DesignBuild Operations Manager

Ambassador Group; Napa (CA); On-site; USD 130,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Benefits package

Onsite in Napa

Job summary

Ambassador Group in Napa, CA, is seeking a Design Build Operations Manager to own the Design and Build department end to end. This onsite role leads the handoff from signed design to finished install, ensuring projects stay in scope and on budget.

You’ll manage an Install Project Manager and a Designer today, with growth potential as the department expands, and you'll sit on the leadership team guiding performance and profitability.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in landscape design and construction, incl. PM and people leadership.
• Comfort with high-end residential clients: explain product, process and price.
• Disciplined on budgets, estimates, and change orders.

Responsibilities

• Own Design and Build from signed design to finished install.
• Lead Install Project Manager and Designer; potential for team growth.
• Ensure work stays in scope, on budget, and meets quality standards.
• Coordinate field and office to keep a single live plan set and resolve conflicts.
• Support sales by pricing referrals and past-client jobs when needed.

Skills

PM leadership

Budget discipline

Aspire

Client communication

Landscape knowledge

Education

Landscape architecture degree helpful

Tools

Aspire

Job description

About the Opportunity

A respected high-end residential landscape design-build company in Napa is hiring a Design Build Operations Manager to own its Design and Build department end to end. The company runs a full design-build model: in-house design, project management, and install crews building gardens, hardscape, irrigation, and drainage for discerning residential clients. The design work is strong and demand is steady. What they want now is one leader who owns the handoff from signed design to finished install, so every job runs clean, stays in scope, and finishes on budget.

This role is based onsite in Napa, with regular time in both the office and the field. You are in the field enough to set the standard for workmanship, site cleanliness, vehicles, and uniforms, and in the office enough to hold the numbers.

Role Summary

You own Design and Build from signed design through finished install. You are the second client contact beside the Designer, and you turn design work into signed, profitable construction. You lead an Install Project Manager and a Designer today, with room to add project managers, designers, or contract admin as the department grows, and you sit on the company’s four-person leadership team. The Project Manager owns schedule and execution; you hold the scoreboard.

Key Outcomes

• Crews build only what is in scope. Field teams see current plans on a tablet or phone, record extras as change orders instead of unpaid work, and know their budgeted hours before they start.
• Jobs hit the numbers. Estimated versus actual dollars and hours stay within 5% on active work, projects over $20k finish under budget, material waste and overhead downtime drop, and gross margin meets the annual target.
• Spending clears through you. You approve estimates and purchases within your authority, negotiate vendor pricing, and check budgets before they reach the client, so margin is protected before the money goes out.
• You take sales load off the Designer. You join initial client calls, work the budget alongside the Designer, and price the referral and past-client jobs that need a number rather than a full design.
• Office and field stay on the same drawing. Designer, PM, drafter, superintendent, and foreman share one live plan set, and plan conflicts get resolved before they reach the field.
• Install work looks the same from crew to crew. Planting, irrigation, drainage, and other common work follow written standards, kept live through monthly production meetings with foremen.
• The workflow stays alive. The six steps from first call to final payment live in your project system, and you keep them working: spot the bottleneck, propose the fix, update the standard so the same gap does not recur.
• The department stays safe, staffed, and repeat-worthy. Design converts to construction above 90%, retention holds at 85% or better, crew members move into lead roles, and finished work earns reviews and referrals.

What you'll Bring

• 5+ years in landscape design and construction, including project management and leading people.
• Comfort with high-end residential clients: you can explain the product, process, and price without being the department’s primary closer.
• Discipline on estimated versus actual, budgets, and change orders.
• Working knowledge of plants, landscape construction, and irrigation.
• Fluency in landscape business software such as Aspire, plus everyday office and project tools. Bilingual preferred.
• A valid driver’s license. A degree in landscape architecture, construction management, civil engineering, or a related field is helpful, not required.

Compensation & Benefits

• Salary of $130,000 to $180,000 depending on experience.
• Full-time, onsite in Napa, California, with a benefits package.

Compensation:
$130,000-$180,000 per year