Position Summary:
New Position – Effective July 1, 2026
Under the direction of the Director of Capital Programs, the Design Supervisor serves as the district’s lead authority for architectural and engineering design within the Capital Improvement Program, providing strategic leadership for the planning, design, permitting, and technical coordination of new schools, major modernizations, and systemic capital projects. The incumbent of this position is responsible for translating instructional program requirements, educational specifications, operational needs, code requirements, funding-agency requirements, and long-term facility goals into high quality, durable, maintainable, sustainable, accessible, and student-centered design solutions. The Design Supervisor establishes and advances design standards that support modern teaching and learning, diverse learners, safety, equity, operational performance, life-cycle value, constructability, and long-term stewardship of public assets. The incumbent of this position supervises assigned personnel; leads review of architectural and engineering deliverables; coordinates design-phase approvals and permitting; supports consultant selection and contract administration; provides technical guidance to stakeholders; and represents the department in technical, interagency, and public-facing settings as assigned.
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Serves as the district’s lead design authority for capital projects, establishing and enforcing design quality, technical standards, sustainability expectations, constructability principles, maintainability requirements, and operational performance criteria for school facilities;
- Directs and oversees the design phase of capital improvement projects, including new construction, modernizations, renovations, systemic replacements, and major facility upgrades, ensuring alignment with educational specifications, project scope, budget, schedule, stakeholder input, and applicable standards;
- Manages and reviews consultant performance, deliverables, schedules, quality, responsiveness, coordination, code compliance and adherence to district requirements;
- Reviews schematic designs, design development, construction documents, specifications, calculations, estimates, design narratives, value-engineering proposals, Requests for Information (RFI), substitutions, change-order requests, and related submittals to preserve design intent, educational functionality, safety, quality, and long-term operational value;
- Develops, maintains, updates and enforces districtwide design standards, technical criteria, prototype details, materials and finish standards, building-system standards, sustainability guidelines, and other design resources to promote consistency, durability, equity, accessibility, maintainability, and life-cycle value;
- Coordinates interdisciplinary design reviews and project handoffs with all stakeholders, authorities having jurisdiction, utilities and other partners;
- Supports procurement and contract development for design-related professional services, including scopes of work, technical requirements, Requests for Proposal/Quote (RFP/RFQ) documents, technical evaluation panels, fee negotiations, and contract recommendations in coordination with Procurement and departmental leadership;
- Represents Capital Programs in executive, Board, county, state, interagency, community and technical meetings; prepares analyses, briefings, recommendations, and presentations that clearly explain design concepts, technical requirements, regulatory issues, and recommended solutions;
- Conducts site visits, field reviews, post-occupancy evaluations, and lessons-learned activities to verify existing conditions, assess facility performance, resolve design or construction conflicts, and continuously improve standards, procedures, manuals, templates, and capital project delivery practices;
- Supervises, directs, assigns, reviews and evaluates the work of assigned personnel; and
- Performs other duties as assigned.
Qualifications:
- Thorough knowledge of professional architectural and engineering principles, practices, ethics, drawing interpretation, technical specifications, construction documents, design coordination, cost estimating, constructability review, bidding support, and construction administration;
- Knowledge of K–12 educational facility planning, educational specifications, modern learning environments, accessibility and universal design, special education and Career & Technical Education (CTE) program needs, building systems, school operations, and the relationship between instructional programming and facility design;
- Knowledge of applicable building codes, accessibility requirements, life-safety requirements, sustainability standards, high-performance building strategies, commissioning, energy efficiency, resilient design, life-cycle cost principles, maintainability, and long-term facility performance;
- Ability to lead, supervise, coach, develop and evaluate a multidisciplinary professional and technical team; establish expectations; assign and review work; resolve performance issues; and foster accountability, collaboration, technical rigor, innovation, and service excellence;
- Ability to manage complex design-phase issues involving scope, budget, schedule, code compliance, regulatory approvals, stakeholder interests, constructability, maintainability, sustainability, educational programming, and operational performance;
- Ability to review, analyze, and synthesize technical drawings, specifications, cost estimates, schedules, reports, inspection findings, regulatory comments, consultant deliverables, and project data and develop practical recommendations for action;
- Ability to communicate complex technical and design information clearly and persuasively; and
- Ability to facilitate meetings, lead design reviews, present in public forums, manage sensitive stakeholder concerns, exercise sound judgment under pressure, and maintain effective professional relationships in a fast-paced environment.
Education and/or Experience Requirements:
Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in architecture, architectural engineering, engineering, construction management, educational facility planning or a closely related field required; Master’s degree preferred. A minimum of seven (7) years of progressively responsible experience in architectural or engineering design, educational facility planning, public-sector capital project design, design management, construction administration, or a closely related field required, including supervisory, team leadership or consultant-management responsibilities; ten (10) or more years of progressively responsible experience preferred.
Certification:
Registered Architect or Professional Engineer licensed in the state of Maryland preferred, or licensed in another state with the ability to become licensed in Maryland by reciprocity.
LEED AP BD+C, Accredited Learning Environment Planner (ALEP), Certified Construction Manager (CCM), Project Management Professional (PMP), Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) certification, or comparable professional is preferred.
Supervisory Responsibilities:
Oversees and provides guidance and direction to assigned personnel.
Physical Demands:
The physical demands are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to stand, talk, hear, walk, sit, and use fingers, tools or controls. The employee is occasionally required to reach with hands and arms and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision such as to read handwritten or typed material, the ability to adjust focus, and depth perception. While performing the duties of this job, the employee may occasionally push or lift up to 25 lbs.
Working Environment:
The work environment characteristics are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of the job.
Additional Information:
Driver’s license is required inasmuch as there will be a need to travel to sites throughout the school district and region.
