Senior Architectural Designer

Senior Designer

Company Name: MCG Architecture
Location: Irvine, CA
Project Focus: Retail, Mixed-Use, Hospitality, Office, Self-Storage, Restaurant, National Accounts, Tenant Improvement, Ground-Up Commercial, and Branded Environment Projects
Work Setting: Full-Time | Collaborative Commercial Architecture Studio
Base Salary: $105,000-$140,000 annually (DOE)
Total Compensation Package: Estimated total annual compensation package of approximately $131,700-$171,600, including base salary, performance bonuses, employer-paid employee health benefits, 401(k) match, paid time off, holidays, professional development, and career advancement opportunities
Recruited Exclusively By: Luxus Group

Position Overview

This is a strong opportunity for an experienced Senior Designer to lead the creative development of commercial architecture projects within MCG Architecture's Irvine office. In this role, you will help shape retail, mixed-use, hospitality, office, self-storage, restaurant, and branded commercial projects from early programming and site planning through concept design, entitlements, design development, and transition into technical documentation.

This position is ideal for a concept-driven commercial designer who can translate a developer's vision, tenant program, brand standard, or repositioning opportunity into an attractive, practical, and buildable architectural solution. The strongest fit will enjoy leading design discussions, presenting concepts to clients, mentoring other designers, and collaborating with technical production teams to protect design intent throughout the project lifecycle.

Core Responsibilities

• Lead programming, precedent research, test fits, site-planning studies, building massing, facade concepts, and material selections
• Translate client objectives, brand standards, leasing goals, tenant requirements, and operational needs into compelling architectural concepts
• Develop design narratives, planning exhibits, entitlement graphics, renderings, and client presentation materials
• Lead or participate in client design meetings, entitlement presentations, internal design reviews, and project coordination discussions
• Coordinate with Project Directors, Project Managers, Job Captains, consultants, developers, tenants, and production teams
• Maintain original design intent as projects transition into construction documentation, permitting, bidding, and construction administration
• Evaluate design concepts against zoning, accessibility, life-safety, constructability, cost, schedule, and jurisdictional requirements
• Provide design direction, mentorship, and constructive feedback to junior designers and production staff
• Establish appropriate graphic, modeling, visualization, and presentation standards for assigned projects
• Support responses to plan-check comments, RFIs, substitutions, and field conditions requiring design judgment
• Participate in project pursuits, client presentations, proposal support, and business-development activities
• Help develop creative, practical, and commercially successful design solutions across multiple project types
• Collaborate with technical teams to balance design quality, brand identity, permitting needs, construction budgets, and aggressive client schedules

Required Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor's or Master's Degree in Architecture or a closely related field
• Experience: Approximately 8-15+ years of architectural design experience
• Project Experience: Commercial, retail, mixed-use, hospitality, restaurant, or branded-environment experience strongly preferred
• Portfolio: Strong portfolio demonstrating concept development, site planning, facade design, material selection, visualization, and completed projects
• Software: Advanced proficiency in Revit and Adobe Creative Suite
• Design Leadership: Ability to lead creative direction, present design concepts, and guide projects through early planning and design development
• Technical Awareness: Understanding of California planning, entitlement, accessibility, energy-code, and building-code requirements
• Communication: Ability to communicate design concepts clearly to clients, consultants, jurisdictions, and internal teams
• Organization: Strong presentation, collaboration, organization, time-management, and follow-through skills
• Commercial Judgment: Ability to balance design creativity with budget, schedule, leasing, tenant visibility, circulation, and constructability requirements

Preferred Qualifications

• Visualization Tools: Experience with SketchUp, Enscape, Lumion, Rhino, or comparable visualization software
• Licensure: Architectural licensure valued but not required for candidates with exceptional design leadership and technical knowledge
• Retail Expertise: Experience with shopping centers, grocery-anchored retail, national accounts, tenant improvements, restaurant design, or prototype rollout programs
• Entitlements: Experience supporting entitlement graphics, planning exhibits, jurisdictional presentations, and early site-planning studies
• Client Presentations: Experience leading design presentations for developers, owners, tenants, brands, or public-review groups
• Mentorship: Experience guiding junior designers, architectural staff, or production teams
• California Experience: Familiarity with California Building Code, Title 24, accessibility, local planning departments, and entitlement processes
• Growth Mindset: Interest in helping shape the creative direction of a long-standing commercial architecture practice

Project Types

• Ground-up shopping centers and grocery-anchored retail developments
• Retail shell buildings and freestanding commercial pads
• Mixed-use destinations combining retail, restaurants, office, hospitality, entertainment, and residential uses
• Shopping-center renovations and facade repositioning
• Restaurant and retail tenant improvements
• National retail prototype and rollout programs
• Hospitality and branded commercial environments
• Office and workplace projects
• Self-storage developments
• Adaptive-reuse and building-renovation projects
• Outdoor gathering spaces and pedestrian-oriented commercial centers

Compensation & Benefits

• Base salary of $105,000-$140,000, depending on experience, portfolio, licensure, and technical capability
• Estimated total annual compensation package of approximately $131,700-$171,600
• Two performance bonuses each year
• Employer-paid employee health benefits
• 401(k) retirement plan with employer match
• Paid time off and company holidays
• Professional-development and career-advancement opportunities
• Mentorship and leadership growth within a national architecture practice

The estimated package value includes base salary, a combined target bonus modeled at 10% of salary, an estimated 4% employer 401(k) match, and approximately $12,000 in employer-paid employee health coverage. Actual value will depend on final plan terms, elected coverage, and individual and company performance.

About MCG Architecture

Founded in 1927, MCG Architecture is a nationally established commercial architecture firm with offices throughout the United States and architectural licensing coverage in 49 states. The firm specializes in retail, mixed-use, hospitality, restaurant, office, self-storage, land planning, national-account, renovation, tenant-improvement, and ground-up commercial development projects.

The Irvine office supports projects throughout California and the Western United States from initial site planning and entitlements through design, permitting, and construction administration. MCG offers experienced designers the opportunity to lead creative project direction while collaborating with a strong technical team within a long-standing national practice.

About Luxus Group

Luxus Group is a specialized recruiting and talent advisory firm serving the architecture, engineering, construction, and related professional-services industries. Luxus Group is representing MCG Architecture in the identification and recruitment of qualified candidates for this opportunity and will coordinate confidential candidate introductions, initial discussions, interviews, and offer-stage communication.

Keywords

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