Senior Design Manager

Enhaus Design Build; Altadena (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k)

Unlimited PTO

Job summary

Enhaus Design Build in Los Angeles is seeking a Senior Design Manager to own the design team and oversee quality from schematic design through construction documents. This player‑coach role combines systems‑building with hands‑on technical leadership to set the standard for complete sets and constructability.

You'll lead four designers and consultants, drive standardization, and resolve complex design calls while growing toward a Director of Design as the function scales.

Qualifications

• Minimum 10–12 years in residential design or architecture with leadership experience.
• Bachelor’s degree in Architecture, Design, Construction Management, or related field.
• California architect license preferred; stamping handled through consultants.
• Proven track record building design processes and systems.
• Experience delivering full Plan Set from SD to CD.
• Strong constructability instincts for design and execution.
• Fluency with California requirements and local permitting processes.
• Proficiency across AutoCAD, SketchUp, Bluebeam, Adobe Suite, Buildertrend; Revit a plus.
• Ambition to grow and take on broader ownership over time.
• Confidence, decisiveness, and accountability.

Responsibilities

• Team leadership: manage four full‑time designers plus a junior designer and consultants.
• Technical leadership: act as senior technical voice and guide set development from SD to CD.
• Drawing-set quality: ensure completeness and buildability before field execution.
• Systems and SOPs: standardize design processes for repeatable project flow.
• Consultant accountability: keep design partners on schedule for permitting.
• Design tooling: own the CAD workflow and integrate Revit into the process.
• Budget and time management: monitor time and department budgets against plan.
• Sales support: provide design insight early to shape project scope.

Skills

Leadership

Constructability review

Project systems

Team development

Quality control

Education

Bachelor's degree in Architecture, Design, Construction Management, or related field

Tools

AutoCAD

SketchUp

Bluebeam

Adobe Creative Suite

Buildertrend

Revit

Job description

Most construction companies manage projects. We’re redefining how residential construction is done. Enhaus is on a mission to become the $100M premier design‑build firm in Los Angeles by 2033, not by doing what everyone else does, but by building a company around flawless systems, top talent, and an exceptional client experience. Every project we deliver moves us closer to that standard. Right now, that also means showing up for Los Angeles in a meaningful way. We’re actively working in communities affected by the recent wildfires, building homes for real families, not just delivering projects for developers. The work matters here. We operate on three core values: Intentional Ownership, confidence, decisiveness, and full accountability; All In, reliability and complete commitment to the work and the team; and Relentless Creativity, solution‑first thinking paired with calculated urgency. If those words describe how you already operate, keep reading.

About the Role

We’re looking for a Senior Design Manager to own our design team and the quality of what it produces. You’ll lead the designers day to day, be the senior technical voice they rely on, and build the systems that keep projects moving cleanly from schematic design through construction documents. This is a player‑coach role, part systems‑builder, part hands‑on technical lead. You won’t be drafting production sets all day; we have the bench for that. But you’ll be deep enough in the work to set the standard for what a complete set looks like, catch what won’t build before it reaches the field, and resolve the hard technical calls the team brings you. When the process breaks, you diagnose it and put a durable fix in place. We’re hiring with growth in mind. This is a seat for a seasoned manager who is ready to step up, someone we can develop toward a Director of Design role as our design function scales. You’ll report directly to the owners.

Responsibilities

• Team leadership. Lead a team of four full‑time designers plus a junior designer and various consultants, holding them accountable for production and organization while developing them as the team grows.
• Technical leadership of the design team. Be the senior technical voice the team relies on. Guide drawing‑set development, set the standard for set completeness from SD to CD, and resolve the hard design and constructability calls, so fewer details get decided in the field.
• Drawing‑set quality and constructability. Own the completeness and buildability of our sets. Read the set, spot what won’t work, and resolve it on the plans before it becomes rework or a field improvisation.
• Systems, standardization, and SOPs. Standardize the design process and drawing sets so every project moves through the same disciplined, repeatable system. Build, refine, and implement the SOPs that keep the department running without you in every detail.
• Consultant accountability. Drive accountability with our design consultants, keeping them on schedule so projects move through permitting without stalling.
• Design tooling. Own the design workflow in CAD and build the pathway to bringing Revit into our process.
• Budget and time management. Track the design team’s time and the department’s budget vs. actuals, keeping production efficient and on track.
• Sales support. Support the sales process from the design side, bringing design and constructability insight early so projects are scoped right from the start.

Qualifications

• Minimum 10–12 years in residential design or architecture, including at least 3 years leading a team.
• Bachelor’s degree in Architecture, Design, Construction Management, or a related field.
• California architect license preferred, not required (stamping is handled through our consultants).
• A proven track record of building design processes and systems — not just running projects, but improving how the work gets done.
• Experience putting together a full Plan Set from SD to CD.
• Strong constructability instincts. The ability to problem‑solve directly on the architectural plans is a must‑have, you can read a set, spot what won’t build, and resolve it before it becomes a field problem.
• Working fluency with California requirements: California Building Code, Title 24 energy compliance, ADA, and local entitlement and permitting processes (LA County / Pasadena).
• Proficiency across our stack: AutoCAD, SketchUp, Bluebeam, Adobe Creative Suite, and Buildertrend; Revit experience a strong plus.
• The ambition to grow, ideally with exposure to the business side of design (pricing, proposals, or helping scale a design offering) and the drive to take on broader ownership over time.
• Confidence, decisiveness, and the willingness to take full ownership of outcomes.
• Comfort holding people accountable while developing them.

Growth at Enhaus

This role has a clear runway. Year one is about building the foundation, clean sets, faster permitting, true CD completeness, and a team that runs on systems. From there, the path leads toward Director of Design as the design function scales, with broader ownership of the department and how it grows. We hire people we intend to develop.

What We Offer

• 401(k)
• Unlimited PTO

You’ll work directly with the owners on a team that takes its craft and its culture seriously. This is a high‑trust, high‑ownership environment for someone who wants to shape how a design‑build company runs, not just plug into an existing machine.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Enhaus Design Build is an equal opportunity employer. We provide reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities; let us know if you need one during the hiring process.