Design Lead- Landscape Architect

Key Responsibilities

• Attend discovery meetings and site visits with the Founder to absorb the client brief first‑hand, then take full ownership of the client relationship as primary point of contact
• Lead client presentations, design reviews, and approval walkthroughs for UHNW residential landscape projects
• Manage all client communication — updates, queries, revisions, and timeline changes — ensuring the client never needs to escalates to the CEO
• Direct the daily work of the Junior Landscape Architect and Landscape Architect Intern: assign tasks, set timelines, unblock problems, and maintain focus across multiple concurrent projects
• Review and QC all drawings, specifications, and client submission packages before they reach the CEO or client — your sign‑off is the quality gate
• Mentor junior team members technically and professionally; deliver regular, honest feedback and build a culture of ownership and accountability
• Manage the full project lifecycle from design handover through supervision close‑out, tracking deliverables, milestones, and deadlines across 10+ active projects simultaneously
• Coordinate with the Project Coordinator on supervision activities, site visits, and contractor management
• Liaise with the offshore CAD and 3D visualization team on drawing packages, revisions, and turnaround timelines
• Act as the operational layer between the CEO and the team — resolve what you can, escalates only what genuinely requires the Founder's input
• Maintain the studio's internal systems: project tracker, filing, documentation, and process standards
• Conduct performance reviews for the team; hold people accountable to commitments and flag business‑critical issues early with clear, structured updates to the CEO

• 4–6 years of experience in landscape architecture, with hands‑on exposure to both design and project delivery (required)
• Proven experience managing a client relationship end‑to‑end — not supporting someone else who does (required)
• Technically strong enough to review and QC construction drawings, specifications, and deliverables to a luxury residential standard (required)
• Proficient in AutoCAD; comfortable coordinating across 3D visualization and CAD production teams (required)
• Clear, professional communicator in English — written and spoken — at a level appropriate for UHNW client‑facing interactions (required)
• Demonstrated ability to manage 10+ projects simultaneously under pressure with structured systems and prioritisation (required)
• Experience in the UAE or GCC luxury residential market is strongly preferred
• Familiarity with local authority approvals and UAE construction standards is a meaningful advantage
• Experience working in a boutique or founder‑led studio environment is strongly preferred
• Proficiency in Notion — able to build and maintain project tracking systems the whole team uses — is a plus