National Mission Critical Design Leader

DLR Group is an integrated design firm with a promise to elevate the human experience through design. This fuels the work we do around the world and inspires our mission to improve the lives of our clients, our communities, and our planet. If this sparks your interest, you’re in the right place.

DLR Group is seeking a Mission Critical Design Leader to help shape the future of resilient, high-performance environments that power the world’s most data-driven industries. This role is an opportunity to influence design culture, elevate technical excellence, and advance the firm’s mission to deliver integrated, human-centered, and operationally critical facilities. Our firm operates under a hybrid work model, supporting flexibility between in-office and work-from-home time. Live somewhere other than the listed locations? DLR Group has a network of 30+ studios across the United States. For this role, we encourage exceptional applicants nationwide.

Position Summary

As a Mission Critical Design Leader at DLR Group, you will be responsible for managing all aspects of project document development and coordinating with all project team members to maintain the quality of the work product within the established project schedule for large, complex mission-critical facilities, including hyperscale data centers, emergency operations centers, industrial environments, and advanced manufacturing projects.

As part of our integrated design team, you will help create buildings that elevate the human experience through design. You will partner directly with Market Sector leadership to ensure the project's financial health, the quality of design and documentation, risk mitigation, team collaboration, and seamless communication. Additionally, you will lead cross-functional design disciplines in developing innovative, technically rigorous solutions.

The successful candidate will:

Lead & Inspire Design Excellence

• Champion design quality and innovation across mission-critical project types, setting vision from concept through completion

• Elevate human-centered, resilient, and high-performance design principles tailored to secure and technology-driven environments

• Engage in internal and external thought leadership to advance design excellence in the mission-critical market

Mentor & Grow Design Talent

• Inspire and mentor multidisciplinary design teams, fostering curiosity, creativity, accountability, and technical confidence

• Support and develop emerging design leaders across studios and regions

• Model collaboration and knowledge-sharing to strengthen practice-wide design culture

Advance Technical Execution

• Lead integrated design teams to deliver coordinated, high-performance solutions

• Balance design excellence with mission-critical performance requirements, including redundancy, resiliency, security, and uptime

• Drive quality assurance, documentation excellence, and adherence to DLR Group standards

Engage Clients & Build Trusted Partnerships

• Cultivate strong relationships with sophisticated clients and technical stakeholders

• Translate complex operational, security, and reliability expectations into thoughtful, scalable solutions

• Confidently communicate design strategy, vision, and technical rationale in both client-facing and internal settings

Collaborate Strategically

• Partner with Market Sector leadership to support practice growth, innovation, and strategic pursuits

• Work closely with Project Managers to align design intent with scope, schedule, and performance goals

• Strengthen and reinforce DLR Group’s integrated design culture through shared accountability and transparent communication

Required Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience as a Project Architect or Project Engineer working on Data Center, Industrial, Warehouse Distribution, and Office projects, with 5+ years working on 10+ MW Data Center buildings.

• Bachelor’s degree in architecture, engineering, or a related field

• Proficient in the use of REVIT and CAD computer modeling and rendering software.

• The ability to travel occasionally to support project tasks.

• Licensed Architect or Engineer

• Must be eligible to work in the United States without needing a work visa or residency sponsorship.

*TO BE CONSIDERED, PLEASE SUBMIT CURRENT PORTFOLIO/WORK SAMPLES IN PDF FORMAT*

DLR Group is an integrated design firm delivering architecture, engineering, interiors, planning, and building optimization for new builds, renovations, and adaptive reuse projects.

We are 100% employee-owned: every employee is literally invested in our clients’ success. At the core of our firm are interdisciplinary teams engaged in every step of project lifecycles. Our teams champion true collaboration, open information sharing, shared risk and reward, value-based decision making, and proficient use of technology to deliver exceptional design. We are pursuing the goals of the 2030 Challenge, the ME2040, and the SE2050, and are an initial signatory of the China Accord and the AIA 2030 Commitment.

Through our values – commitment, creativity, environmental stewardship, fun, integrity, ownership, sharing, teamwork – we elevate the human experience through design, together.DLR Group follows a four-day in-office work model, with employees having the flexibility to work somewhere other than the office on Fridays.

We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action/M/F/Veteran/Disabled employer.