Landscape Designer

Air Comfort, Inc; Watsonville (CA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision

401(k) with company match

PTO and holidays

Vehicle or mileage allowance

Phone and laptop provided

Ongoing training and certifications

Job summary

K&D Landscaping, Inc. seeks a Landscape Designer to lead design from concept through construction-ready plans for high-end residential landscapes. You will manage hardscape, planting, drainage, lighting, and outdoor living spaces while staying connected to field execution.

You will drive the client discovery-to-approval process, discuss budgets, and guide the design workflow to keep projects moving across phases. This role combines design leadership with hands-on delivery.

Qualifications

• Strong portfolio of residential landscape design with real construction outcomes.
• High proficiency in Vectorworks or AutoCAD, plus 3D modeling, rendering, and presentation tools.
• Ability to design accurately within defined budgets.
• Comfortable with client conversations including budget discussions.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design of residential landscapes from concept to construction-ready plans (hardscape, planting, grading, drainage, lighting, structures).
• Own client discovery through design approval and budget conversations.
• Own the design workflow and sales process, ensure steady work and timely progress.
• Provide direction to the design team and prevent project stalls between phases.

Skills

Portfolio

Landscape design

Client relations

Budget awareness

Tools

Vectorworks

AutoCAD

Job description

Position: Landscape Designer Type: Full Time, Exempt Reports to: VP of Construction Pay Range: $90,000.00 - $130,000.00

Most designers spend their careers handing off a set of plans and hoping the finished space resembles the idea. That is not this job. K&D has been building landscapes across the Monterey Bay region since 1986. We are family-founded, more than 160 people strong, and our Design Build division takes on high-end residential projects where the details matter and the budgets are real. We are looking for one person to lead our design department, shape how design work gets done here, and stay close enough to the field to watch their drawings come out of the ground.

If you are the designer on your team who quietly fixes the process, chases the detail nobody else noticed, and wants a bigger canvas, keep reading.

WHAT YOU WOULD OWN

• The design. Residential landscapes from first concept through construction-ready plans. Hardscape, planting, grading, drainage, lighting, structures, and outdoor living, draft accurately in Vectorworks, AutoCAD, or similar.


• The client relationship. Discovery through design approval. You lead the budget conversation, communicate the vision, and hold expectations steady across months of work.


• The process. You own the design workflow and the design sales process. You build it, measure it, and adjust it as we grow.


• The pipeline. You keep the design team supplied with clear direction and steady work, and you keep projects from stalling between phases.

WHY THIS SEAT IS DIFFERENT

• You lead a department, not just a drafting queue. This is the design seat at K&D, and it comes with real authority over how the work gets done.


• You design to real budgets. We qualify projects up front, so you are drawing for clients who can build what you put on paper.


• You see your work built. Our production team is in-house, and you stay involved through construction instead of leaving after at handoff.


• You get modern tools. K&D invests heavily in technology, and we actively encourage AI to take the busywork out of the job.


• You get a leader who wants your input. The VP of Construction is looking for a partner in building this department, not someone to hand assignments to.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

You will thrive here if you bring:

• A strong portfolio of residential landscape design with real construction outcomes behind it.


• High proficiency in Vectorworks or AutoCAD, plus 3D modeling, rendering, and presentation tools.


• A track record of designing accurately to a defined budget.


• Genuine comfort in client conversations, including the money conversation.


• Experience directing outside designers, consultants, or partners and holding them to a deadline.


• Strategic instincts. You build systems, not just drawings.


• Real fluency with technology and curiosity about where it is going.


• Working knowledge of construction methods, grading, drainage, and permitting in coastal California.

WHAT WE OFFER

• Competitive compensation based on experience, with the pay range listed above.


• Medical, dental, and vision


• 401(k) with company match, paid time off, and paid holidays


• Vehicle or mileage allowance, phone, and laptop


• Ongoing training, industry certifications, and a company that promotes from within.


• A stable, growing, family-founded company.

RAISE THE BAR

K&D Landscaping is built on safety, teamwork, professionalism, humility, hunger, and respect. We hire people who own the outcome, communicate early and often, and are never satisfied with good enough.

K&D Landscaping, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic.