Principal Architect

Mott MacDonald; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Mott MacDonald is seeking an experienced Principal Project Architect to lead the Southwest Buildings design team in Los Angeles. You will drive delivery of architectural designs from concept through construction and grow the architecture practice.

Based in Los Angeles, you will be the senior technical and operational leader for Buildings design, guiding project delivery, business growth, and team development across building and infrastructure projects in the region.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Architecture from an accredited institution.
• Registered Architect (RA) license in California or ability to obtain within 6 months of hire.
• 15+ years of architectural design and project delivery experience.
• Proven experience leading multiple projects of varying size and complexity.
• Strong understanding of building systems, California building codes, construction methods, and technical detailing.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Southwest Buildings architectural design practice, ensuring on-time, on-budget delivery and high quality standards.
• Provide leadership and integration between architectural and project engineering disciplines.
• Serve as senior client manager, building trusted relationships and ensuring exceptional service.
• Lead architectural design and technical delivery on complex mid-size and large-scale projects.
• Establish project design direction, standards, and BOD in collaboration with engineering disciplines.
• Develop and oversee production and quality review for design submissions, construction documents, BIM, drawings and specs.
• Manage project scope, schedule, budget, and cross-discipline coordination.
• Provide technical leadership during construction, including RFIs and construction administration support.
• Ensure compliance with building codes and industry standards; perform QA reviews for constructability and design excellence.
• Coordinate with engineering, cost estimating, scheduling, and stakeholders to align scopes with client goals.
• Lead client presentations and support business development and pursuit interviews.
• Mentor junior architects and project team members; drive growth strategies for Buildings design services in the Southwest, starting California.
• Support major proposals, develop win themes, and contribute to capture strategies.
• Drive operational excellence through planning, resource management, risk management, and performance monitoring.
• Represent Mott MacDonald at industry events to strengthen market presence and reputation.

Skills

Architectural leadership

Client relationship management

Project delivery

Team leadership

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Architecture

Registered Architect license in California

Tools

Revit

AutoCAD

Adobe Acrobat Pro

Microsoft Office

Procore

Job description

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At Mott MacDonald, we trust our brilliant people to do brilliant things in engineering, management, and development services, supporting multisector project work in over 150 countries. As one of the largest employee-owned companies in the world, we pride ourselves on our ability to deliver exceptional outcomes through our network of 20,000+ talented consultants. With sustainability and innovation at the heart of all our sectors in North America, including, Buildings, Energy, Transportation, and Water.

We believe in empowering our people to excel, learn, and grow, offering diverse opportunities to contribute to career-defining work. Join us and be part of a collaborative environment where your ambitions are united with ours, and you can truly shape your story.

At Mott MacDonald,we'redriven by a clear purpose: improving society through excellence in engineering, management, and development services.Our Southwest Buildings design team isseeking an experiencedPrincipalProjectArchitectin our LosAngeles officeto lead delivery of architecturaldesigns from concept through constructionandgrowthe architecturepractice.

Based in Los Angeles, this role serves as the senior technical and operational leader for theBuildingsdesign team, responsible for driving project delivery excellence, business growth, and team development across a diverse portfolio of building and infrastructure projects.

Reporting to theGroup LeaderofSW the Buildings, this role is responsible to work closely with Division Leadership, Global Discipline Leaders, and Market Leaders to expand Mott MacDonald's presence across key sectors includinglight rail(stations and maintenance yardfacilities), aviation, and majorevents and venues. Additional infrastructure programs may includedata centers, civic buildings,healthcarefacilities,andhigher education.

The successful candidate will combine technical leadership, client relationship management, business development, and people leadership to strengthen Mott MacDonald's Buildings practice throughout California and the broader Southwest region.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the Southwest Buildings architectural design practice, ensuring the successful delivery of projects on schedule, within budget, and to the highest quality standards.
• Provide leadership and integrationbetween architectural andprojectengineeringdisciplines, including mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection, structural, civil, andspecialtybuilding disciplines.
• Serve as a senior client manager, building trusted relationships and ensuring exceptional client service and project delivery performance.
• Lead and oversee architectural design and technical delivery on complex mid-size and large-scale projects.
• Establish project design direction, technical standards, and quality expectationsand develop architectural concepts and design strategies in collaboration with engineering design disciplines and integrate innovative technical solutions to produce the basis of design (BOD).
• Develop and oversee the production and quality review process for design submissions, construction documents, BIM models, drawings, and specifications.
• Manage project scope, schedule, budget, and coordination across multiple disciplines.
• Provide technical leadership during construction, including responses to RFIs and construction administration support.
• Ensure compliance with applicable building codes, zoning requirements, and industry standards.
• Conduct quality assurance reviews to support constructability and design excellence.
• Coordinate closely with engineering disciplines, cost estimating and scheduling teams, specialty consultants, contractors, and project stakeholders to integrate project scopes of work in alignment with client criteria goals andobjectives
• Lead client presentations and serve as a trusted advisor throughout project delivery.
• Support business development activities, proposals, andpursuitinterviews.
• Mentor and guide junior architects and project team members.
• Conduct site visits and field reviews to verify alignment with design intent.
• Develop and execute growth strategies for Buildings design services across the Southwest Division, withan initialfocus on California.
• Partner with Division and Global Leadership toidentify, pursue, and secure new business opportunities across targeted market sectors.
• Support business development efforts by developing client relationships,identifyingupcoming capital programs,positioning forpursuits, and contributing tocapturestrategies.
• Supportmajor proposals, presentations, interviews, and pursuit activities,byhelping to develop compelling win themes and differentiators.
• Drive operational excellence through effective project planning, resource management, quality assurance, risk management, and performance monitoring.
• Monitor business performance through key operational and financial metrics and implement strategies to improveutilization, project profitability, and delivery outcomes.
• Foster collaboration across offices, disciplines, regions, and business units to deliver integrated, client-focused solutions.
• Recruit, mentor, develop, andretainhigh-performing technical professionals while supporting career progression, succession planning, and workforce growth.
• Establish training and development programs that promote technical excellence and professional growth across theBuildingsarchitecturalteam.
• Build strong internal and external networks to support project delivery, resource sharing, innovation, and business growth.
• Represent Mott MacDonald at industry events, conferences, and professional organizations to strengthen market presence and industry reputation.
• Lead and promote safety and wellbeing culture, ensuring compliance with established processes anddemonstratingpositive safety leadership.
• Champion PRIDE Values, Our Code, and Inclusion & Diversity by fostering a collaborative, inclusive, and high-performing team environment.

Qualifications and Experience

We are looking for professionals who candemonstrate:

• Bachelor's degree in Architecturefrom an accredited institution.
• Registered Architect (RA) license inCalifornia, or ability to obtain a California license with 6 months ofthe date of hire.
• 15+ years of architectural design and project delivery experience.
• Proven experience leading multiple projects of varying size and complexity.
• Strong understanding of building systems,Californiabuilding codes, construction methods,and technical detailing.
• Experience developing complete contract documents, including drawings,specifications, and bid packages.
• Knowledge of(one or more)buildingmarketsandfacility types,includingaviation,ports, transit stations,maintenance facilities,major events venues,anddatacenters, andis preferred.
• Excellent communications, organization, and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to lead project teams and manage priorities.
• Opentolimitedtravel toregionalproject sites and client locations asrequired.
• Demonstrated success delivering building projects in California; Texasprojectexperience isadditionallydesirable.
• Experience leading innovative and technically complex building projects, including sustainable and high-performance facilities.
• Experience delivering Net Zero, LEED, WELL, Envision, or other sustainability-focused projects is preferred.
• Strong client management skills with a proven ability to develop long-term relationships and grow strategic accounts.
• Experience managing staffing, resource planning, recruitment, performance management, and team development.
• Exceptional leadership, communication, collaboration, and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Established industry relationships and/oraclientprogramnetwork within the region are highly desirable.

Software & Technical Skills

• Proficiencywith:
• Revit
• AutoCAD
• Adobe Acrobat Pro
• Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint)
• BIM coordination and documentation workflows
• Procore(or comparableconstruction project management software)

What You'll Bring

• Ability toindependentlyleadmulti-discipline design teams to deliverclient projectson-time, within budget, and athigh-qualityindustrystandards.
• Proficientcommunicationsandpresentation skills.
• Solidtechnicalexpertiseandcomprehensiveattention to detail.
• Ahighlycollaborative and client-focusedproject teamapproach.
• The ability to solve complex design and construction challenges.
• Passion for delivering sustainable and innovative solutions.
• Leadership skills with the ability to mentor and develop others.

Our teams are comprised of bright and enthusiastic people who wish to make a difference to the world that we live in. If you share that vision and don't have all the experience outlined in this posting, we still want to hear from you!

Equal opportunity is the law.

We seek to promote fair employment procedures and practices to ensure equal opportunities for all. We encourage individual expression in our workplace and are committed to creating an inclusive environment where everyone feels they have the opportunity to contribute.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, protected veteran status, creed, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, citizenship status or disability status.