Job Title:

Design & Engineering Manager Reports To:

Chief Operating Officer Department:

D08 -

Design FLSA Status:

Full-time, Regular, Exempt (Salary)

Position Summary:

The Design & Engineering Manager provides leadership, direction, and operational oversight for SC Swiderski's integrated Design & Engineering function, including architectural design and drafting, structural engineering, civil/site engineering, design project management, and pre-construction coordination. Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer , this position is responsible for building a coordinated, accountable, and high-performing team that converts development opportunities into well-defined, constructible, financially sustainable projects that can move efficiently into construction . This role connects design and engineering leadership with pre-construction planning and project execution. The Design & Engineering Manager establishes priorities, develops team capability, coordinates internal and external technical resources, strengthens standards and quality systems, and leads early collaboration among Development, Construction, Estimating, Procurement, Project Management, and other stakeholders.

Job Duties & Responsibilities:

Design Team Leadership & People Development:

(30%) Provide day-to-day leadership, direction, coaching, and accountability for the Design & Engineering Team, including architectural design and drafting, structural engineering, civil/site engineering, and design project management functions. Establish clear expectations, priorities, roles, decision rights, and performance standards that support SCS project and organizational goals. Hire, onboard, train, mentor, develop, and retain capable design, engineering, and project-delivery professionals as organizational needs evolve. Conduct regular one-on-one meetings, performance discussions, development planning, and timely coaching; partner with Human Resources on performance management and employee relations matters as appropriate. Build bench strength and succession capability by identifying development opportunities, encouraging cross-training, and expanding technical, pre-construction, project-management, and leadership capacity across the team. Promote a practical, respectful, and collaborative culture built on personal accountability, sound judgment, continuous improvement, and service to internal customers.

Technical & Design Leadership:

(25%) Provide multidisciplinary leadership across architectural design, structural engineering, civil/site engineering, drafting, BIM, building systems coordination, code compliance, constructability, and technical documentation. Ensure appropriately licensed professionals maintain responsibility for work requiring professional architectural or engineering judgment, signature, seal, or supervision; the Manager is not required to personally serve as Architect or Engineer of Record. Establish and maintain design and engineering standards, standard details, templates, BIM/Revit practices, quality-control procedures, document-control expectations, and technical review processes. Oversee milestone and peer reviews to confirm project documents are coordinated, complete, accurate, code-compliant, constructible, financially sound, and aligned with SCS standards. Serve as an escalation and coordination resource for complex design, engineering, code, constructability, consultant, field, permitting, and interdisciplinary issues; engage the appropriate licensed professional when discipline-specific authority is required. Maintain awareness of building codes, engineering standards, accessibility requirements, construction methods, design technology, and industry practices that may affect SCS projects.

Project Delivery, Planning & Resource Management:

(25%) Lead the Design & Engineering Team's contribution to pre-construction, translating the development pipeline and executive priorities into coordinated feasibility, design, engineering, estimating, permitting, and construction-readiness plans. Establish and manage pre-construction design milestones, decision gates, deliverables, schedules, and accountability from early feasibility and concept development through permit-ready and construction-ready documents. Partner closely with Development, Construction, Estimating, Procurement, and Project Management to evaluate site and building concepts for constructability, cost, schedule, risk, material availability, sequencing, and operational practicality before construction commitments are made. Coordinate architectural, structural, civil, MEP, fire protection, specialty consultant, estimating, and construction input early enough to resolve interdisciplinary conflicts and reduce downstream redesign, rework, change orders, and schedule impacts. Support feasibility studies, conceptual budgeting, scope definition, value engineering, design-to-budget decisions, procurement strategy, permitting strategy, and project turnover to Construction with timely technical information. Oversee Design & Engineering schedules, milestone commitments, resource allocation, consultant coordination, and competing priorities across the project portfolio. Monitor project performance and identify scope, schedule, cost, quality, permitting, constructability, and resource risks early; establish corrective actions and elevate material concerns promptly. Evaluate consultant scopes, proposals, deliverables, performance, and change requests; recommend when outside expertise or additional capacity is needed. Establish effective pre-construction handoff standards so Construction receives coordinated documents, defined scope, resolved assumptions, and clear ownership of remaining decisions.

Cross-Functional Leadership & Continuous Improvement:

(20%) Serve as the primary Design & Engineering leadership partner to the Chief Operating Officer and to Development, Construction, Estimating, Project Management, Procurement, Property Management, and other internal stakeholders. Facilitate early cross-functional project planning and effective handoffs; establish clear decision rights, communication expectations, issue-escalation paths, and accountability across the pre-construction process. Use project lessons learned, recurring field issues, estimate variances, quality findings, rework, and performance data to identify root causes and improve systems, standards, designs, and workflows. Develop and monitor practical performance measures related to design-cycle time, milestone reliability, construction readiness, quality, rework, responsiveness, consultant performance, budget alignment, and project outcomes. Evaluate and recommend design technology, workflows, building systems, materials, construction methods, standardization opportunities, and other improvements that increase quality, efficiency, constructability, or lifecycle value. Represent Design & Engineering in leadership, project, consultant, municipal, and other meetings as appropriate, communicating recommendations, tradeoffs, risks, and decisions clearly and professionally. Develop the management systems, cross-functional relationships, financial awareness, and strategic perspective necessary to support the continued growth of Design & Engineering and the role's future progression toward Director-level responsibility

Qualifications:

Education & Experience:

Bachelor's degree in engineering, architecture, construction management, architectural design, building science, or a closely related discipline required; advanced degree is a plus. 10+ years of progressively responsible experience in design, engineering, pre-construction, construction, or technical project delivery, with substantial experience supporting residential or multifamily development and construction. 5+ years of demonstrated people-leadership experience, including responsibility for hiring, coaching, performance management, staff development, workload planning, and team accountability. Demonstrated success leading or coordinating multidisciplinary teams involving architectural, structural, civil, MEP, specialty consultants, estimating, procurement, project management, and construction stakeholders. Demonstrated experience with pre-construction planning, constructability review, design-to-budget, value engineering, scope development, estimating support, permitting, consultant management, and transition from design into construction. Strong experience with multifamily residential design and construction; wood-frame and podium construction experience is strongly preferred. Experience establishing or improving design standards, quality-control systems, BIM/documentation practices, project-delivery processes, and cross-functional workflows. Professional Engineer (PE), Architect licensure, or another relevant professional credential is required. Licensed professionals retain responsibility for regulated professional work within their disciplines. Valid driver's license required.

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities:

Broad working knowledge of architectural design, structural and civil engineering coordination, building systems, construction documentation, constructability, codes, accessibility, permitting, estimating, and construction-phase support. Strong understanding of pre-construction and design management in a developer-led, design-build, or vertically integrated real estate and construction environment. Ability to connect design decisions to project economics, construction means and methods, procurement, schedule, risk, quality, and long-term operational performance. Demonstrated ability to lead technical professionals while respecting professional licensure, discipline-specific authority, and appropriate delegation of technical decisions. Strong leadership, coaching, facilitation, conflict-resolution, decision-making, change management, and performance-management skills. Strong project and portfolio management skills, including prioritization, resource planning, risk management, consultant management, milestone management, and coordination of multiple concurrent projects. Advanced problem-solving and root-cause-analysis skills with a systems-oriented approach to improving processes and preventing recurring issues. Strong business and financial acumen sufficient to participate effectively in feasibility, conceptual budgeting, value engineering, design-to-budget, and project tradeoff decisions. Strong written, verbal, and visual communication skills, including the ability to explain complex technical matters, alternatives, risks, and recommendations to nontechnical stakeholders and executive leadership. Working knowledge of Autodesk Revit/BIM and AutoCAD-based design environments; familiarity with Civil 3D, estimating, project-management, document-control, and collaboration tools is beneficial. Demonstrated integrity, accountability, sound judgment, and commitment to developing people, strengthening cross-functional relationships, and continuously improving how SCS delivers projects

Work Schedule:

The Design & Engineering Manager at SCS generally works 40-45 hours per week, Monday through Friday, with occasional early morning, evening, or other hours outside the regular schedule as project, municipal meeting, or business needs require. Occasional in-state travel to properties, development sites, construction sites, consultant meetings, and company events is required.

Physical Requirements:

Ability to sit at a computer workstation for extended periods of time. Ability to move safely on active construction sites, undeveloped land, stairs, and uneven terrain. Ability to lift or carry up to 30 pounds as business needs require.

Work Environment:

The work of a Design & Engineering Manager is performed primarily in a professional office setting with regular collaboration across Development, Design, Construction, Project Management, Property Management, consultants, municipalities, and company leadership. The role also requires periodic work at undeveloped land, properties, and active construction sites where noise, dust, uneven surfaces, weather conditions, and other typical construction-site conditions may be present.

Other Duties:

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Benefits:

A competitive pay package, and an excellent benefits package: health, dental, life, disability, 401(k), and paid time off (holidays & vacation) await this highly motivated individual. S.C. Swiderski (SCS), founded in Mosinee, Wisconsin in 1992, is a fully integrated real estate development company. We create places people are proud to call home in a sustainable & financially responsible way, developing, building, managing, and maintaining exceptional properties while investing in our people, improving the lives of our customers, and strengthening the communities we serve. SCS values trust, integrity, community, and performance in its people and processes, and rewards people accordingly.