Residential Architect / Lead Designer
Moontower
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Benefits offered by this job
Job summary
Moontower Design + Build in Austin, Texas is seeking a Residential Architect / Lead Designer to drive custom homes from concept through construction. This full-time role blends design leadership with practical coordination across architecture, interiors, estimating, purchasing, and field teams.
You will guide programming, site planning, building massing, detailing, and documentation, maintain design intent within budget and schedule, and lead client presentations through permit-ready packages.
Qualifications
- Professional experience designing and delivering custom residential architecture; high-end residential design-build experience is especially valuable.
- A strong portfolio demonstrating architectural judgment, technical ability, site responsiveness, and attention to detail.
- Broad building-design knowledge extending beyond interior design, including site planning, structural coordination, exterior design, construction detailing, and building systems.
- Experience carrying residential projects through concept design, design development, construction documentation, permitting, and construction administration.
- An active architectural license, eligibility to obtain reciprocal registration in Texas, or a clearly defined near-term path to Texas licensure.
- Confidence working directly with clients, consultants, engineers, craftspeople, vendors, project managers, and construction teams.
- A practical understanding of how architectural decisions affect construction, procurement, budget, schedule, and long-term building performance.
- The ability to manage multiple projects, priorities, deadlines, and design decisions without losing sight of the larger vision.
- Strong organization, communication, follow-through, judgment, and personal accountability.
- The ability to receive feedback thoughtfully, resolve design and construction challenges, and collaborate without ego.
Responsibilities
- Lead residential projects from programming and early concept through design development, construction documentation, permitting, and construction.
- Develop thoughtful design solutions that respond to the client's goals, site conditions, budget, schedule, and construction requirements.
- Guide space planning, site planning, building massing, circulation, exterior composition, material selection, and architectural detailing.
- Translate client priorities into clear, cohesive, and buildable residential designs.
- Prepare and lead client presentations, design reviews, and milestone meetings.
- Maintain design intent while responding constructively to budget, scheduling, engineering, and field considerations.
- Develop and review accurate architectural drawings, details, specifications, and permit-ready construction documents.
- Apply practical knowledge of residential construction, structural systems, building science, energy performance, and applicable building codes.
- Coordinate architectural documentation with interior design, estimating, purchasing, project management, and field operations.
- Maintain organized project files, design decisions, meeting notes, consultant information, and follow-up items.
- Identify missing information, unresolved decisions, coordination conflicts, and schedule risks before they affect the project.
- Coordinate with structural, civil, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, landscape, energy, and other project consultants as needed.
- Work closely with builders, craftspeople, vendors, fabricators, and field teams to ensure architectural details can be executed successfully.
- Provide design oversight during construction through site meetings, milestone reviews, submittal review, responses to field questions, and resolution of unforeseen conditions.
- Communicate directly and professionally with clients throughout the design and construction process.
- Balance design ambition with constructability, budget, code requirements, and long-term performance.
- Build productive relationships with consultants, architects, engineers, builders, craftspeople, realtors, and other referral partners.
- Represent Moontower professionally within Austin's residential design and construction community.
Skills
Education
Tools
Job description
Moontower Design + Build | Austin, Texas | Full-Time | $90,000-$100,000
Moontower Design + Build is looking for an experiencedResidential Architect / Lead Designerwho can combine strong design judgment with the technical knowledge, organization, and leadership required to deliver thoughtful custom homes.
At Moontower, architecture, interiors, estimating, purchasing, and construction are integrated from the beginning. You will work alongside designers, builders, estimators, purchasers, project managers, field teams, and outside consultants to develop homes that are beautiful, practical, buildable, and responsive to each client and site.
The right person will understand residential architecture beyond aesthetics. They will be comfortable working through programming, site planning, building form, spatial relationships, structural coordination, documentation, permitting, budgets, schedules, and the realities of construction.
Reports to:Design Director
Focus:Custom homes, major renovations, additions, and residential design-build projects
- Lead residential projects from programming and early concept through design development, construction documentation, permitting, and construction.
- Develop thoughtful design solutions that respond to the client's goals, site conditions, budget, schedule, and construction requirements.
- Guide space planning, site planning, building massing, circulation, exterior composition, material selection, and architectural detailing.
- Translate client priorities into clear, cohesive, and buildable residential designs.
- Prepare and lead client presentations, design reviews, and milestone meetings.
- Maintain design intent while responding constructively to budget, scheduling, engineering, and field considerations.
- Develop and review accurate architectural drawings, details, specifications, and permit-ready construction documents.
- Apply practical knowledge of residential construction, structural systems, building science, energy performance, and applicable building codes.
- Coordinate architectural documentation with interior design, estimating, purchasing, project management, and field operations.
- Maintain organized project files, design decisions, meeting notes, consultant information, and follow-up items.
- Identify missing information, unresolved decisions, coordination conflicts, and schedule risks before they affect the project.
- Coordinate with structural, civil, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, landscape, energy, and other project consultants as needed.
- Work closely with builders, craftspeople, vendors, fabricators, and field teams to ensure architectural details can be executed successfully.
- Provide design oversight during construction through site meetings, milestone reviews, submittal review, responses to field questions, and resolution of unforeseen conditions.
- Communicate directly and professionally with clients throughout the design and construction process.
- Balance design ambition with constructability, budget, code requirements, and long-term performance.
- Build productive relationships with consultants, architects, engineers, builders, craftspeople, realtors, and other referral partners.
- Represent Moontower professionally within Austin's residential design and construction community.
- Clients feel heard, informed, and confident throughout the design process.
- Architectural concepts are thoughtful, site-responsive, technically sound, and buildable.
- Drawings and documentation give consultants and construction teams the information they need.
- Design decisions remain aligned with project budgets, schedules, permitting requirements, and construction realities.
- Coordination issues and unanswered questions are identified before they become urgent.
- You communicate clearly, take ownership, follow through, and help raise the quality of the entire design team.
- The finished home reflects Moontower's standards for design, craftsmanship, performance, and client experience.
- Professional experience designing and delivering custom residential architecture; high-end residential design-build experience is especially valuable.
- A strong portfolio demonstrating architectural judgment, technical ability, site responsiveness, and attention to detail.
- Broad building-design knowledge extending beyond interior design, including site planning, structural coordination, exterior design, construction detailing, and building systems.
- Experience carrying residential projects through concept design, design development, construction documentation, permitting, and construction administration.
- An active architectural license, eligibility to obtain reciprocal registration in Texas, or a clearly defined near-term path to Texas licensure.
- Confidence working directly with clients, consultants, engineers, craftspeople, vendors, project managers, and construction teams.
- A practical understanding of how architectural decisions affect construction, procurement, budget, schedule, and long-term building performance.
- The ability to manage multiple projects, priorities, deadlines, and design decisions without losing sight of the larger vision.
- Strong organization, communication, follow-through, judgment, and personal accountability.
- The ability to receive feedback thoughtfully, resolve design and construction challenges, and collaborate without ego.
Experience with tools such asGoogle Workspace, Archicad, Twinmotion, Enscape, Morpholio, Canva, Adobe Creative Suite, Keynote, and JobTreadis valuable. You do not need to know every platform, but you should be comfortable learning new tools and workflows quickly.
This full-time position includes:
- 10 days paid time off.
- 11 paid company holidays.
- Moontower pays 80% of the employee premium for company-sponsored health insurance.
- Company-sponsored disability insurance.
- Opt-in company phone plan.
- Mileage reimbursement for personal vehicle use.
- Professional licensing and continuing education support.
Benefit eligibility and coverage are governed by current company policies and applicable plan documents.
Moontower's values guide how we design, build, communicate, and make decisions:
Be a generous team player.Share ideas and credit, help others, receive feedback with curiosity, and make the people around you better.
Have fun and build with craft.Bring energy to the work while respecting the skill and discipline required for excellent design and construction.
Work thoughtfully--with compassion and respect for diversity.Listen well, stay curious, and design with empathy for clients, teammates, and the broader community.
Be clear, consistent, and accountable.Communicate directly, follow through, raise concerns early, and take ownership.
You will have a meaningful voice in the architecture and the opportunity to see your ideas carried from early design through construction. The work is custom, collaborative, and deeply connected to Austin, with a team that values thoughtful problem-solving, craftsmanship, strong relationships, and homes built with intention.
Job Type:Full-Time
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