Design Build Manager

MassFrame Solutions Inc.; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

MassFrame Solutions Inc. in San Jose, CA, seeks a Design-Build Manager to own the integrated delivery process that ties design, engineering, prefabrication, and field construction into a single accountable sequence on every project.

You’ll lead the handoffs from design to fabrication while coordinating with the Project Executives and Prefabrication team to scale design-build across manufacturing nodes. You will drive alignment between design intent, fabrication constraints, and field execution,

Qualifications

• Must have 10+ years managing design-build or IPD in construction.
• Experience coordinating across design, prefabrication and field execution.
• Familiarity with DBIA principles and design-build best practices.

Responsibilities

• Own the design-build delivery sequence with an integrated schedule.
• Manage the design-to-fabrication interface across disciplines.
• Lead cost and constructability reviews early in design.
• Maintain owner/client relationships from contract to closeout.
• Administer the design-build contract and manage change orders.
• Apply DBIA best practices across delivery.
• Incorporate field and fabrication feedback into design.
• Support expansion of manufacturing nodes.

Skills

Design-build delivery

Scheduling

Stakeholder management

BIM coordination

Education

DBIA certification

Tools

Revit

Vertex BD

Job description

MassFrame Solutions Inc. is a construction technology company driving innovation and efficiency in high-quality, affordable housing delivery. Our hybrid system pairs cold-formed steel (CFS) wall panels with mass timber floors, joined by our patented Dub Connector, delivered under the IBC Type IV-B code path. We deliver as a design-builder, which means the seams between design, prefabrication, and field construction are our responsibility to manage — not the owner's.

The Role

MassFrame is hiring a Design-Build Manager to own the integrated delivery process that ties design, engineering, prefabrication, and field construction into a single accountable sequence on every project. Where a traditional PM manages a GC's scope after design is handed off, this role owns the handoffs themselves — making sure design decisions are made with fabrication and field constraints in view from day one, not discovered after the model is released. You'll work alongside our Project Executives and Prefabrication team, and you'll help formalize how MassFrame runs design-build as we take on more projects and add manufacturing nodes.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the design-build delivery sequence — coordinating architect, structural EOR, BIM/detailing, prefabrication, and field teams around a single integrated schedule, rather than treating design and construction as sequential handoffs.
• Manage the design-to-fabrication interface — working with the BIM Manager and Prefabrication Executive to ensure the two-phase lock-down strategy (structural elements locked at Design Development; non-structural elements flexible through Construction Documents) is respected by every discipline, on schedule.
• Lead cost and constructability alignment — running value-engineering and constructability reviews early enough to influence design, using MassFrame's CFS + mass timber system knowledge to flag conflicts before they reach fabrication or the field.
• Manage the owner/client relationship through delivery — serving as a primary point of contact for developers, architects, and GC partners from contract through closeout, in partnership with Business Development on deal handoff and with the PX on execution.
• Administer the design-build contract — tracking scope, budget, schedule, and risk allocation across design and construction phases, and managing change orders that touch both sides of that line.
• Drive DBIA best practices — applying Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) principles across MassFrame's delivery process, and completing (or having completed) the DBIA Design-Build Done Right training required of all Operations personnel.
• Feed field and fabrication lessons back into design — closing the loop with the BIM Manager and Prefabrication Executive so recurring issues change the standard, not just the next project's punch list.
• Support node expansion — helping replicate a consistent design-build delivery process as new manufacturing nodes come online, so process quality doesn't depend on any one person's tribal knowledge.

What You'll Need

• 10+ years managing design-build or integrated project delivery (IPD) in construction, ideally in multifamily, affordable housing, or prefabricated/modular construction.
• Working knowledge of both the design side (architectural and structural coordination, BIM-driven workflows) and the construction side (scheduling, field sequencing, subcontractor management) — you can speak credibly to both an architect and a superintendent.
• Direct experience managing the handoff between design intent and fabrication constraints — you understand why locking structural elements early and keeping architectural elements flexible late is a deliberate strategy, not a compromise.
• Familiarity with DBIA delivery principles; DBIA certification (or willingness to complete Design-Build Done Right and pursue certification) required.
• Comfort managing contracts, budgets, and change orders that span both design and construction phases of a project.
• Experience with light-gauge steel framing, mass timber, or panelized/modular systems strongly preferred.
• Startup mindset: comfortable building process from scratch, wearing multiple hats across projects, and operating with limited dedicated support staff.

Nice to Have

• Familiarity with IBC Type IV-B code requirements and mass timber construction.
• Experience working directly with BIM/CDE-driven fabrication workflows (Revit, Vertex BD, or equivalent).
• Existing relationships with California developers, architects, or GCs active in affordable or workforce housing.
• DBIA Professional designation, or active progress toward it.

How We Work

MassFrame's five core values shape how we build, not just what we build:

• Trust Is Earned
• Challenge the Status Quo
• Quality Without Compromise
• Every Resource Matters
• Build More Than Buildings

This role sits at the intersection of “Quality Without Compromise” and “Every Resource Matters” — the design-build sequence you run is what keeps design intent, fabrication reality, and field execution from drifting apart as we scale from one project to many.