Project Director - Critical Facilities

Gensler; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Gensler's Silicon Valley office seeks a Project Director to lead Critical Facilities and data center projects, leveraging senior design and client-relations experience to grow the practice. You will guide teams, ensure design excellence, and integrate financial performance with project delivery in a highly collaborative studio culture.

This role emphasizes building the Critical Facilities practice across the globe, drawing on cross-disciplinary teams while mentoring staff and shaping strategic

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher in Architecture, Design or Interior Design.
• 15+ years of architectural experience, including 5+ years in client development or studio management.
• 10+ years in critical facility design, with preference for data centers.
• Strong self-motivation, flexibility and resourcefulness.
• Ability to inspire and lead a team with creativity and compassion.
• Excellent presentation skills for client workshops and interviews.

Responsibilities

• Lead project teams and manage the financial health of critical facilities projects.
• Develop pipeline of new work through RFQ/RFP responses.
• Collaborate with the Northwest region and Critical Facilities Practice Area.
• Mentor staff and recruit top talent.
• Contribute thought leadership and strengthen market reputation.

Skills

Project leadership

Client relationship management

Data center design

Mentoring staff

Stakeholder communication

Education

Bachelor's degree or higher in Architecture, Design or Interior Design

Job description

Your Role

As Project Director in the Gensler Silicon Valley Office, you will bring your years of project leadership and client relationship skills to build our capabilities to inspire and realize Critical Facilities projects of all scales and complexities. Building the Critical Facilities practice is fundamental to our strategic plans, so you will be integral to moving our entire practice into the future.

Description

As Project Director in the Gensler Silicon Valley Office, you will bring your years of project leadership and client relationship skills to build our capabilities to inspire and realize Critical Facilities projects of all scales and complexities. Building the Critical Facilities practice is fundamental to our strategic plans, so you will be integral to moving our entire practice into the future.

On a day-to-day basis, you will be accountable primarily for building our practice through the delivery of exceptional design and technical work. We take a highly collaborative approach to work, and the nurturing of a design culture in our studios and in the office is highly important to us. We also believe that the project leadership shares accountability for the design, technical, and financial success of the projects, and will look to you to lead your teams to be successful in those measures. This role is essential in the design and delivery of world-class Data Centers and other Critical Facilities projects.

Our Critical Facilities practice area is unique, having the ability to draw expertise from and collaborate with our network of teams across the globe to serve clients based on their evolving technical requirements. Beyond data centers, our critical facilities team delivers projects for high performance/research/supercomputing, command and control centers, SCIFs, Artificial Intelligence factories, and various other technology-rich project types.

What You Will Do

• Utilize your experience in project leadership and client relationship skills to build our capabilities to inspire and deliver Critical Facilities projects of all scales and complexities, with the vision of creating a stand-alone studio focused on Critical Facilities clients
• Work collaboratively with others in your studio, in the Northwest region, and in the broader Critical Facilities Practice Area
• Be accountable and manage the financial health of critical facilities projects and client relationships.
• Lead a team or individually respond to RFQ / RFPs to build a pipeline of new work.
• Keep pace with technology advances and the design innovations required to develop the supporting critical infrastructure.
• Effectively and routinely communicate with your leadership on status of projects, pursuits, and teams.
• Work closely with office leadership to identify and recruit best-in-class talent
• Actively mentor staff in their growth in the design profession
• Strengthen our market reputation through thought leadership and a differentiated point of view
• Foster and encourage a positive work environment amongst peers and teams

Your Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher in Architecture, Design or Interior Design.
• Ideal candidate will possess 15+ years of architectural experience, inclusive of 5 or more years' experience in an architecture and design firm in client development, and/or management of a studio, practice group, or regional office.
• 10+ years of experience in critical facility design with a preference in the data center projects.
• A high degree of self-motivation, flexibility, and resourcefulness
• Ability to inspire and lead a team with creativity and compassion
• Strong presentation skills with the ability to be articulate and convincing in client workshops, interviews, and other presentations