Designer​/Captain

Designer / Job Captain

Location: Oakland, CA office (5353 Claremont Ave.—yes, that’s still a thing)

Position: Salaried, exempt

Experience: 3–5 years (because we’re realistically not asking someone who's been around the block too many times)

Reports to: Principals (Matt, and his overlords)

Baran Studio Architecture is a diverse collective of collaborators, each bringing a unique background and discipline to the table. We don’t do rigid hierarchies—or that’s what we tell ourselves—because great architecture springs from creative friction, not polite submission. We prize grit, courage, respect, flexibility, and a little irreverence. Brave ideas, thoughtful critique, and challenging convention are part of our daily diet.

We work across housing, modular, commercial, interiors—whatever keeps things interesting—and respect for people, the planet, and the future is baked into our process.

• Design and coordinate project documentation across all phases—presentation, detailed design, construction documents—you know the drill.
• Juggle consultants, consultants, and more consultants—keeping drawings honest and on track.
• Work cross-functionally to deliver projects that don’t implode technically or financially.
• Prep smart, strategic plans to move projects forward (without spiraling into chaos).
• Old clients, new clients—be the main liaison, keep everyone fed and vaguely happy, within budget and schedule.
• Keep project budgets and timelines from going haywire—monitor, track, document, communicate like a machine.
• Handle scope, fees, proposals, contracts for your projects (don’t make me remind you—this is your job).
• Mentor (aka, babysit) junior staffers—teach them Revit so they don’t crash the files.
• Track your hours in Quick Books daily (so we can guilt-trip anyone under 80% billable).
• Clock in for at least 40 hours/week starting at 9am, weekdays. Weekends? Only if your projects summons you.
• Other duties as assigned—because apparently burnout builds character.

• Proficient in Revit (like your career depends on it), Excel, Word, Photoshop, general MS-Office chaos.
• Bonus points if you also slay in Rhino, Sketch Up, or 3DS Max—because being able to fake a cool model matters.

• Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from an accredited program (sorry, autodidacts).
• 3–5 years in the trenches—coordinating, designing, making clients nod without hating you.
• Communication that doesn’t make people weep—verbal, written, presentations.
• Math that goes beyond “count to ten”—geometry, proportions, volumes, percentages—you know the drill.
• Attentive to architectural problems, can analyze, synthesize, decode technical riddles.
• A cocktail of grit, assertiveness, collaboration, time-juggling, curiosity—and some design intuition creeping in there.
• No long commute—unless you have teleportation tech—because you’ll actually be present.

Expect to sit, type, talk, and occasionally hoist something under 10 pounds. Eyesight should handle near and far focus. You may stand, walk, reach, balance—but no heroics, please.

You’ll work in a studio that actually values dissent—so don’t just nod along. You’ll get to stretch the boundaries of “architecture” (sometimes literally). And yes, you’ll be expected to bring your grit game every day. If that sounds like too much, I hear there’s gardening. But if you’re intrigued—rethink this nonsense and send us a resume