Design Technology Manager, Seattle

Design Technology Manager

New Yesterday

Olson Kundig is a design practice founded on the ideas that buildings can serve as abridge between nature, culture and people, and that inspiring surroundings have a positive effect on people's lives. The firm's work can be found across the globe, with projects as wide-ranging as huts to high rises, homes-often for art collectors-to academic, cultural and civic projects, museums and exhibition design, places of worship, creative production, urban design, and interior design.

Currently, we are seeking a Design Technology Manager who can help contribute to the overall excellence of work coming from Olson Kundig.

Position Summary
The Design Technology Manager is a strategic leader responsible for developing the systems, culture, and talent that power digital delivery across the firm. This role operates at the intersection of mentorship, standards development, and cross-functional coordination, helping to ensure that the Design Technology team is equipped, aligned, and empowered to meet evolving project demands. This role also plays an active role in complex and high-risk projects, modeling high-impact engagement while supporting DT team members through mentorship and example.

Primary Responsibilities:

Team Leadership & Development

Provide guidance, feedback, and structure for a team of DT Leads, Strategist, and Specialists - supporting skill growth and clarity of ownership.
Foster a team culture centered on consistency, curiosity, and accountability.
Mentor DT Leads throughout digital design & delivery - modeling effective project engagement and using live project challenges as coaching opportunities.
Help team members navigate ambiguity, clarify scope boundaries, and frame solutions constructively.
Partner with the Director of Technology on team resourcing and capability planning to ensure alignment between DT capacity, project engagements, and firm priorities.

Project & Practice Enablement

Coordinate with Project Managers and Senior Leadership to ensure Design Technology engagement is intentional, timely, and appropriately scoped.
Engage with complex or high-risk projects to clarify DT strategy, reinforce role clarity, and model scalable delivery approaches.
Identify under scope DT asks, delivery risk, or conflicting project expectations - raise strategic flags and drive resolution through early communication and acutely clear expectations.
Support the evolution of BIM Execution Plans and project delivery strategy by connecting project-level insights to firmwide delivery needs.
Maintain trust and balance in team dynamics when engaging with projects - clearly communicating intent, supporting team learning, and reinforcing boundaries to protect capacity and role clarity.

Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration

Partner with Visualization, Interiors, Building Performance, and Project Delivery teams to align tools, processes, and support across departments.
Liaise with the IT Manager and the Director of Technology to ensure system-level decisions reflect the realities of digital design and delivery including team capability.
Participate in firmwide working groups or planning efforts to represent DT priorities and foster interdisciplinary alignment.

Standards & Systems Oversight

Lead the development and refinement of firmwide DT workflows, standards, templates, and training,
Translate recurring project needs into scalable systems that improve clarity, reduce rework, elevate skills, and support consistent delivery.
Ensure documentation is current, practical, and aligned with how teams work in real projects.
Advocate for continuous improvement by identifying outdated standards, surfacing friction points, and prioritizing changes that deliver impact.

Department Strategy & Execution

Contribute to long-term planning for training, documentation strategy, and technology platform adoption.
Lead software evaluation and vendor coordination - develop and execute proof of concept pilots.
Lead internal retrospectives, surveys, or check-ins to gather feedback and use those insights to shape systemic improvements.
Partner with the Director of Technology to set department goals, measure progress, and define success benchmarks for team effectiveness.

Education/Skills/Experience:

Minimum 10 years of AEC firm experience, with preference given to those with Architecture or Interior design backgrounds.
Minimum 5 years' experience managing project-focused Revit/BIM workflows across all phases of design and construction.
Proven experience coaching or managing team members across complex projects, offices, or roles.
Expertise with Autodesk Revit, ACC , and related software add-ins.
Strong knowledge of the project delivery lifecycle (Programming, SD, DD, CD, CA, etc.) including familiarity with contracts, Scope of Work development, and BIM Execution Plans.
Experience managing standards, templates, and modeling systems - including implementation, versioning, and team-wide training.
Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional coordination across departments such as Interiors, Visualization, Building Performance and IT.
Skilled at navigating ambiguity and project complexity - with a track record of clarifying scope, surfacing risks, and aligning resources early.
Strong experience working across multiple offices, time zones, or through remote collaboration models.
Experience developing strategic documentation, team resources, or internal communication using tools such as InDesign, Miro, Asana, PowerPoint or similar.
Exposure to a range of project types and sectors - including residential, commercial, institutional, hospitality, campus-scale, and exhibit work.
Understanding of legal and contractual risk as it relates to BIM deliverables, consultant coordination, and digital delivery strategy.

Nice to Haves -

Experience collaborating with Architect of Record (AOR) firms, managing outsourced modeling, or leading large model coordination efforts
Familiarity with scan-to-BIM workflows, point clout integration, and/or reality capture tools.
Working knowledge of BIM Level 2 (ISO19650, CIC BIM Protocols, etc.), IFC, COBie, or other international BIM standards
Familiarity with parallel disciplines and workflows, including Architecture, Interior Design, Building Performance, and Visualization.
Proficiency or awareness of computational tools such as Dynamo, Grasshopper, or PyRevit.
Experience contributing to intranet systems, department-wide knowledge management efforts, or standards documentation.
Experience supporting Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DfMA), prototyping, or fabrication workflows.

What can you expect from us?

A creative work environment and colleagues who are collaborative, creative, and challenging
Opportunity to grow professionally
Check our culture page to learn about life at Olson Kundig

In addition to a dynamic and creative culture, Olson Kundig provides a generous benefits package that includes 16 days of paid time off, paid holidays, health plan, 401k match, bonuses, profit-sharing plans for qualified positions, a monthly travel subsidy for public transportation, and more.

As a firm, we are committed to pay practices that are fair, competitive, and reflect internal pay equity. At the time of posting this job, the hiring range for this position in Seattle is between $135,000 and $145,000 annually. Final salary decisions are made based upon the extent and relatedness of the candidate's education and experience and considering internal equity and external market factors.

All applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship and must already possess long-term work authorization.

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Location:: Seattle

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