Director, Architecture Product Design

About This Role

Director, Architecture Design (Architecture Design Leader) is responsible for elevating design excellence across the organization. This role ensures all architectural designs achieve high levels of aesthetic quality, technical feasibility, customer desirability, and business viability. The position leads the creation and stewardship of scalable design systems, including reusable modules, pattern libraries, guardrails, and standards that integrate buyer insights, field feedback, and market expectations.

The Architecture Design Leader partners closely with the Architecture Product Operations Leader and with cross‑functional teams to lead the team to create beautiful, buildable, profitable homes aligned with company strategy.

On a Given Day, Your Work Might Include

Design Vision & Quality Leadership

• Defines and communicates a compelling architectural design vision that elevates beauty, clarity, usability, and customer love ability.
• Ensures designs balance aesthetics, technical feasibility, and lifestyle relevance for luxury buyers.
• Protects design integrity throughout all project phases, from early concept to execution.
• Drives consistency, clarity, and innovation across all design outputs.

Design Systems & Efficiency

• Develops and maintains scalable design systems—including reusable modules, pattern libraries, and layout frameworks.
• Codifies principles, rules, and standards that reduce rework, accelerate throughput, and improve consistency.
• Ensures system assets translate cleanly into templates and documentation.
• Continuously improves efficiency through systemization while preserving design intent and quality.

Customer-Driven Design Integration

• Translates customer insights, homeowner feedback, and luxury‑buyer lifestyle patterns into design direction.
• Collaborates with Sales, CX, and Home Experience teams to identify design opportunities and resolve friction points.
• Ensures designs resonate across multiple luxury buyer types while adapting appropriately to different neighborhood contexts.
• Applies market and real estate trends to shape long‑term design evolution.

Technical & Feasibility Alignment

• Ensures conceptual designs are technically feasible, buildable, and aligned with structural, code, and site‑fit constraints.
• Works closely with engineering, drafting, and construction partners to resolve issues before handoff.
• Identifies opportunities for simplification and cost‑effective design decisions that do not compromise experience quality.
• Integrates feasibility, desirability, and viability into early‑stage decision‑making.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partners with Architecture Operations, Construction, Interior Design, Land, Sales, and CX teams to align design goals.
• Represents design intent in design reviews, cross‑functional decisions, and executive discussions.
• Ensures alignment between design systems, operational constraints, and customer expectations.
• Resolves design conflicts and provides clear rationale for key design choices.

Leadership & Team Development

• Leads a team of architects (approximately 6‑9) and coaches them to develop both creative and technical mastery.
• Leads structured critiques that elevate clarity, craft, and systems thinking.
• Establishes clear expectations, accountability structures, workflows, and development pathways.
• Cultivates a culture of humility, collaboration, accuracy, systems thinking, and continuous improvement.
• Owns the full employee lifecycle for their team, from hiring through onboarding, development, performance management, and offboarding.
• Identifies and helps recruit strong design talent aligned with organizational needs.
• Performs other related duties as necessary or assigned.

• Possesses a strong architectural design portfolio demonstrating aesthetic judgement, technical capabilities, and system thinking.
• Ability to balance feasibility, desirability, and viability in all design decisions.
• Experience developing reusable design assets, standards, or scalable pattern libraries.
• Excellent communication and storytelling skills; able to articulate design intent clearly and persuasively.
• Proficiency with drafting/BIM, workflows and how…