Sr. Design Leader

CannonDesign; Pittsburgh (Allegheny County); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

CannonDesign is seeking a Senior Design Leader to help drive design excellence across the firm and lead a network of design leaders. You will mentor teams, shape project direction, and advance our Living-Centered Design philosophy while expanding client relationships and recognizing opportunities for high-impact work.

You will operate within a collaborative, cross-disciplinary environment, guiding strategy, mentoring talent, and presenting compelling design narratives to clients and stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in architecture required; Master’s in architecture preferred.
• Current US Architectural Registration preferred.
• 18+ years of experience in related roles; at least 5 years leading others in a design studio.
• LEED accreditation or training preferred.
• Nationally recognized design portfolio with awards/publications required.
• Strong communication, presentation, and leadership skills.
• Travel required.

Responsibilities

• Lead design excellence and overall design quality across projects, communicating goals to clients and teams.
• Create innovative design concepts that align client culture and project needs with people, community, and environment.
• Prepare client presentations; lead storytelling-focused design presentations and communicate client goals and metrics.
• Collaborate across phases of development with technical leaders to deliver holistic design solutions.
• Integrate performance-based and sustainable design strategies; advance Living-Centered Design principles.
• Contribute to business strategy, develop client relationships, and pursue new opportunities; actively lead in client/proposal processes.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Business acumen

Mentorship

Public speaking

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Architecture

Master’s degree in Architecture (preferred)

Job description

ABOUT THE ROLE

We are a seeking senior level creative leader who has the skills, experience and reputation that reflects the importance of this role in our design practice. You will be responsible for the successful implementation of our goal to be one of the most innovative, creative, and highly regarded design firms in the world. You will be a senior member of the office leadership team(s) and part of a network of other creative leaders across the firm. You will help nurture and develop people and design culture and be a leading voice for design excellence firm-wide and to the outside world.

WHAT YOU WILL DO

As a Senior Design Leader, you will report to the Executive Director of Design and the Office Practice Leader in your physical location. Primary responsibilities include but are not limited to the following:

• Accountable for design excellence and the overall design quality of our work. Perform in a lead design role communicating and representing design goals to the client and the team for the life of the project, with particular emphasis on early phase development. Partner with our most strategic thinkers, co‑leading visioning, and setting conceptual direction. Collaborate with teams throughout all phases of development to ensure design quality.
• Create innovative design concepts that synthesize our clients’ culture, goals, and aspirations with the needs of people, community, society and the environment. Deliver solutions uniquely responsive to this expanded view of design impact.
• Prepare and direct the preparation of client presentation materials to convey the design in a compelling and sophisticated manner. Lead design presentations, with an emphasis on storytelling and aiding client understanding of the design. Capture and communicate key client goals and metrics and how our design solutions add value to our clients’ success. Collaborate with marketing and communications team to build strong narratives of our work.
• Work within our culture of being an integrated practice by collaborating with technical leaders, subject matter experts and others, creating holistic design solutions that fulfill the complex array of demands our projects require.
• Integrate performance‑based and sustainable design strategies into design solutions. Further our goals to decarbonize the built environment and meet the AIA 2030 Commitment.
• Contribute to the firm’s portfolio with externally recognized design work. Publish projects in design and market‑specific media outlets, as well as other potential opportunities for publication such as articles on research and innovation. You will be expected to regularly submit and successfully win design awards.
• Engage in activities that strengthen, differentiate, and promote our brand locally, regionally, and nationally. This includes cultivating your personal reputation as a creative leader in the profession. Presentation at and contribution to conferences is encouraged for our top design leaders.

Culture, Growth and Mentorship

Partner with us in creating a strong design culture in your office(s) and the firm. You will be responsible for:

• Mentoring and growing emerging through mid-career design professionals toward current and future creative leadership. You will set the standard for an environment that exemplifies collaboration, experimentation, innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship.
• Recruiting, retaining and growing entering through mid-career design talent.
• Creating a stimulating and rewarding environment that sets the tone for design excellence and demonstrates it across the firm.
• Empowering staff and delegating effectively; building high‑performance teams by encouraging innovation and continuous improvement.
• Provoking critical thinking and critique of our work.
• Leading by example, pursuing and winning design work that represents our future selves and advancing our Living‑Centered Design philosophy.

Client and Business Development

You will have a close working relationship with market and client leaders in the office(s) and firm, contributing to business strategy. You will be responsible for developing and maintaining client relationships; building client trust and loyalty; and collaborating in bringing in work. You will be expected to build upon CannonDesign’s legacy clients as well as your own prior relationships for these purposes. You will seek out and identify new client opportunities for CannonDesign in collaboration with the business development and marketing teams. You will be expected to actively lead and participate in client and project pursuit strategies from the early identification of target clients and opportunities through the proposal submittal and interview process.

In service of top line success, you will have a contributory goal of $3M annually in net signed fees, in collaboration with your partner practice and market leaders.

Business Plan Leadership

You will be responsible for the ideation and implementation of key strategies in our business plans, focused on creative process, imagination, improving our work, investing all our staff in design and innovation, and disseminating ideas both internally and externally that achieve firm distinction.

ABOUT YOUR QUALIFICATIONS

• Qualified candidates must have a bachelor's degree in architecture. Master's degree in architecture preferred.
• Current US Architectural Registration preferred.
• 18 years minimum experience in related roles, of which a minimum of 5 years are leading others in a design studio or design practice segment required.
• Additional accreditation and/or training relevant to this role is preferred, including LEED.
• Nationally recognized design portfolio of significant built and unbuilt work. Third party recognition of your work as a lead designer with local, regional or national design awards programs and recognized design publications or digital platforms is required.
• Strong communication, presentation, and leadership skills required.
• Must have business acumen and proven ability to define and execute strategy.
• Must have professional acumen and maturity demonstrated by the ability to communicate authentically and respectfully.
• Travel required.

For a general overview of our benefits, please visit our careers page at https://www.cannondesign.com/careers/benefits

ABOUT OUR FIRM

CannonDesign is a design practice where strategy, experience, architecture, engineering, and social impact converge. We don’t just dream up solutions — we create and bring them to life in ways to solve some of the biggest challenges facing our clients and the society. At the heart of everything we do is Living-Centered Design, a bold commitment to using our talents to not just improve the world but to truly reshape it for the better. It’s more than a philosophy — it’s who we are, and it drives us to make a meaningful, lasting difference every day.

ABOUT WORKING HERE

• We are relentless in our pursuit of client adoration (not simply satisfaction). Consistent delivery of the best service is what we are about.
• We are committed to ensuring our practice provides equal opportunities for all employees, as we strive to connect with communities around us and focus on the future of design. We support equity, diversity, and inclusion efforts that benefit all employees through the leadership of our DEI Council, our Employee Resource Groups which are open to everyone, and other community initiatives.
• We’re about communication and transparency here. If you want to talk to someone about an idea you have, or a challenge that needs addressing, we’re ready for you.

Please note that candidates can only apply to our positions on our company Careers site. It's not uncommon for scammers to create positions that look legitimate on other sites; never enter your information or apply for CannonDesign positions on any platform. Should an issue arise that you feel we should be aware of, please contact us.

As a condition of employment, all employees are expected to complete mandatory training, including compliance training, within required timeframes and adhere to our internal policies and our Code of Conduct.

CannonDesign is an Equal Opportunity Employer. CannonDesign is committed to maintaining a work environment that is free from any and all forms of unlawful discrimination and harassment. It is therefore the firm’s policy to prohibit discrimination and harassment against any applicant, CannonDesign employee, vendor, contractor, or client on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, pregnancy, veteran status, genetic information, citizenship status, or any other basis prohibited by applicable law. It is also CannonDesign’s policy to prohibit any and all forms of retaliation against any individual who has complained of harassing or discriminatory conduct, or participated in a firm or agency investigation into such complaints.