustainable, high-performing building design across the practice. They will be responsible for applying their experience in building performance analysis and sustainable design to advise project teams, advocate with clients, and guide consultants and colleagues toward measurable environmental outcomes. While the role includes hands-on energy, carbon, daylight, and comfort modeling, its emphasis is strategic: setting performance targets, shaping design decisions, and translating analysis into design direction. Working with Design Computation researchers, they will co-develop digital workflows that automate analysis and make performance methods accessible to peers.

What you’ll do:

• Advance office-wide performance literacy and sustainable design ambition
• Advise project teams on performance strategies across all project phases
• Collaborate closely with architects so performance thinking shapes design from the start
• Advocate to clients for ambitious, evidence-based sustainability goals
• Guide consultants and colleagues toward integrated, high-performing designs
• Execute energy, carbon, daylight, and comfort modeling to inform early design
• Translate analysis into clear visual feedback that supports an iterative design process
• Steward performance targets, benchmarking, and reporting across projects
• Co-develop automated analysis workflows with Design Computation peers
• Evaluate emerging simulation tools, certification frameworks, and regulations
• Lead office-wide sustainability initiatives with Research Group colleagues
• Engage in interdisciplinary brainstorming sessions across a wide range of topics, including building performance, environmental justice, human health, post-occupancy evaluation, and many others

Your Qualifications

The ideal candidate is a thoughtful, curious individual who wants to be part of a collaborative, interdisciplinary team and can demonstrate:

• A degree in architecture, engineering, or other design- or building science-related field
• At least 5 years of experience in building performance analysis and sustainable design
• Expertise in energy, daylight, thermal comfort, and embodied carbon modeling
• Experience guiding projects through performance and certification frameworks
• Experience working collaboratively within architectural design teams
• Sensitivity to the pace and realities of the design process
• Ability to advise design teams and advocate for performance goals with clients
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Capacity to ask questions, draw out insight, and synthesize ideas
• Eagerness to learn and share new methods and skills

We’ll give additional consideration to candidates with:

• Professional licensure or credentials (RA, PE, LEED AP, LFA, CPHC, WELL AP, and/or BEMP)
• Proficiency in or desire to learn scripting for analysis automation
• Experience with or eagerness to explore applied AI workflows (LLM-assisted research and synthesis, automated reporting, and AI-assisted coding)
• Familiarity with post-occupancy evaluation, measurement and verification, and building operations data
• Working knowledge of material health, environmental product declarations, and whole-building life cycle assessment

Working Here

We offer a competitive salary and a comprehensive benefits package that includes:

• Paid time off and paid holidays
• A medical and prescription plan with an employer-funded health reimbursement arrangement
• Dental and vision care coverage
• Short and long term disability and life insurance
• Paid family leave
• A 401(k) plan with employer contribution and an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP)
• One remote day per week (policy that provides for one remote day per week)

We work out of our Philadelphia studio.