VP of Design Operations

Senior Vice President of Operations - Design/Build

Location: Carmel, IN - #1 best place to live in the United States 2026-2027 according to US NEWS (on-site only - will provide relocation for the right candidate)

Monday-Friday

Pay: Base salary up to $180,000, plus bonus potential

Sector: Custom and luxury residential homebuilding

The Role

A growing custom homebuilding company is adding a Senior Vice President of Operations to its executive team — a brand-new seat built for someone who can operate as the President's right hand while the company scales. The focus is process discipline, tighter accountability, and turning strategic goals into daily execution.

The right person will have real roots in custom or luxury residential construction, with a track record in estimating, purchasing, process redesign, and leading across departments.

This isn't a role for someone who only sets direction from a distance. The company needs an operator who still understands the mechanics of a homebuilding business and can push strategy down into the day-to-day.

Core Responsibilities

• Act as the President's operational counterpart, converting company-level goals into concrete plans.
• Push efficiency and process improvements across the full homebuilding cycle.
• Own oversight of Estimating, Purchasing, Finance, and Legal.
• Tighten the handoffs between Sales, Drafting & Design, Estimating, Purchasing, and Construction.
• Set KPIs and accountability standards for department leaders, with regular quarterly check-ins.
• Drive change-management efforts and get new processes to actually stick org-wide.
• Build out operating playbooks across the company's residential product lines, custom and luxury included.
• Manage vendor strategy — onboarding, pricing negotiations, value engineering, and cost reduction.
• Work alongside Finance on budgeting, project financing, and company-wide performance tracking.
• Streamline the closing process, both internally and for clients.
• Vet and roll out systems and technology that support efficiency and growth.
• Contribute to annual and quarterly planning, staffing strategy, and board-level prep.

What the Company Needs

• 10+ years of progressive experience in homebuilding, construction, or an adjacent field.
• Background in custom or luxury residential construction strongly preferred.
• Solid general construction industry experience is required.
• Deep experience in purchasing, estimating, or operations within construction.
• A demonstrated ability to build, refine, and roll out operational processes.
• Real change-management chops — getting teams to actually adopt new ways of working.
• Experience setting KPIs and building accountability across multiple departments.
• Sharp financial and business acumen — budgeting, P&L ownership, cost discipline.
• Familiarity with value engineering, vendor negotiations, and cost optimization in construction.
• Comfort turning high-level strategy into hands-on execution.
• A fit for a lean, entrepreneurial environment without heavy bureaucracy.
• Bachelor's degree in Construction Management, Building & Construction Management, Organizational Leadership, Business, or similar.

Preferred Technology Experience

• Buildertrend or comparable construction management software
• Bluebeam
• Revit
• Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint

Leadership Profile

Looking for someone who is:

• Strategic but still willing to be hands-on
• Organized and process-minded
• Willing to question how things have always been done
• Experienced steering organizational change
• Commercially and financially sharp
• Collaborative, but holds people accountable
• Effective working across many departments at once
• Adaptable, entrepreneurial in mindset
• Skilled at building trust with both leadership and field teams

Culture

The company runs on gratitude, ownership, resilience, adaptability, and innovation — a collaborative, entrepreneurial environment centered on integrity, quality, customer experience, and long-term relationships.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• 401(k) with company match up to 4%
• 15+ PTO days annually
• 9 paid holidays plus 1 floating holiday
• Parental leave
• Company-paid life insurance
• Tuition/education reimbursement and professional development support
• Referral bonuses
• Discounts on new home builds and apartment rentals
• Wellness and fitness perks
• Company events, volunteer days, and employee celebrations

If you're an experienced luxury home building professional willing to relocate for the right role, we welcome your application!