Company Overview:
Dar, the founding member of the Sidara group, is an international multidisciplinary consulting organization specializing in engineering, architecture, planning, environment, project management, facilities management, and economics. Sidara operates in 60 countries with 20,500 professionals, Dar connects people, places, and communities through innovative solutions to the world's most complex challenges. We deliver projects from inception through completion, embracing challenges to empower communities worldwide. Learn more at www.dar.com.
Our Vision and Values:
We aspire to be the chosen home of those with a gift for crafting solutions that empower people and an unwavering passion for learning and innovation. Our core values shape our culture and guide our decision-making. We are committed to:
- Excellence
- Responsibility
- Empowerment
- Connectivity
- Courage
Job Purpose:
We are seeking a visionary Senior Design Architect with a passion for storytelling and a proven track record in high-level concept design. In this role, you will be the creative engine behind our most ambitious projects, specializing in Mixed-Use, Commercial, Hospitality, Residential, and Retail sectors.
You will work within a dynamic, multidisciplinary environment, acting as the bridge between abstract strategy and tangible design excellence. We are looking for a fluent communicator who can digest complex client briefs, initiate innovative ideas, and lead a team to visualize those ideas into compelling presentations.
Key Responsibilities:
1. Creative Direction & Concept Development
- Lead the Vision: Spearhead the initial concept design phase for large-scale projects, specifically within mixed-use, hospitality, and commercial sectors.
- Narrative Creation: Develop strong, innovative design narratives and distinct architectural languages that respond to the local context and client aspirations.
- Ideation: Fluently generate sketching, massing, and spatial diagrams to test and communicate initial ideas rapidly.
2. Client Engagement & Presentation
- Pitch & Present: Act as the primary design voice in client meetings. Present concepts with impeccable clarity, confidence, and persuasion.
- Brief Analysis: Deconstruct and analyze complex client briefs to identify core objectives, ensuring the design response is not only beautiful but strategic and functional.
- Visual Storytelling: Oversee the production of high-end visualization decks, ensuring the story of the building is communicated effectively through renderings, diagrams, and typography.
3. Team Leadership & Multidisciplinary Coordination
- Design Leadership: Manage and mentor a team of intermediate and junior designers, guiding them through the creative process while maintaining high quality and efficiency.
- Cross-Discipline Collaboration: Work seamlessly within a multidisciplinary setup, coordinating closely with structural engineers, MEP consultants, landscape architects, and interior designers to ensure concepts are holistic and technically viable from the start.
- Workflow Efficiency: Balance creative exploration with the rigorous demands of project timelines and deliverables.
Qualifications:
- Education: Bachelor's or master's degree in architecture.
- Experience: 710 years of professional experience in an architectural practice, with a specific focus on front-end design and concept generation.
- Regional Expertise:Experience with GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) projects is highly preferable. Candidates should demonstrate an understanding of the region's cultural nuances, climate requirements, and regulatory standards.
- Portfolio: A strong design portfolio demonstrating a proven record of leading concept designs for Mixed-Use, Commercial, Hospitality, and Retail projects.
- Communication: Exceptional verbal and written communication skills. You must be able to sell a design and articulate the why behind your decisions.
Soft Skills:
- Highly expressive and fluent in design ideation.
- Empathetic listener capable of translating client needs into built form.
- Adaptable to working in complex, integrated project teams.
Technical Skills
- Mastery: Rhino, SketchUp, Adobe Creative Suite
- Proficiency: Revit/BIM (understanding of workflow), AutoCAD.
- Visualization: Enscape, or Lumion.
Kind Note:
** While we carefully review all applications, only candidates who meet the specified requirements will be contacted for further consideration. We appreciate your understanding and thank you for your interest.
