Design Manager

Overview

The Design Manager will proactively and collaboratively lead integrated teams, made up of both internal and external design and construction professionals, through Illuminate's optimized, end-to-end design-build management process from design inception to building completion. The ideal candidate will commit themselves to substantially enhancing the efficiency, accuracy, completeness, and speed of the design, documentation, and construction process, and will enthusiastically leverage innovative procedures, tools, and technologies to exceed our client's expectations.

Core Design Management

• Responsible for the successful realization of client’s project vision, including performance, programming, cost, and schedule objectives.
• Lead the interface between the Illuminate team, Suffolk operations, external design and industry professionals, trade partners, regulatory agencies, and other project stakeholders to achieve project goals, all the while embracing culture of authentic collaboration and technical competence.
• Maintain and support client relationships during all project phases, ensuring a client-first mentality that encourages both active engagement in and ownership of all design decisions.
• Lead project team meetings, workshops, and other collaborative communications throughout a project’s life cycle.
• Hold self, and teams, accountable for meeting deadlines and trouble‑shoot challenges by leveraging the full capacity of interdisciplinary project teams.

Design Process Management

• Lead the development and management of optimized design processes for each project, supporting the efficient, linear delivery of fully coordinated and buildable drawings prior to the start of construction.
• Build upon Suffolk’s world-class construction planning and execution capabilities by strategically aligning documentation development with construction sequencing, supporting streamlined workflows.
• In association with Suffolk preconstruction experts, lead the execution of rigorous, ‘real-time’, project constructability reviews during design process, ensuring that all documentation is complete, coordinated, and buildable prior to the start of construction.
• At key project design milestones, liaise with preconstruction teams to evaluate and validate that cost and schedule align with project objectives.

Illuminate Operations

• Track and report progress towards project milestone completion, staffing allocations, and project financial health.
• In collaboration with Illuminate leadership and the project team, analyze, refine, and test design‑construction workflow assumptions in real-time to optimize Illuminate’s process moving forward.
• Leverage and grow Suffolk’s proprietary constructability knowledge database, which serves as a critical input to a proactive QA/QC process throughout design.
• Support Illuminate’s design technology staff in the introduction of automated design and documentation processes and workflows.

• Certification as licensed architect or professional engineer is strongly preferred.
• Professional degree in Architecture or Engineering is required. Advanced degree preferred.
• 8‑10 years’ experience in the professional design services industry, with a background in design project management.
• Proven success working on multiple projects and commercial building types, across all project phases.
• Experience managing teams through the duration of the project’s design process, including completion of Construction Documentation (Drawing & Specification).
• Substantial hands‑on experience through the full Construction Administration cycle on multiple projects.
• Proficiency with Building Information Modeling platforms, including the Autodesk Suite and other industry standard 3D modeling and analysis…