If you think your skills and experience, make you a good match for this position, we’d love to hear from you. This role may be filled anywhere in the US with preference given to candidates that can work in one of the CannonDesign US offices.
ABOUT THE ROLE
We are seeking a creative leader who has the skills, experience, reputation and brand that reflect the importance of this role in our design practice. You will be responsible for the successful implementation of our goal to be one of the most innovative, creative, and highly regarded design firms in the world. You will be an integral part of the global Commercial market and your local office leadership team. You will nurture and develop the people and culture of the office and be a voice for design excellence firm-wide and to the outside world.
HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL DO
As a Design Leader, your role will be focused on the Commercial market. Your primary responsibilities include but are not limited to the following:
- Participating in the leadership of the Commercial market, be a voice in its evolution, culture and integration across the firm and help to define its new place in the industry.
- Perform in a lead design role communicating and representing design goals to the client and the team for the life of the project, with particular emphasis on early phase development. Partner with our most strategic thinkers, co-leading visioning, and setting conceptual direction. Collaborate with teams throughout all phases of development to ensure design quality. Support Senior Design Leaders on significant strategic pursuits.
- Create innovative design concepts that synthesize our clients’ culture, goals, and aspirations with the needs of people, community, society and the environment. Deliver solutions uniquely responsive to this expanded view of design impact.
- Prepare and direct the preparation of client presentation materials to convey the design in a compelling and sophisticated manner. Lead design presentations, with an emphasis on storytelling and aiding client understanding of the design. Capture and communicate key client goals and metrics and how our design solutions add value to our clients’ success. Collaborate with marketing and communications team to build strong narratives of our work.
- Work within our culture of being an integrated practice by collaborating with other design leaders as well as with technical leaders, subject matter experts and others, creating holistic design solutions that fulfill the complex array of demands our projects require.
- Integrate performance-based and sustainable design strategies into design solutions.
- Engage in activities that strengthen, differentiate, and promote our brand locally, regionally, and nationally. This includes cultivating your personal reputation as a creative leader in the profession. Presentation at and contribution to conferences is encouraged.
Culture, Growth and Mentorship
Partner with us in creating a strong design culture and practice in the Commercial market, the Chicago office and the firm. You will be responsible for:
- Mentoring and growing emerging professionals toward future creative leadership. You will assist in nurturing an environment that exemplifies collaboration, experimentation, innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship.
- Recruiting and retaining design talent.
- Creating a stimulating and rewarding environment that sets the tone for design excellence and demonstrates it across the firm.
- Empowering staff and delegating effectively; building high-performance teams by encouraging innovation and continuous improvement.
- Provoking critical thinking and critique of our work.
- Leading by example, pursuing and winning design work that represents our future selves and advancing our Living-Centered Design philosophy.
Client and Business Development
You will be responsible for developing and maintaining client relationships; building client trust and loyalty; and collaborating in bringing in work. You will be expected to build upon CannonDesign’s legacy clients as well as your own prior relationships for these purposes. You will seek out and identify new client opportunities for CannonDesign in collaboration with the market leadership, business development and marketing teams. You will be expected to participate in client and project pursuit strategies from the early identification of target clients and opportunities through the proposal submittal and interview process. Today, the commercial market targets various sectors including workplace solutions, developer-driven products, entertainment, hospitality, science and technology, professional sports, and other opportunities outlined in our annual business plan.
In service of ownership expectations, you will have a contributory goal of $2M in net signed fees annually in collaboration with your market and office leaders.
Targets and performance metrics for this role are subject to change as CannonDesign periodically evaluates our performance metrics.
HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL NEED
- Bachelor or Master degree in Architecture required. Bachelor or Master degree in Architecture from an accredited program preferred.
- 15 years minimum experience in a design leadership role, of which a minimum of 3 years are leading others in a design studio or design practice segment required.
- Current US Architectural Registration preferred.
- Additional accreditation and/or training relevant to this role is preferred, including LEED.
- Design portfolio of significant built and unbuilt work. Third party recognition of your work as a lead or supporting design role by local, regional, or national design awards programs and recognized design publications or digital platforms is preferred.
- Strong oral presentation and storytelling skills required.
- Must be able to understand and execute business strategy.
- Must have professional acumen and maturity demonstrated by the ability to communicate authentically and respectfully.
- Travel required.
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.
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 applicable 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.
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.
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.
