Design Executive

Overview

Do you consider yourself to be a highly technical, strong communicator with the desire to work in a team environment on complex projects? Gilbane is seeking a Design Executive to leads multiple design and construction teams of all project size and types across a Business Unit to deliver coordinated, constructible, and cost-effective designs while driving consistency, risk mitigation, and adherence to advanced delivery model best practices. The Design Executive oversees project readiness, mentors Sr Design Managers, and ensures alignment of design strategy, scope, and execution across concurrent pursuits and projects. 

Who are we?  

As a Top-10 ENR Contractor, Gilbane is a family-owned business with 45 offices that has been shaping communities since 1870. Consistently recognized as one of the most reputable construction management firms in the country, Gilbane is committed to delivering projects safely and on-time. You will have the opportunity to build schools, labs, hospitals, corporate offices, sports arenas and more! 

We are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Who are you? 

You are a coach/leader who leads with an inclusive and empathetic mindset. You provide feedback and guidance to help others excel in their current or future roles. You determine priorities, delegate work, and effectively communicate progress. You establish measures to assess the impact, quality, and timeliness of results while praising successes and sharing lessons learned. You build high performing teams by attracting, engaging, developing, and retaining talented individuals through motivation and discipline to maximize impact on the organization and the individual.  

You leverage business insights by understanding industry trends, local market/economic conditions, and Gilbane’s business model to make critical decisions and create competitive advantage. You deploy a strategic mindset when considering solutions to long-term opportunities and risks that may develop in the future.  

Your core values match Gilbane’s: Integrity, Caring, Teamwork, Toughmindedness, Dedication to Excellence, Discipline, Loyalty, and Entrepreneurship. 

What’s in it for you?   

Gilbane offers employees multi-dimensional training opportunities through a number of resources. While managing your responsibilities to projects, you will be able to enroll in trainings through our award-winning Gilbane University to build leadership and technical skills. In addition, you would work with an experienced team which provides you with the opportunity to learn new industry skills every day. You will protect and promote the interests of both Gilbane and the client in all matters as well as demonstrating the personal characteristics of a developing leader. 

Responsibilities

• Leads and oversees multiple projects and design teams across a Business Unit, ensuring consistent execution of Design Management SOPs, tools, and best practices
• Supports resource planning and workload balancing across projects to maintain team effectiveness and recoverability
• Establishes design strategy alignment across pursuits and active projects, ensuring consistency in scope definition, risk posture, and delivery approach
• Maintains and leverages relationships with design partners to help strategically inform pursuits and select optimal partners
• Reviews and validates project design plans, including schedules, staffing plans, design fees, consultant strategies, and contract alignment
• Escalates any contract, liability or risk concerns to Legal/Risk and project leadership
• Partners with preconstruction and business unit leadership during pursuits, supporting design approach, staffing strategy, pricing reviews, and interview participation as required
• Acts as the business-unit escalation point for cross-discipline or cross-project design issues
• Partners with Operations, Preconstruction, and executive leadership to determine whether milestone packages are ready to proceed, need recovery, or require owner/partner escalation
• Clarifies ownership and resolves gaps among designers, trade partners, design-build/design-assist partners, project teams, and business-unit leadership
• Ensures scope gaps, budget disconnects, procurement blockers, and risk concerns have accountable owners and documented recovery actions
• Escalates professional liability, contract, or risk issues through Legal/Risk and business-unit leadership
• Champions a culture of Safety-During-Design; leverages lessons learned across all projects and pursuits within a Business Unit
• Ensures scalable processes, tools, and governance are in place to support consistent execution of construction phase design services kickoff, project control establishment, and design change management across all projects
• Ensures design QA/QC frameworks are consistently applied across projects and that lessons learned are captured and institutionalized
• Mentors and coaches Design Managers, providing technical guidance, leadership development, and performance feedback
• Responsible for the career development and coaching of team members
• Fosters a positive and inclusive work environment to motivate and engage team members
• Interprets and translates the organizational strategy, ensuring team understanding of their role in accomplishing strategic goals

Qualifications

EXPERIENCE/EDUCATION

• Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture, Engineering, Construction Management, or related field
• 12-15+ years of relevant experience leading multidisciplinary teams and design-management execution in alternative delivery models
• Oversight of multiple projects, pursuits, and/or teams for a specific business unit
• DBIA, LEED, RA, PE, AIA, NCIDQ, or related credentials may be preferred based on project/client requirements
• Or equivalent combination of education and experience

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITIES

• Demonstrated ability to lead and influence multiple project teams simultaneously without direct day-to-day control
• Advanced understanding of alternative delivery models, including DB, IPD, P3, and EPC from pursuit through execution
• Strong portfolio-level risk identification and mitigation capabilities
• Proficiency in staffing strategy, fee management, and recoverability awareness
• Ability to coach and develop Design Managers into consistent, high-performing leaders
• Strategic communicator capable of translating enterprise objectives into project-level execution expectations
• Drives continuous improvement, standardization, and knowledge sharing across teams

Salary to be determined based on factors such as geographic location, skills, education, and/or experience of the applicant, as well as the internal equity and alignment with the team.

For (Arlington, VA) this ranges from $165,000-$212,000 plus benefits and retirement program.

Gilbane offers an excellent total compensation package which includes competitive health and welfare benefits and a generous profit-sharing/401k plan. We invest in our employees’ education and have built Gilbane University into a top training organization in the construction industry. Qualified applicants who are offered a position must pass a pre-employment substance abuse test.

Gilbane is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, color, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, protected veteran status, or disability status. Click here to view the physical demands and working conditions required to perform this role. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential job functions.

Note to Recruiters, Placement Agencies, and Similar Organizations: Gilbane does not accept unsolicited resumes from agencies. Please do not forward unsolicited agency resumes to our jobs alias, website, or to any Gilbane employee. Gilbane will not pay fees to any third party agency or firm and will not be responsible for any agency fees associated with unsolicited resumes. Unsolicited resumes received will be considered property of Gilbane and will be processed accordingly.