Physical Design Director, Fabrication Administration

Local Projects, an innovative design firm, is seeking a Physical Design Director for Fabrication Administration leadership.

You will lead construction administration services and be responsible for overseeing the fabrication phase of projects, working closely with external vendors, client representatives, architects, general contractors, AV teams, and our internal teams.

You can work on 2-3 projects simultaneously as you advise on the design process and technical feasibility. You will be expected to demonstrate exceptional conceptual and technical expertise and play a key role in ensuring a project's successful execution, managing coordination efforts, quality control, and client communication.

You will mentor less experienced designers through all phases of projects you are working on and you will work cross-disciplinarily to make ideas real.

Must:

• Be eligible to work in the United States.
• Be able to work on-site in our NYC Studio (hybrid)
• Reside in the NY/TriState Area* or be willing to relocate
• Be able to travel nationally and internationally as projects require

Requirements

• Experience: A minimum of 10 years of experience managing large (20,000 SF or more), complex, fabrication projects with high levels of content delivery and visitor interaction on behalf of Design or Client teams for Permanent Museum Exhibitions, Themed Environments, or Specialty Fabrication.
• Understanding of Architectural Process: Fluency in reading and understanding architectural and fabrication shop drawings and ability to provide actionable feedback via markup and/or comments for architect or fabricator to maintain design and visitor experience intent. Ability to effectively utilize BlueBeam, Acrobat or similar ‘mark-up’ platforms or tools.
• Education: Bachelor's or Master's degree in architecture, exhibition design, or interior design or equivalent experience in fabrication.
• Project Delivery: Proven experience in successfully delivering complex projects on time and within budget, while providing exceptional client service. Proven systems for administration and tracking of fabrication and installation phases.
• Exceptional Communication Skills: Including a strong background in coordinating with architects, fabricators, engineers, general contractors, and lighting designers to ensure project alignment. Some basic familiarity with graphic and media production processes is a plus.
• Detail-oriented: Sharp attention to detail and a proactive problem-solving attitude.
• Software: Proficiency in MS Excel, Google Suite, and Keynote (a plus). Knowledge of software tools such as Procore, Revit Architecture, AutoCAD, Adobe Creative Suite, BlueBeam, SketchUp, and Microsoft Office is highly advantageous.

Responsibilities:

• Technical Skills: Management of multiple projects and multidisciplinary team members. Support PMs and Discipline Directors in scope and schedule alignment, with clients and consultants. Participate in all phases of design. Oversee and contribute drafting and annotation to standard CAD packages for client and consultant use. Facilitate coordination of consultants' deliverables and information therein. Oversee written specifications of Physical Design. Attend weekly calls with clients and consultants. Coordinate design with Architects and technical consultants (MEP, Lighting, AV). Assist in developing ROM implementation cost information.
• Management: Work in close collaboration with the Discipline Director to understand Physical Designer resourcing needs for projects. Assist/mentor PMs with Physical Design process management. Present LP’s capabilities to Industry Peers or potential clients when required.
• CA Phase Administration: Lead all aspects of the construction administration phase including meetings, reviews, submittals, schedule development, and preparation of supplementary information, mark-ups, and sketches on behalf of exhibit designers.
• Creative Design: Generates ideation sketches, participates in design workshops, internal and/or with client stakeholders, and collaborates with clients, team, and consultants to refine the overall visitor experience based on emerging options
• Plan, Schedule, and Coordinate Reviews with internal and external stakeholders. Communicate relevant information to the internal media and software production teams. Coordinate with the fabricator, the client, and relevant parties to ensure that the exhibit fabrication and implementation meet the project's sustainability goals.
• Respond to Requests For Information: Provide timely responses to fabricators to maintain project schedule and design intent.
• Lead and Oversee Mockup and Sample Reviews: Manage materials sample evaluations and records, ensuring they align with project specifications and design intent, for scenic design, millwork, exhibit furniture, casework, lighting, props, graphics, etc.
• Manage Shop Drawing Reviews
• Change Order Management
• Maintain Client and Design Team Communication
• Ensure Quality Control: Maintain rigorous quality control of contract documents and vendor implementations, guaranteeing accuracy, completeness and alignment with design intent, which will include shop visits and mockup reviews.
• Coordinate closely with the Graphic Production Manager
• Create Administrative Systems for CA phase: Help to develop systems of administration for CA phase management that can be applied across studio projects.
• Manage CA Punch List and Close-Out Project: The ability to effectively utilize Procore or similar construction management platforms is a plus.
• High-level AVI Coordination between external AV consultants and internal media and software teams.

Salary Range (commensurate with experience)

• 100K to 125K

Benefits

Local Projects offers to its Full-Time staff Health/Dental/Vision, FSA, 401k, access to short-term and Long Term Voluntary Disability Insurance and Life Insurance as well as a generous PTO package.

Local Projects is committed to a diverse and inclusive workforce. Our collaboration with each other and the experiences we create together greatly benefit from a range of perspectives, which can only come from diversity of all types, across all disciplines, at all levels of the studio. Achieving true diversity and inclusion is the right thing to do. It is also the smart thing for our business. So we strongly encourage women, veterans, people with disabilities, people of color, and gender nonconforming candidates to apply.

Local Projects is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of an individual's sex, age, race, color, creed, national origin, alienage, religion, marital status, pregnancy, sexual orientation or affectional preference, gender identity, and expression, disability, genetic trait or predisposition, carrier status, citizenship, veteran or military status and other personal characteristics protected by law. All applications will receive consideration for employment without regard to legally protected characteristics.