National Design Director - Sports Performance

What We're Looking For

At HNTB, you can create a career that is meaningful to you while building communities that matter to all of us. For more than a century, we have been delivering solutions for some of the largest, most complex infrastructure projects across the country. With our historic growth, it is an exciting time to join our team of employee-owners.

This opportunity entails being responsible for achieving the firm’s design goals by providing leadership, creativity, and mentorship throughout the practice. This role establishes foundational design goals and values serving select market sectors or specialized discipline in support of firmwide philosophy, values, ad principles governed by the Chief Design Officer and other practice-wide leadership. This role serves as a primary source of leadership and accountability for the consistency, quality, and innovation within the role’s market and/or discipline focus. Design Directors also foster a positive creative culture across all studios and with clients to ensure the delivery of high-quality design work across the organization.

• Define the vision and quality standards for innovative sports performance and training facilities.
• Advocate for athlete-centered design solutions that enhance performance, recovery, and well-being.
• Integrate cutting-edge sports science and technology into facility designs.
• Collaborate with coaches and performance experts to align design with athletic needs.
• Shape multipurpose training environments that balance functionality and aesthetics.
• Promote sustainable and health-focused design elements in training facilities.
• Guide the creation of spaces such as weight rooms, locker rooms, and recovery areas.
• Develop strategies for adaptable and future-ready training environments.
• Lead thought leadership in trends such as data-driven training and recovery-focused spaces.
• Represent the firm’s expertise in sports performance design through industry engagement.
• Ensure designs reflect team identity and foster pride among athletes and staff.
• Emphasize the role of research and innovation in creating next-generation facilities.
• Shape holistic environments that enhance athlete, staff, and community experiences.

What You’ll Do:

• Works in conjunction with each Office Design Leader to coordinate and produce a consistently high quality design product achieving HNTB's 4 for 4 standards (Consistent delivery of quality work, on time, on budget and to the client's satisfaction on every project).
• Instills a design culture of excellence by conducting regular project design reviews within all offices to ensure project design performance.
• Leads the development and implementation of the activities of the National Design Committee.
• Provides HNTB an active link to academia through studio and advisory council participation.
• Represents HNTB at the national level within professional and design societies.
• Works closely with Officers by representing design with strategic planning framework.
• Assists Office Leaders in the hiring, supervision, development and evaluation of the design staff throughout the organization.
• Actively participates in the development and presentation of pursuit strategies across all market sectors within the firm.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

What You’ll Need:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture, Engineering, or Planning as appropriate to the specific core practice and 15 years of experience in progressively responsible positions, ideally with a large, multi-discipline firm
• 10 years’ experience in design of complex projects

1.      Support and maintain foundational design philosophy, values, and principles applicable across all markets, ensuring alignment with the firm’s goals and strategies.

2.      Coordinate with the Chief Design Officer and Office Design Leaders to deliver a consistently high-quality design product, achieving the firm’s "4 for 4" standards (quality, on time, on budget, and client satisfaction).

3.      Facilitate regular design reviews to ensure project performance and encourage a positive creative culture within the roles market focus. 

4.      Participate in the National Design Council to develop and implement firm-wide design strategies and initiatives.

5.      Maintain strong relationships with academia, industry partners, and professional organizations to foster thought leadership and design research.

6.      Oversee the implementation of investment strategies in design research, technology, sustainability, and marketing to differentiate client services within the market or discipline focus area.

7.      Represent the fir