Now Hiring an Urban Designer

February 26, 2021

We strongly believe in creating human-scaled built form, leveraging the power of multidisciplinary thinking to artfully transform spaces. We are committed to making the ever-expanding urban realm more livable, beautiful, and functional. Our current urban design work encompasses a broad variety of projects, including small area plans, corridor plans, land use plans, transit-oriented development plans related to multimodal transportation projects, site master plans, urban design guidelines, public open space plans, and large and small community comprehensive plans. 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 work primarily with the public and quasi-public sectors (including cities, towns, counties, MPOs, transportation agencies, BIDs, etc.) as well as private sector clients throughout the mid-Atlantic region, nationally and internationally.

ABOUT THE URBAN DESIGN POSITION

What you will do once you are here:

  • Develop urban design plans, site master plans, urban design guidelines, and related plans (as mentioned above) from sketch/concept level to final design.
  • Analyze existing conditions of an area/site including history, physical site characteristics, cultural significance, environmental considerations, etc. towards evolution of design ideas.
  • Research urban design precedent examples – images of places and/or elements as well as specific ideas/themes.
  • Prepare high-quality master plan documents including narrative and graphics (maps, illustrative plans, visualizations, graphs/charts, 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.
  • Work with our Marketing Manager to create urban design proposals based on RFP/RFQs as well as participate in proactive marketing initiatives.

What we are looking for:

  • Between 3 and 5 years of urban design and/or related design experience.
  • Completion of 4-5 years of architectural degree with 1-2 years of graduate-level urban design/planning and related programs. Architectural degree can be substituted for urban design/planning related education and 3+ years of related experience in urban design/architecture firms.
  • Knowledge and experience in prevalent best practices of urban design and planning (such as sustainable site design/LEED, 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 the 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 and takes initiative and is looking to working a multidisciplinary environment of urban design, planning and landscape architecture; 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), Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), ArcGIS Pro, 3D software including Sketchup, Rhino. (Experience with 3D Studio Max, rendering plugins such as VRay, and scenario planning tools is a plus.)
  • Strong writing, analytical and oral presentation skills.
  • Graphic design skills–including ability to prepare infographics and other educational materials, branding materials, public meeting notifications, and related experience– will be a plus.

LOCATION

We are seeking an urban designer who is either located within the Washington DC region or may be interested in relocating to this region. Although our staff is currently working remotely, we hope that we can return to our Old Town Alexandria office as soon as we can safely do so.

THE SELECTION PROCESS

  • We will be accepting applications on a rolling basis but will start reviewing the applications starting March 15, 2021.
  • We will shortlist candidates based on our review of all received applications.
  • Notifications will be sent out to shortlisted candidates to set up interviews.
  • If required, we will conduct up to two (2) virtual 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, with the preferred candidate(s).

You will be a part of a dynamic office that is committed to investing in continued education, mentorship, and your professional development. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and all applications will be considered irrespective of race, color, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, nationality, age, and similar federally protected classifications. We provide competitive salaries and benefits commensurate with the experience and qualifications sought above.

If you are interested in applying for this position, please send a cover letter (addressed to Deana Rhodeside), resume and a portfolio of your representative project experiences (file size should be less than 10MB) to:

Deana Rhodeside | deanar(at)rhiplaces.com and Sukirti Ghosh | sukirtig(at)rhiplaces.com