We’re Hiring: Urban Designer

March 24, 2026

We are seeking to hire an experienced Project Urban Designer to join our team at our office in the heart of Old Town Alexandria, Virginia.

ABOUT RHI

RHI is an award-winning multidisciplinary planning and design firm seeking an urban designer to join our team. We believe in fostering a creative, collaborative workplace and encouraging career development and growth.

For 40 years, RHI has been committed to fostering great places that are livable, equitable, and functional. We strongly believe in creating human-scaled built form, leveraging the power of multidisciplinary thinking to artfully transform spaces.

Our urban design practice spans a wide range of project types, including small area and corridor plans, land use and comprehensive plans, transit-oriented development plans aligned with multimodal transportation initiatives, site master plans, urban design guidelines, sustainability and resilience strategies, and public open space frameworks for communities of varying sizes, mostly within urban areas. Across all efforts, we focus on creating visionary yet practical urban design concepts and plans that catalyze meaningful placemaking, support economic development, and enhance overall quality of life.

In addition, our work focuses on creating forums and processes that allow for open and equitable opportunities for public input, for the exchange of ideas and strategies, and for the creation of plans that can substantially result in communities that are fair and just for all.

We primarily serve public and quasi-public clients, including cities, towns, counties, metropolitan planning organizations (MPO), transportation agencies, and business improvement districts (BID), while also partnering with private sector clients across the mid-Atlantic region, throughout the United States.

LOCATION

We are seeking an urban designer for our Alexandria VA office (510 King Street), located within the Washington DC metro area. Our staff is currently working in a hybrid manner (3 days in office), which may be subject to changes.

THE POSITION: URBAN DESIGNER

What you will do once you are here:

Develop urban design plans, site master plans, urban design guidelines, and related plans from sketch/concept level to final design.
Analyze existing conditions of an area/site including history, physical site characteristics, cultural significance, environmental considerations, etc. and use this information to evolve design idea.
Research urban design precedent examples – images of places and/or elements as well as specific ideas/themes.
Participate in internal and external planning and design workshops as an active member of multidisciplinary teams. We encourage urban designers to employ a wide range of drawing and illustration techniques, from hand sketching to advanced digital visualization. The ability to move seamlessly between tools and select the most effective medium for the task at hand is essential.
Prepare high-quality master plan documents including narratives and graphics (maps, illustrative plans, visualizations, graphs/charts, diagrams, infographics, etc.).
Create visually engaging and graphics-intensive presentations and other materials for public and client meetings.
Deliver oral presentations to public sector and private sector clients as well as a range of stakeholders and the public.
Work collaboratively with multidisciplinary consultant teams, both small and large.
Participate in proactive marketing initiatives and work with our Business Development Manager to create urban design proposals based on RFPs/RFQs.
Prepare for, participate in, help coordinate, and prepare materials for community engagement activities.
Engage with planning- and design-related professional organizations to support ongoing career growth and the exchange of knowledge that strengthens our projects and initiatives. We encourage active professional development, including participation in seminars, webinars, and conferences, as well as pursuing targeted opportunities to present and share thought leadership within the field.

What we are looking for:

Between 3 and 5 years of urban design and/or related design experience.
Completion of 4-5 years of an architectural or landscape architectural degree with 1-2 years of graduate-level emphasis on urban design/planning and related programs. Architectural degree may be substituted for urban design/planning related education and 3+ years of related experience in urban design practices.
Knowledge and experience in prevalent best practices of urban design and planning (such as sustainable site design/LEED/SITES, low impact development, etc.), as well as practical knowledge of land use and regulatory frameworks, design of the public realm and open space, and building design typologies.
Experience working at both larger master planning and site-specific design scales.
Experience developing public realm and building design programming.
Excellence in graphic presentation of design concepts through illustrative plans, elevations, sections, and 3D massing/renderings/visualizations.
Proactive team player who takes initiative and is interested in working in a multidisciplinary environment comprising urban design, planning, and landscape architecture; and who understands, and is able to collaborate with, other related disciplines and specializations as part of multidisciplinary teams.
Practical experience and proficiency with AutoCAD, Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop), ArcGIS Pro, 3D software including Sketchup and Rhino, and Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint). Experience with Rhino, 3D Studio Max, rendering plugins such as VRay, Lumion, Enscape or similar, and scenario planning tools is a plus.
Strong analytical and oral presentation skills.
Located in the Washington, DC, Metro area, or willing to relocate to the area.
Desired qualifications and/or experience:
- Experience in project management (lead/joint/deputy or similar in project management) is desirable.
- Experience with document/report writing is desirable.
- Graphic design skills–including the ability to prepare infographics and other educational materials, branding materials, public meeting notifications, and related experience–will be a plus.

Note: The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools is not discouraged; however, many of our projects carry contractual obligations requiring full transparency with clients and planning and design partners. We welcome thoughtful exploration and application of AI (as a supporting tool for planning and design processes) where it enhances our work, provided it is accompanied by appropriate oversight, clear disclosure, and rigorous quality control.

THE SELECTION PROCESS

We will be accepting applications on a rolling basis but will start reviewing the applications by April 1, 2026.
We will shortlist candidates based on our review of all applications received.
Notifications will be sent out to shortlisted candidates to set up interviews.
We will conduct up to two (2) virtual and/or in-person interviews of the shortlisted candidates.
The shortlisted candidates may be asked to complete a short exercise to demonstrate urban design skills. This step will be conducted as a follow-up to the interview.

We encourage people of color, women, those with disabilities, and LGBTQIA+ individuals to apply. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer, and all applications will be considered irrespective of race, color, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, nationality, age, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

BENEFITS AND SALARY

We offer competitive compensation and a comprehensive benefits package, which includes health insurance, paid time off and holidays, paid parental leave, a company profit sharing plan with an employer contribution, a 401k plan, and programs that support mentorship and ongoing professional development.

CONTACT

If you are interested in applying for this position, please send a cover letter (addressed to Sukirti Ghosh), resume and a portfolio of your representative project experience (file size should be less than 10MB) to: Sukirti Ghosh (sukirtig@rhiplaces.com).
If you need disability accommodation during the application process, please let us know. We look forward to receiving your application.