Senior Design Manager, Architecture

Overview

The Role

Suffolk Design is Suffolk’s integrated design practice, bringing architectural expertise together with Suffolk’s construction capabilities, data, and technology. We work at the intersection of design and construction to deliver high-quality buildings with greater clarity, speed, and cost and schedule predictability.

We are seeking a California-licensed architect with 10–15 years of experience to lead complex projects in San Francisco. As Senior Design Manager, Architecture, you will have meaningful influence over both project outcomes and the continued growth of Suffolk Design’s West Coast practice. You will lead work from early planning through design, permitting, construction, and closeout, with accountability for client relationships, scope, schedule, fee, quality, risk, and team performance.

This role is designed for an experienced project leader who combines design judgment, technical depth, and commercial discipline. You should know how to navigate San Francisco and Bay Area’s permitting and agency-review environment, make timely decisions, and bring clients, consultants, builders, and internal teams together around a clear path to delivery.

Why This Role Matters You will join a growing integrated practice with the opportunity to influence how projects are led, how teams work together, and how design and construction expertise are combined. The position offers both direct project leadership and a visible role in building a more consistent, scalable approach to delivery.

Responsibilities

Own the client relationship and serve as the primary point of contact for assigned projects, building trust through clear communication, sound judgment, and reliable follow-through.

Own project performance across scope, fee, budget, schedule, staffing, risk, and quality; use timely project data to identify variances, make decisions, and implement corrective actions.

Lead multidisciplinary design teams and establish clear roles, decision-making paths, deliverables, and coordination expectations across clients, consultants, contractors, fabricators, and Suffolk teams.

Guide design from concept through construction documents, protecting design intent while aligning solutions with the client’s goals, technical requirements, cost plan, and schedule.

Develop and manage permitting and entitlement strategies for San Francisco and Bay Area projects, including pre-application engagement, application coordination, agency reviews, comment resolution, and approval tracking.

Partner with estimating, scheduling, procurement, and construction teams to make design decisions with reliable cost, schedule, constructability, and supply-chain information.

Lead construction-phase design services, including RFIs, submittals, shop drawings, design changes, field observations, and timely resolution of design and construction questions.

Maintain accountability for contractual design obligations and lead project closeout, including record-document review, completion tracking, lessons learned, and transition to warranty support.

Lead design-related financial closeout and support warranty activities as required.

Use Revit, common data environments, model-based coordination, and other digital workflows to improve design quality, decision-making, and delivery reliability.

Help shape Suffolk Design’s standards, project-delivery practices, and practical adoption of computational design, visualization, and AI-enabled workflows.

Mentor and develop team members through clear expectations, regular feedback, and meaningful opportunities for increasing responsibility.

Qualifications

Professional degree in Architecture from an accredited program

Current license to practice architecture in California

10–15 years of progressively responsible architectural experience, including leadership of technically complex projects through construction

Demonstrated responsibility for all phases of high-visibility, complex, or strategically important projects, including project financial performance

Demonstrated success navigating San Francisco and Bay Area permitting, entitlement, and agency-review processes

Strong command of architectural practice, building codes, consultant coordination, technical standards, and construction-phase obligations

Advanced proficiency in Revit and experience leading model-based coordination and digital project workflows

Experience with Enscape, Adobe Creative Cloud, and Rhino is preferred

DBIA certification or substantial design-build experience is preferred

Evidence of strong client leadership, including the ability to frame decisions, resolve conflict, and communicate clearly with executives, consultants, contractors, and project teams

Ability to set priorities, advance work independently, and maintain reliable follow-through across multiple workstreams

Proven ability to lead multidisciplinary teams and coordinate consultants, fabricators, trade partners, and contractors

Strong design judgment, facilitation, presentation, and visual communication skills

Curiosity about computational design, visualization, AI-enabled workflows, and emerging tools, paired with judgment about where they create measurable value

Portfolio demonstrating architectural rigor, design quality, technical delivery, and built work at a relevant scale and complexity

Ability to travel as required for client, project, and team needs

Commitment to improving project delivery through collaboration, disciplined execution, learning, and continuous improvement

Demonstrated alignment with Suffolk’s Core Values: Passion, Integrity, Hard Work, Professionalism, and Caring

Working Conditions

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit for long periods of time; talk or hear; perform fine motor, hand and finger skills in the use of a keyboard, telephone, or writing. The employee is frequently required to stands; walk; and reach with arms and/or hands. Specific vision abilities include close vision, distance vision, depth perception and the ability to adjust focus. The employee will spend their time in an office environment with a quiet to moderate noise level. Job site walking.

EEO Statement

Suffolk provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy or maternity, national origin, citizenship, genetic information, disability, protected veteran, gender identity, age or any other status protected by law. This policy applies to recruiting, hiring, transfers, promotions, terminations, compensation, benefits, and all other terms and conditions of employment. Suffolk will not tolerate any unlawful discrimination toward, or harassment of, applicants or employees by anyone at Suffolk, or anyone working on behalf of Suffolk.

Compensation Information

Where required by law, pay ranges can be found in Suffolk's job postings. Base Salary for this position is just one component of Suffolk’s total rewards package for employees. Actual salaries may be based on several factors including, but not limited to, a candidate's skill set, experience, education and other qualifications. Suffolk offers a comprehensive benefits package as part of its overall total rewards strategy. Salary ranges are reviewed regularly to reflect market trends.

About Suffolk

Suffolk is a national enterprise that builds, innovates, and invests. We provide value across the entire project lifecycle through our core construction management services and complementary business lines in real estate investment, design, self-perform construction, and technology start-up investment (Suffolk Technologies). By integrating data, artificial intelligence, and advanced technology through our Seamless Platform, we connect design, construction, and operations to deliver smarter, more predictable results and redefine how America builds.

Suffolk – America’s Contractor – is a national company with more than $13 billion in annual revenue, 3,000 employees, and 17 offices, including Boston (headquarters), New York City, Miami, West Palm Beach, Tampa, Estero, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Las Vegas, Herndon, U.S. Virgin Islands, and other key markets. Suffolk manages some of the most complex and transformative projects in the country, serving clients across healthcare, life sciences, education, gaming, aviation, transportation, government, mission critical, and commercial sectors. Suffolk is privately held and is led by founder, chairman and CEO John Fish. Suffolk is ranked #8 on ENR’s list of “Top CM-at-Risk Contractors.” For more information, visit www.suffolk.com and follow Suffolk on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram.

At Suffolk, we believe that our total rewards program should offer you and your family the support you need when it matters most. That’s why we have created a program that provides employees with access to a wide variety of options that can be personalized to support you and your loved ones physically, emotionally, and financially.

Benefits include, competitive salaries, auto allowances and gas cards for certain roles, access to market leading medical and emotional and mental health benefits, dental, and vision insurance plans, virtual care options for physical therapy and primary care, generous paid time off, 401k plan with employer match and access to expert financial resources, company paid and voluntary life insurance, tax deferred savings accounts, 10 backup daycare days each year, short- and long-term disability, commuter benefits and more.? For more information, click?here.