Director of Development

Design Pro Development; Philadelphia (Philadelphia County); On-site; USD 175,000 - 225,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical benefits

Disability insurance

401(k) plan

Opportunity to invest in projects

Path to Partner

Job summary

Design Pro Development seeks a Director of Development to own the entitlement pipeline from inception to stabilization across up to 30 projects annually in PA and southern NJ. You’ll coordinate with legal, design, and finance, manage consultants and budgets, and negotiate with agencies to secure approvals on multifamily, condo conversion, and luxury design-build projects.

You will lead due diligence, zoning relief, and building permits, while building a regional network of zoning attorneys and

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a related field; Master’s preferred.
• 10+ years in real estate development or construction management in SE PA / S NJ.
• Experience entitling large projects and multi-county approvals.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end entitlement pipeline for up to 30 projects/year.
• Lead due diligence, zoning relief, and permitting across PA/NJ.
• Manage consultants, budgets, and schedules; drive cost control.

Skills

Real estate development

Project management

Budgeting

AIA contracts

AI tools

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree (preferred)

Tools

Claude AI

Asana

Excel

Job description

Design Pro Development is scaling its entitlement pipeline to as many as 30 active projects per year across Philadelphia, Montgomery, Bucks, and Camden County, NJ — including our largest project to date, a 300+ unit residential community, and roughly 10 semi-custom luxury homes ($2MM–$8MM) per year under our Atelier Design + Build division. We're hiring a Director of Development to own that pipeline end to end: every approval, every permit, every township agreement, and every dollar of sitework, on every project.

About Design Pro Development

DPD is a Philadelphia-based real estate development firm with 600+ residential units across ground-up construction, adaptive reuse, and condominium conversion in Philadelphia, Montgomery, Bucks, and southern New Jersey. We specialize in complex sites — off-market acquisitions, historic districts, zoning variances, and challenging entitlements — and move fast without cutting corners.

About the Role

Reporting to the CEO and VP of Capital Markets, you'll be a key decision maker leading projects from inception to stabilization. You'll build a standardized entitlement process — acquisition due diligence through zoning, land development approval, and building permit — and run it across up to 30 simultaneous projects spanning multifamily, condominium conversion, and semi-custom luxury design-build, working independently with no construction administrator for the first 12–24 months. You interrogate every civil, geotechnical, and traffic recommendation, maximize each site's potential while driving down cost, and bring a regional network of zoning attorneys, township solicitors, architects, and engineers. You verify; you don't rubber-stamp.

What You'll Own

• Due Diligence Oversight: Key decision maker over due diligence — site conditions, entitlements, zoning, environmental factors, and financial feasibility before acquisition — coordinating with legal, design, and finance and reporting to the CEO.
• Full Entitlement Lifecycle: Carry up to 30 projects/year from due diligence through zoning relief, land development approval, and building permit across four counties — through construction, marketing/leasing, and stabilization — managing consultants and contractors and hitting KPIs.
• Philadelphia Approvals: L&I permitting, ZBA variances, Civic Design Review, RCO meetings, Historical Commission review, PWD stormwater, and Streets Department coordination.
• Suburban Approvals: Township land development (SALDO), conditional use and special exception hearings, zoning variances, planning commission and board of supervisors presentations, PennDOT HOPs, DEP/NPDES permits, and Act 537 sewer modules in Montgomery and Bucks Counties.
• New Jersey Approvals: Planning board and zoning board of adjustment applications under the NJ Municipal Land Use Law in Camden County — site plan and variance approvals, NJDEP permitting, and soil conservation district review.
• Condominium Documents & Association Approvals: Oversee condominium declarations, plats and plans, and public offering statements with counsel; present renovation plans to associations for board approval and negotiate document amendments.
• Development & Utility Agreements: Negotiate improvement agreements, township escrow and financial security terms, fee-in-lieu arrangements, and traffic/infrastructure contributions; secure service, extension, and tap agreements with water, sewer, and power providers (Aqua PA, PA American Water, PECO, PGW).
• Engineering Diligence & Value Engineering: Rigorously review engineer recommendations on grading, stormwater, utilities, and site layout, and use creative value engineering to optimize budgets and maximize financial success.
• Sitework Management & Cost Control: Manage site design/layout to cut sitework cost across clearing, cul‑de‑sac construction, utility and infrastructure installation, retaining walls, bridges, and stormwater facilities. Build independent budgets; solicit, level, and negotiate GC/sub bids; challenge unit pricing and quantities; and guard against overpricing, scope gaps, and change‑order creep.
• AIA Contracts & Document Integrity: Draft, review, negotiate, and administer AIA agreements (A101/A102/A201, B101) — payment applications, lien‑waiver tracking, change orders, and schedule enforcement — verifying the correct drawings, specs, and exhibits are attached so no exclusion shifts cost or risk onto the firm.
• Design, Renderings & Sales Support: Manage interior designers and finish/material selections to hit budgets and out‑sales; direct rendering companies for entitlement and marketing visuals; and partner with luxury realtors and sales brokers.
• Atelier Design + Build Delivery: Shepherd ~10 semi‑custom luxury design‑build projects/year through permitting and contract administration. Build strong relationships with discerning $2MM–$8MM custom‑home clients and deliver white‑glove execution with financial discipline and on‑time delivery.
• Budget & Schedule Oversight: Develop and maintain project budgets and schedules from due diligence through completion — forecasting, cost‑saving strategies, and negotiating competitive vendor rates.
• AI‑Powered Pipeline Tracking: Build and maintain AI‑driven tracking systems (Claude, Asana automations, and related tools) that monitor every approval milestone and flag slipping timelines.
• Stakeholder & Cross‑Departmental Collaboration: Build relationships with regulatory agencies, township engineers, and zoning and planning boards; collaborate with the CEO, finance, and VP of Capital Markets; and support strategic research and presentations.

What We're Looking For — Required

• Bachelor's degree (Master's preferred) and 10+ years in real estate development or construction management in southeastern PA and/or southern NJ, with a track record across all phases of development.
• 100+ projects permitted (or 500,000+ sq ft), including 25+ zoning projects and 100+ homesites completed — and the ability to walk us through them.
• Minimum 3 years in Montgomery or Bucks County developing homes selling for more than $2MM.
• Direct experience entitling large multifamily (200+ units) through PA township land development, and hands‑on sitework management on 5+ jobs.
• An established regional network of zoning attorneys, township solicitors and engineers, architects, and civil engineers across Philadelphia, Montgomery, Bucks, and Camden Counties.
• Working fluency in the PA Municipalities Planning Code, township SALDO and zoning ordinances, the Philadelphia Zoning Code, L&I permitting, and the NJ Municipal Land Use Law — plus a baseline command of construction and zoning law (mechanics' liens, risk allocation, vested rights, appeals).
• Condominium creation and governance — PA Uniform Condominium Act and NJ Condominium Act, document drafting and amendment, and negotiating with association boards.
• Hands‑on experience negotiating development agreements, township escrow and financial security terms, and utility agreements with water, sewer, and power providers.
• Owner‑side AIA contract experience — drafting, reviewing, and negotiating documents, with expert command of contractor proposals, bid inclusions/exclusions, and complete exhibit packages.
• Expert ability reading surveys, civil drawings, construction reports, contracts, and design documents, with the technical depth to independently estimate, qualify, and negotiate sitework costs.
• Exceptional project budgeting and value‑engineering skill; a creative yet risk‑averse problem solver who enacts SOPs and safeguards, with acute attention to detail and a strong sense of urgency.
• Strong leadership and communication skills for building relationships with contractors, design professionals, township engineers, and boards.
• A masterful command of AI tools, Claude in particular, with real examples of AI for site analysis, cost forecasting, bid evaluation, rendering, estimation, and tracking. Show us what you've built.
• Full‑time, in‑office role; must be able to drive 6–10 hours per week to jobsites.

Preferred

• Civil engineering, land planning, construction management, or legal background (PE, JD, or AICP a plus).
• Experience standing up entitlement processes and reporting systems at a scaling development firm.

Software Proficiency

Proficient in most of the following (quick to pick up the rest): Claude (AI tracking, follow‑up, document review); Asana (multi‑project pipeline tracking and automations — our standard); Zapier or Make; Bluebeam Revu (plan review, markups, takeoffs); AutoCAD / Civil 3D; Procore, BuilderTrend, or Autodesk Build; Microsoft Project or Primavera P6; advanced Excel (sitework budgets, bid leveling, proforma); eCLIPSE and Atlas (Philadelphia L&I/records); PennDOT ePermitting (EPS); PA DEP GreenPort and NJDEP; ArcGIS or municipal GIS parcel viewers; PlanSwift/STACK; DocuSign; Adobe Acrobat Pro; and Microsoft Office.

What We Offer

• Total compensation of $175,000–$225,000 — a $125,000 base plus quarterly performance and project‑based profit‑sharing of $50,000–$100,000.
• Competitive benefits: medical, short/long‑term disability, life insurance, and a 401(k) plan.
• Ability to invest in company projects.
• A structured pathway to become a Partner after five years.