Project Architect I - Retail

As a Project Architect I, you will run the conventional architecture on projects of small to moderate size and complexity, working independently on the model, the drawings, and the specifications. You will handle design and planning analysis, occupancy studies, and design layouts, coordinate the technical design with engineers and outside consultants, and check reports, plans, estimates, and calculations against Performance Based Design before they move up for review.

This is the level where you stop working on pieces of somebody else's project and start owning your own. You will make technical calls yourself, work directly with consultants, and mentor the staff behind you, which is what the step to Project Architect II is built on. If you are still finishing AXP and the AREs, the firm supports the path to licensure. Progressive is employee owned, so the projects you deliver show up in your own ESOP stake.

In this role, you will:

1. Produce architectural models, contract documents, and technical specifications on assigned projects. Work in Revit and AutoCAD on projects of small to moderate complexity, with building codes, sustainability principles, and material standards built into the documents rather than checked against them at the end.
2. Run the design and planning analysis behind those documents. Perform analyses of design and planning options, occupancy studies, and design layouts, and compile the data that supports the reports and specifications you write.
3. Write project specifications that agree with the drawings. Coordinate the specs and the architectural drawings so the two sets say the same thing, and keep them in step as the design changes.
4. Coordinate the technical design across disciplines. Work with internal teams, engineers, and outside consultants to bring multiple disciplines into one coherent set, and manage document publishing and file transfers so everyone is building from the current documents.
5. Catch problems before the work goes up for senior review. Review project reports, submittals, drawings, estimates, and calculations for technical accuracy and completeness, self-check your own work against internal QA and QC standards, and tell senior staff about design inconsistencies or scope changes while there is still room to react.
6. Resolve field issues on site visits. Work through unforeseen field conditions, code compliance questions, and discrepancies in the construction documents on site, and get answers back to the contractor without stalling the work.
7. Become the person clients and consultants call directly on your projects. Keep project teams current on progress, design changes, and technical requirements, and build the working relationships with clients and consultants that carry into the next project.
8. Complete AXP and the Architectural Registration Exams and get licensed. If you are not licensed yet, finish the path with the firm behind you. NCARB registration, AIA membership, and LEED AP BD+C are supported the same way.
9. Mentor junior staff and pass along what your projects learn. Give technical guidance to less experienced staff as questions come up, and take part in Lessons Learned sessions so the next team does not solve the same problem twice.