Senior Higher Education Campus Planner/Designer

NBBJ Inc.; Columbus (OH); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 145,000; Full time

Job summary

NBBJ is seeking a Senior Higher Education Campus Planner/Designer to lead transformative campus planning projects for top-tier colleges and universities, blending design thinking with institutional strategy and data analytics. You will guide institutions through long-range visioning and planning processes.

Ideal candidates have 15+ years of experience in higher education planning, excellent communication, and the ability to translate client goals into actionable spatial concepts across campus

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Planning, Urban Design, Landscape Architecture, Architecture, or related field.
• 15+ years of experience in higher education planning or institutional strategy.
• Proven experience leading campus planning efforts for higher education institutions.
• Excellent communication and facilitation skills, with the ability to engage diverse audiences and build consensus.
• Proficiency in analog or digital sketching skills.

Responsibilities

• Translate client vision into actionable and inspiring spatial strategies across campus scales.
• Conceptualize ideas from campus-wide to site-specific levels.
• Collaborate with campus planning team and cross-practice colleagues to translate goals into planning insights.
• Advocate for sustainability, resilience, and equity in planning recommendations.
• Serve as trusted advisor to higher education clients and lead planning from early engagement to delivery.
• Present plans to senior university leadership and stakeholders and cultivate client relationships.
• Support business development, proposals, and thought leadership within higher education.

Skills

Communication

Facilitation

Sketching

Education

Bachelor's degree in Planning/Urban Design/Architecture

Tools

Data visualization tools

Job description

Job Title: Senior Higher Education Campus Planner/ Designer

Location: Columbus (OH), Seattle (WA), New York (NY), Boston (MA)
Employment Type: Full-Time

Position Summary:

NBBJ is an award-winning design firm recognized as a TIME100 Most Influential Company, a Fast Company Most Innovative Architecture Firm and a two-time 2025 AIA National Honor Award recipient. These recognitions reflect our purpose-driven approach that, fueled by ideas and a culture of collaboration, creates healthy buildings, strong communities and a resilient environment. That’s where you come in. With leading clients, diverse colleagues and offices in creative capitals around the globe, a career at NBBJ will inspire you to be extraordinary. You can learn more about our firm, see what it’s like to work here and explore recent projects and ideas at NBBJ.com. Join us to make an impact today!

Senior Higher Education Campus Planner/Designer

to join our Campus Planning/Urban Environments Practice. In this role, you will lead transformative campus planning projects for top-tier colleges and universities, integrating design thinking with institutional strategy and data analytics. The ideal candidate brings a strong background in large-scale campus planning, planning-level design concepts, a deep understanding of academic environments, ability to guide institutions through visioning of long-range planning strategies.

Key Responsibilities:

Design – Primary Role

• Ability to translate client vision into actionable and inspiring spatial strategies and conceive these spatial ideas through hand-drawn or digital plans, diagrams and sketches.
• Ability to conceptualize ideas at varying scales – from large (campus-wide) to medium (districts) to small (site-specific).
• Collaborate with NBBJ campus planning team colleagues including practice leaders, principals, senior and junior staff.
• Collaborate cross practice with NBBJ architects, designers, and strategists to translate client goals into planning insights.
• Advocate for integrated sustainability, resilience, and equity in all planning recommendations.

Client Leadership - Primary

• Serve as a trusted advisor to higher education clients, leading the planning process from early engagement through final delivery.
• Present plans and recommendations to senior university leadership and stakeholder groups.
• Cultivate and maintain relationships with higher education clients.

Practice Development - Support

• Support business development efforts, including proposals, project interviews, and relationship-building across the higher education sector.
• Support the advancement of NBBJ’s thought leadership through speaking engagements, white papers, and participation in industry forums.
• Stay at the forefront of higher education trends, emerging pedagogies, and the evolving role of the physical campus.

Qualifications

Required:

• Bachelor's degree in Planning, Urban Design, Landscape Architecture, Architecture, or a related field.
• 15+ years of experience in higher education planning or institutional strategy.
• Proven experience leading campus planning efforts for higher education institutions.
• Excellent communication and facilitation skills, with the ability to engage diverse audiences and build consensus.
• Proficiency in analog or digital sketching skills.

Preferred:

• Master's degree inPlanning, Urban Design, Landscape Architecture, Architecture, or a related field.
• AICP, PLA, AIA or other relevant professional certifications.
• Familiarity with data visualization tools or dashboards is a plus.

Work Environment & Travel:

• Hybrid work options available, in coordination with one of NBBJ’s U.S. offices.
• Travel required (20–30%) to facilitate on-site client workshops, campus assessments, and presentations.

This role requires the individual to be based in the United States.

The annual base pay range for this role is anticipated to be between $120,000 and $145,000. Actual compensation for successful candidates will be carefully determined based on a number of factors, including their skills, qualifications and experience.