Senior Education Practice Architect & Leader

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM); New York (NY); On-site; USD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision, disability, &

Life insurance

Retirement support

Employee assistance programs

Workplace flexibility

Paid holidays

Family leave

Paid time off

Licenses/certifications reimbursement

Mentorship & career development

Job summary

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) seeks a Project Architect and Practice Lead for Education to drive campus planning, programming, and stakeholder engagement across higher education and K-12. The role blends design leadership with strategic growth, mentoring teams, and strengthening client relationships.

You will lead design teams, coordinate with partnership and principals, and extend SOM's reputation for teaching and learning environments through evidence-based planning and innovative solutions.

Qualifications

• Minimum 12 years of experience or equivalent knowledge.
• Professional architecture license and LEED awareness.
• Strong leadership of interdisciplinary design teams.
• Experience in campus master planning and education environments.
• Proficiency with BIM, visualization tools, and project management software.

Responsibilities

• Lead architectural project teams with SOM partners and leadership.
• Define design direction, schedules, and budgets across phases.
• Mentor staff, develop design judgment, and share knowledge.
• Drive cross-office collaboration and client engagement.
• Advance education practice with market growth and strategic plans.
• Represent SOM in client meetings, conferences, and events.

Skills

Campus master planning

Space programming

Stakeholder engagement

Community outreach

Leadership

Interdisciplinary collaboration

Education

Professional degree in Architecture

Licensed in state of practice

LEED accreditation (preferred)

Tools

Microsoft Office

Smartsheets

Adobe Suite

Google Workspace

Revit

Rhino

Deltek Vision

Salesforce

Job description

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) seeks a Project Architect and Practice Lead for Education to drive campus planning, programming, and stakeholder engagement across higher education and K-12. The role blends design leadership with strategic growth, mentoring teams, and strengthening client relationships.

You will lead design teams, coordinate with partnership and principals, and extend SOM's reputation for teaching and learning environments through evidence-based planning and innovative solutions.