Associate Technical Director

Job description

If you think your skills, experience and aspirations make you a good match for this position, we encourage you to apply. This position may be filled anywhere in the United States. Preference may be given to candidates that can work in one of the CannonDesign locations .

ABOUT THE ROLE

You will perform in the role of Technical Associate Director for the firm and be part of a multi-disciplinary leadership team to establish, manage and maintain a standard of technical excellence across our practice. You will make significant contributions toward the development of practice-wide technical processes, with concentration in a key focus area, executing strategic and tactical initiatives to constantly improve our work. The key area of focus for this role is the management of the people and processes that represent the quality of the design and delivery of our work product.

HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL DO

• Manage and maintain the standard of technical excellence in project delivery and application of building science to design.
• Work across our multi-disciplinary practice to build relationships with and leverage the various business and enterprise units to achieve objectives centered on the execution of design and technical excellence.
• Establish and manage a key area of focus relevant to technical design, building science and project delivery.
• Research, consider and respond to progress, updates and initiatives in the industry relative to key areas of focus.
• Report regularly to the Technical Director on progress in the continuous improvement of the key areas of focus.
• Utilize labor management software and develop strategies to effectively utilize the staff you manage for the team that supports your focus area.
• Collaborate with Design Technology to embrace and enforce the use of technology for improved consistency and quality.
• Manage and maintain relevant content on the intranet and where otherwise accessed by our teams.
• Proactively address project and firm-wide risk issues. Assign resources and responsibility, communicate direction and expected results, and report progress to Technical Director.
• Establish, manage and maintain a quality process that drives the continuous improvement of our work, including proactive, mid-phase charrettes, document reviews and strategies that drive the capture and reuse of institutional knowledge.
• Collaborate with other Technical Associate Directors to build consensus on updating existing or authoring new standards, guidelines or other content.
• Establish, manage and maintain a set of technical policies, processes and protocols, and periodically audit regions, offices and projects for compliance.
• Establish, manage and maintain a set of practice metrics, regularly monitor them for visibility of project concerns, intervening where necessary, and track trends to determine progress and identify strategies for adjustment and reinforcement.
• Collaborate with the Technical Leaders to ascertain the technical needs of offices and regions and plan holistic resolutions that feature a balance of consistency and flexibility that can be applied across the entirety of the practice.
• Establish, manage and maintain regular forums with the Technical Leaders to disseminate updates, identify needs and promote a collaborative and collegial culture of technical excellence.
• Establish, manage and maintain a methodology to regularly disseminate and promote, and periodically reinforce, technical knowledge.
• Establish, manage and maintain a catalog of relevant and intuitive technical training, knowledge base and learning resources and policies. Collaborate with HR to host content and enforce training requirements.
• Establish, manage and maintain mentorship of technical excellence across disciplines and levels.
• Enthusiastically promote and celebrate the technical excellence of our work.
• Evaluate and guide introduction of new building technologies, methods, and materials.
• Participate in thought leadership and contribute scholarship internally and to industry publications and conventions.
• Participate in the hiring process for new senior technical staff and provide thorough and constructive feedback on candidates.

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• Establish, manage and maintain a global project delivery process that considers all project typologies and team compositions, focused on quality and continuous improvement.
• Establish, manage and maintain a philosophical baseline of technical performance in the development and execution of project deliverables that reflects the size, complexity and operation of a practice that spans multiple regions, the variety of jurisdictional requirements and the imperative of managing consistency across all our offices.
• Establish, manage and maintain liaisons with all disciplines across the practice to foster an integrated approach to design and coordinate efforts in the goal of continuous improvement of the technical performance of our work, including but not limited to Design, Engineering, Interior Design, Sustainability, Management and Design Technology
• Manage and maintain a team of technical leaders who represent and support the technical performance of the teams in every office and region.
• Establish, manage and maintain a risk assessment process to identify issues that increase the firm’s exposure to liability and claims.
• Establish, manage and maintain a quality process that leverages Technical Leaders, Senior Project Architects and Subject Matter Experts to thoroughly review projects and documentation through a combination of charrettes and document reviews.
• Establish, manage and maintain a project debrief protocol to capture institutional knowledge from lessons learned on projects.
• Meets established utilization target.
• May perform other duties as needed.

HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL NEED

• Minimum Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field required.
• Minimum 20 years of related professional experience in Architecture and/or Engineering. Experience includes 5 years in increasingly responsible roles in construction documentation on institutional and commercial projects and at least 3 years in a responsible role in construction administration on large institutional or commercial projects.
• Current Architectural Registration or Professional Engineer license in the United States required.
• LEED accreditation preferred.
• Demonstrated focus on quality.
• Experience leading all technical aspects with production teams on large, complex projects of more than $200M construction costs.
• Strong technical leadership with knowledge of building codes and requirements.
• Must have the ability to be client facing with strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Strong business acumen, technical knowledge, coordination skills and the ability to build a rapport is essential.
• Strong interpersonal skills, with the ability to lead, influence and mentor across disciplines, projects, and locations.
• Demonstrates excellent judgement, strategic process understanding, and the ability to drive results.
• Familiarity with Revit, Bluebeam, Microsoft Office, Teams, specification composition and construction management software.

The salary range for this position is $143,800 to $179,800 annually. This salary range is the range we believe is the anticipated range of possible base compensation at the timing of the posting. We may ultimately pay more or less than the anticipated salary range for the position. Employees may be eligible for discretionary bonuses. We offer a full benefit package including medical, dental and vision coverage and flexible spending account options and voluntary insurances. We have paid time off, flex-time schedules, remote work options and a 401k plan and employee perk programs. For a general overview of our benefits, please visit our careers page at https://www.cannondesign.com/careers/benefits. Actual compensation may vary from posting based on geographic location, work experience, education and/or skill level.

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 is equitable for all employees, representative of the communities around us – and focused on the future of design. We advocate for equity, diversity, and inclusion efforts through the leadership of our DEI Council, Employee Resource Groups and other community advocacy 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. Please provide your resume and portfolio when applying.

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 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.