Practice Leader

Job Description
Practice Leader (Science, Industrial & Technology) - Relocation Available

Locations available:

Charlotte, NC
Detroit, MI
Grand Rapids, MI

If you're looking for an opportunity to grow, to be challenged, to work hard and to be part of a growing team, then we may be the place for you. We work hard to surround ourselves with professionals who are more than just good at their job. We want engineers, architects, designers and support staff who have a desire to help shape our company. We need colleagues who will help us grow by thinking outside their job description. The work we do here is challenging, and sometimes the hours are long. But we're committed to serving our clients and providing the best solutions possible.
  We are a full-service, forward-thinking design firm. With offices in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Charlotte, North Carolina, we work on projects around the country that offer a variety and challenge you won't find at many other firms. And we don't relegate creativity just to "creatives"—we encourage original thinking in every part of the organization–from support staff to engineering. 
  Since we're an employee-owned company, you'll be able to see the benefits of your hard work. And in return, we'll invest in you. This includes an in-depth wellness program with fitness classes and health coaching, flexible schedules, continuing education, mentorship, volunteer opportunities and internal leadership positions. In fact, we've been named one of the Best & Brightest Places to Work for since 2006, named Business Leader of the Year, received the Community and Educational Partnership Awards, and are the proud winners of the Governor's Fitness Award.
We are always looking for talented individuals to advance the strategic goals of our firm. If you are a big picture thinker with unique technical skills, we'd like to consider your application.

Make an Impact 

We are continuing to expand our industrial practice, with a focus on complex projects such as automotive, cleanrooms, defense, food and beverage, laboratories, packaging, pharmaceutical, and other scientific environments. As a people-oriented leader, you will utilize your advanced understanding of the industrial field to further develop advancements within the market sector.

This position provides growth in your career through leadership in business development, sales, project oversight, client relations, financial management, and staff development. You will create and drive strategy to expand opportunities in the market; this includes executing highly effective and extensive efforts to develop relationships with existing and new clients that will lead to new business. 

Deliver Results 

• Identify new business opportunities and develop new client relationships, along with maintaining established relationships.
• Work with our Marketing Team to establish yourself as a thought leader and subject matter expert in your practice area. Promote expertise through national speaking engagements and publications in market environments.
• Collaborate with the Business Development Team to determine projects to pursue and to ensure timely response to proposal requests.
• Collaborate with Teams Leaders regarding the profitability of projects. Ensure that you engage with key stakeholders to maintain the client experience and quality of the work.
• Provide senior client leadership and project oversight as appropriate, including:
  • Understand the client's business drivers, capital planning process, and key performance measures as evidenced by the proven ability to be a strong internal client advocate and strategic business partner.
  • Build value by expanding clients' perspectives to unseen risks, missed opportunities, and alternative creative ideas and concepts.
  • Advanced consultative skills and consistently enhance credibility with clients by being an insightful problem-solver and a key resource for achieving client business objectives.

Required Qualifications 

• Bachelor's Degree in Architecture or Engineering
• Registered Architect or Engineer holding a license, registration, or certification in your area of expertise
• A minimum of 10 years of experience in areas of design or planning, with a strong background in industrial projects.
• You should also have demonstrated the following throughout your career:
  • A proven record of business development, including identifying leads, building a network, establishing national client relationships, developing strategies, and winning work.
  • Experience with national speaking engagements, blogs, white papers, and publications efforts.
  • Comfort interacting at the highest executive levels within organizations.
  • A broad portfolio of completed projects, which are relevant to the strategic goals and objectives of the industrial practice.
  • Leadership in your practice, demonstrated on the basis client references, project portfolio, industrial knowledge, and your competencies.

Preferred Qualifications 

• MBA, Masters Degree, or other advanced education.
• LEAN, CGMP, or Six Sigma certification.

People Matter
Each individual's background, knowledge, ability, and experience contributes to strengthening our organization and projects. Our dedication to diversity includes company provided training and education, equitable recruitment, a grassroots employee DEI committee, and robust community partnerships.

We are comprised of people with a variety of abilities, races, colors, religions, genders, sexual orientations, national origins, ages, veteran statuses, and more. As an equal opportunity employer, we believe diversity, equity, and inclusion are essential elements of innovative design. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions.
 
Transforming Spaces. Empowering People. 

The talented professionals of our company are designers of a bold new future, creating high-performance structures and pathways, delivering on today's needs and preparing for what's to come. We live by the idea that design isn't simply about beauty, it's about improving strategic outcomes—what we call Performance Based Design. Our work spans across the nation, allowing team members to work on a variety of exciting projects and maximize impact as trusted partners to our clients and communities. 
 
Sustainable and Inclusive 

We are dedicated to human-centered, sustainable, and inclusive design practices. We believe diversity, equity, and inclusion are essential to building trust, respect, and truly innovative design making spaces welcoming and accessible to all. Our sustainability approach embraces the AIA 2030 Commitment, together with a range of high performance, restorative, and regenerative strategies with a focus on climate responsive results to maximize positive impact in our industry.
 
Employee Owned 

We act like owners—because we are. From modest beginnings of four original engineering partners in 1962, to almost 300 architects, engineers, designers, and consultants across multiple regional offices today, the energy, resourcefulness, and entrepreneurial mindset you expect from a CEO come standard with every team member. 
 
Culture of Excellence 

The firm is continually ranked as one of the Best and Brightest Companies to Work For in the Nation, with comprehensive benefits including an award-winning wellness program, hybrid work schedule, summer hours, profit-sharing, and employee stock ownership plan (ESOP). We take our work seriously, but have fun along the way, which fuels the creative spirit and supports a focus on work and life integration. 

We are committed to development and growth of team members through continuing education, mentorship, growth opportunities, and more. We are dedicated to giving back to our communities, with paid service-learning hours available to every employee and corporate sponsorship for a wide range of community organizations and activities. 

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