Landscape Designer Skyline Exteriors is hiring a Landscape Designer to create high-quality outdoor environments for residential, commercial, HOA, and municipal clients throughout Chicago's North Shore and northwest suburbs. This role combines design ability, client understanding, material knowledge, estimating discipline, and clear handoff execution. You will help turn client goals, site conditions, budgets, and property aesthetics into buildable landscape and outdoor-living designs that the sales, estimating, and field teams can execute profitably. The right person is not only creative. They are organized, technically capable, responsive, and able to make design decisions that protect the client experience, project margin, schedule, and installation quality. Compensation

• $65,000-$80,000 annual salary, based on experience, portfolio, technical ability, and scope of responsibility.
• Full-time position.
• Potential for increased responsibility as Skyline's design and outdoor-living division grows. What you will do
• Develop landscape and outdoor-living designs for residential and commercial properties.
• Create planting plans, hardscape layouts, outdoor-living concepts, site plans, and presentation-ready designs.
• Design patios, walkways, driveways, retaining walls, fire pits, fireplaces, pergolas, outdoor kitchens, decks, planting areas, lighting layouts, and related exterior improvements.
• Translate client goals, aesthetic preferences, site constraints, access conditions, and budget requirements into clear design concepts.
• Conduct or support site visits, measurements, photo documentation, and existing-condition reviews.
• Work with Design Consultants, estimators, sales, account management, procurement, and field operations to create buildable scopes of work.
• Select appropriate materials, plants, pavers, wall systems, edging, lighting, structures, and finish details.
• Incorporate site drainage, grading, access, excavation, haul distance, utilities, existing conditions, and installation constraints into the design.
• Prepare plans, elevations, details, material schedules, planting schedules, and client presentation materials as required by project scope.
• Build designs that can be estimated accurately and transferred into JobTread or Skyline's estimating workflow.
• Coordinate with the estimating team to confirm quantities, material takeoffs, labor implications, production constraints, and project assumptions.
• Revise designs based on client feedback while protecting scope, budget, timeline, and margin.
• Present design options in a clear Good / Better / Best structure when appropriate.
• Support proposal presentations and explain design intent, material selections, functionality, maintenance implications, and investment level.
• Prepare complete design handoffs for production, including dimensions, materials, notes, selections, assumptions, and unresolved questions.
• Maintain organized project files, version control, client notes, and final approved plans.
• Participate in design reviews and correct errors before proposals or construction documents are released.
• Stay current on paver systems, wall products, plant material, outdoor structures, lighting, drainage, and landscape construction methods. Design specialties The role may include design work for:
• Paver patios and walkways
• Driveways and parking-area improvements
• Retaining walls and seat walls
• Steps, landings, and transitions
• Fire pits and fireplaces
• Pergolas and shade structures
• Outdoor kitchens and entertaining areas
• Decks and deck expansions
• Pool decks and swim-spa areas
• Landscape lighting
• Planting and garden design
• Trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals, and ornamental plantings
• Drainage, grading, and site-access solutions
• Commercial, HOA, and municipal landscape improvements Required qualifications
• Demonstrated experience creating landscape or outdoor-living designs.
• Portfolio showing completed landscape, hardscape, planting, architectural, or related exterior designs.
• Ability to interpret measurements, site photos, property layouts, and existing conditions.
• Ability to create accurate, organized, and buildable designs.
• Strong understanding of proportion, scale, circulation, materials, color, texture, planting composition, and outdoor functionality.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to manage multiple projects, deadlines, revisions, and priorities.
• Ability to collaborate with sales, estimating, procurement, and field operations.
• Strong attention to detail and willingness to own corrections before handoff.
• Ability to travel locally to client properties and project sites as needed.
• Reliable transportation for site visits if the role requires field travel. Preferred qualifications
• Degree, certificate, or formal training in landscape architecture, landscape design, horticulture, architecture, drafting, construction, or related discipline.
• Experience with CAD, SketchUp, AutoCAD, Vectorworks, Land F/X, Realtime Landscape Architect, Structure Studios, Pro Landscape, or similar design software.
• Experience with JobTread, LMN, Airtable, CRM systems, estimating software, or construction project-management tools.
• Experience producing planting plans, hardscape details, material takeoffs, and construction-ready documents.
• Knowledge of Unilock, Lurvey's, Belgard, Techo-Bloc, natural stone, porcelain, retaining-wall systems, lighting, and plant material.
• Experience with residential design-build or high-end outdoor-living projects.
• Experience presenting designs directly to homeowners, property managers, HOAs, or commercial stakeholders.
• Understanding of Chicago-area site conditions, freeze-thaw conditions, drainage, excavation, and permitting considerations. What success looks like
• Designs are attractive, accurate, buildable, and aligned with the client's goals.
• Estimates can be produced from the design without repeated clarification or missing quantities.
• Material selections and dimensions are documented clearly.
• Design revisions are controlled and delivered on schedule.
• Field teams can understand and execute the approved design.
• Designs protect project margin by accounting for access, labor complexity, excavation, haul distance, materials, waste, and installation constraints.
• Client presentations create confidence and move qualified opportunities toward approval.
• Errors are caught before they reach the client, estimator, procurement team, or field crew. Performance standards Initial standards for the role include:
• Design deliverables completed by the promised deadline: 100% unless an approved blocker exists.
• First-pass internal design approval: 90% or better after baseline period.
• Complete design-to-estimate handoff: 100% of required fields and attachments.
• Missing or incorrect material information: 0 preventable errors.
• Revision tracking and version control: 100%.
• Client presentation materials delivered before the scheduled presentation: 100%.
• Response to internal design questions: within one business day unless otherwise assigned.

Work environment This is a collaborative design-build role involving office work, computer-based design, client communication, supplier research, site visits, and coordination with field teams. Some projects require outdoor site observation in changing weather conditions and travel throughout the Chicago North Shore and northwest suburbs. Why Skyline Exteriors

• Work on high-end landscape design-build and outdoor-living projects.
• Participate in the full process from client vision through construction handoff.
• Join a growing company building stronger systems across design, estimating, sales, procurement, and field operations.
• Opportunity to influence the design standards, templates, libraries, and estimating systems of a scaling business.
• Work with a team focused on professional communication, reliable execution, and a high-quality client experience.
• Opportunity to grow into senior designer, design manager, outdoor-living design lead, or creative operations leadership.

How to apply Apply through Indeed and submit a portfolio or work samples.

Pay:

$65,000.00 - $80,000.00 per year

Benefits:

401(k)

Work Location:

In person