Director of Design Operations

Director of Design-Build Operations

Leadership across design, project delivery, client experience, and operations

Carlsbad / San Diego, CA • Full-time • 100% on-site • Reports to: COO

Why B.A. Worthing

B.A. Worthing, Inc. was founded in Carlsbad in 1979 by Brooks A. Worthing and remains family-owned and operated more than 45 years later, now led by his daughter, Alena Brooks Blasio, President. Built on trust, craftsmanship, and doing things the right way, the firm has completed more than 300 custom homes and remodels in North County San Diego and earned a reputation as one of the area’s top-rated design-build companies, including multiple Best of Houzz awards for service (2015, 2016, 2019, 2021, and 2024).

The company is growing. We are investing in a new showroom, a warehouse and staging facility, and enhanced design capabilities, and we are adding tools such as 3D visualization and AI-assisted design development to give clients a more seamless, immersive experience.

This role is part of that next stage. You will help lead the design side of a respected, family-owned firm as it expands, with real influence over how we design, estimate, and serve clients. Your judgment will matter, and your ideas will have a path to implementation.

The Role

We’re looking for a creative design leader who wants to shape how a growing design-build company designs, estimates, and communicates with clients.

You’ll lead the design side of the business: design execution, construction documents, permitting, estimating, and the client experience through the design phase, working closely with the design principal and leading a two-person drafting/estimating team.

What You’ll Own & Drive

1. Design Division Leadership

• Lead design execution from feasibility and schematic development through construction documents and permitting, including zoning and code review, permitting strategy, and plan-check responses.
• Partner with the design principal during the initial handoff to learn B.A. Worthing’s design approach, standards, client expectations, and established ways of working.
• Translate the design principal’s vision and the client’s objectives into personalized schematic concepts and buildable solutions; personally develop concepts, review and redline drawings, and guide the drafting team’s execution.
• Ensure designs account for constructability, budget, client expectations, and downstream construction requirements.
• Establish effective design quality controls and review practices.
• Take increasing ownership of design direction as trust is established, with close partnership with the design principal on larger or more complex projects.

2. Design Lifecycle & Project Delivery

• Maintain visibility into design and estimating status, milestones, dependencies, priorities, and risks from feasibility through readiness for the construction handoff.
• Assign clear ownership for design and estimating tasks, approvals, and follow-through before transfer to construction.
• Identify design, scope, and coordination risks early and drive resolution before they affect delivery or the client experience.
• Coordinate the drafting and estimating team, consultants, company leadership, and construction Project Managers on design dependencies and the handoff.
• Deliver a complete design/estimating package — plans, scope, assumptions, key decisions, and open items — when the construction contract is signed, and explain design intent and resolve information gaps with the receiving Project Manager.

3. Preconstruction & Estimation Leadership

• Lead estimate preparation and the estimating team; review subcontractor proposals, scope, and pricing assumptions, and confirm estimates are ready for presentation.
• Obtain leadership review in accordance with established decision-authority thresholds.
• Coordinate the transition from design into estimating and preconstruction, and review scope, quantities, estimates, proposals, and supporting design information for completeness and accuracy.
• Identify constructability, scope, and potential pricing issues before construction, and keep design intent, scope, pricing, and project assumptions aligned.
• Make sure key project decisions and anomalies are clearly communicated before construction.
• Develop working knowledge of B.A. Worthing’s historical costs, estimating practices, and project economics.

4. Design-Phase Client Experience & Communication

• Serve as a senior client-facing leader and primary client contact throughout the design phase, guiding clients confidently through design and project decisions.
• Make sure clients understand project status, next steps, decisions required, and potential risks, communicating proactively rather than waiting for clients to ask.
• Maintain timely follow-up and reset expectations early when more time is required.
• Resolve routine client issues without unnecessary escalation, and escalate sensitive or high-risk matters appropriately.
• Build relationships that support B.A. Worthing’s reputation, repeat business, and referrals.

5. Design Systems & Process Improvement

• Identify workflow gaps, bottlenecks, inconsistent practices, and undocumented processes in design-related operations.
• Develop, document, implement, and continuously improve design-related SOPs and workflows, with appropriate checks and balances built into key processes.
• Drive adoption of agreed processes rather than simply documenting them, improving information flow and accountability across design and estimating.
• Partner with Karri and the team to optimize JobTread and other tools for design and estimating workflows, accountability, project information, and reporting, without owning construction operating systems.

6. Team Leadership & Organizational Development

• Directly manage the two drafting/estimating team members through clear work priorities, measurable goals, and individual accountability.
• Conduct and document scheduled check-ins and performance reviews; evaluate progress against goals and provide timely feedback and corrective action when needed.
• Coach technical and professional growth, adapt to different working styles, and develop independent ownership.
• Address performance and interpersonal issues directly, promptly, and constructively, with the expectation of ultimately owning day-to-day people management for the team.
• Connect individual responsibilities to design and estimating delivery and to effective collaboration with construction Project Managers.
• Resolve routine team-management matters at the Director level, escalating only major personnel decisions.

7. Design-Related Construction Administration

• Provide standard architectural construction-administration support after contract signing, including RFIs, design clarifications, and job-site design questions.
• Review design discrepancies, sketch practical solutions, and coordinate design-related changes while protecting design intent and communicating cost or schedule implications.
• Support material and design-detail clarification with the construction team and visit sites when needed to explain or resolve design matters.
• Collaborate with Project Managers without taking responsibility for field schedules, procurement, subcontractor management, Project Manager performance, or construction financial oversight.

How Success Is Measured

This role is performance-driven. The scorecard behind the role tracks measurable outcomes, not just activity. Key indicators include:

• Design quality: Plan-check rounds attributable to internal issues generally ≤ 2; preventable design errors, rework, and design-related change orders/RFIs trend down.
• Design and estimating delivery: Milestones progress to agreed schedules, risks are identified early, and 100% of applicable projects receive a complete design/estimating handoff package at contract signing.
• Estimating accuracy: Preventable scope gaps and late-stage pricing surprises decline.
• Client experience: Consultation and follow-up generally occur within about 3–4 days; preventable escalations decline; client feedback, repeat business, and referrals inform performance.
• Systems and team: Priority processes are implemented and adopted; each direct report has documented goals and regular reviews; routine design, estimating, client, and team matters increasingly resolve at the Director level.

What You Bring

• Approximately 8–10+ years of progressive experience in architecture, design-build, architectural project leadership, or a closely related environment.
• A California architectural license, or active progress toward licensure with at least 50% of the required exams completed (3 of 6).
• Strong schematic design, construction documentation, code, permitting, and constructability capability.
• Exceptional creative and hands-on design ability, with the judgment to personally develop concepts, review and redline work, and translate client needs and the design principal’s direction into distinctive, buildable solutions.
• Proficiency in AutoCAD and Revit.
• Direct-report management experience, or a clear ability to develop it, including setting goals and managing performance (not only mentoring or project leadership).
• Exceptional client-facing communication skills and emotional intelligence.
• Working knowledge of estimating and project delivery, and standard construction-administration knowledge (RFIs, design clarifications, job-site questions, and design-related change management).
• Hands-on experience improving design and estimating processes and SOPs and successfully driving adoption.

Employment Requirements

• 100% on-site role based in the Carlsbad/San Diego area.
• Valid driver’s license and ability to travel locally to project sites as required.
• Ability to successfully complete required pre-employment background check, drug screening, and physical.
• Legal authorization to work in the United States.

Compensation & Benefits

Base salary of $120K–$150K, depending on experience, plus an annual performance bonus tied to documented results across design quality, design and estimating delivery, client experience, systems and process improvement, and team leadership.

• Personal & Family Health Benefits
• 401(k) Savings & Matching Program
• 10 Paid Holidays + Additional PTO

You won’t just manage a function. You’ll help shape what comes next.

Employment Requirements

• 100% on-site role based in Carlsbad / San Diego.

• Valid California driver's license; this role requires the regular and frequent operation of a vehicle to travel between the office and active job sites, and is part of the essential duties of this position.

• Employment is contingent upon completion of applicable post-offer pre-employment screening requirements, which may include a background check, drug screening, and physical, consistent with applicable law.

• Legal authorization to work in the United States.

Work Environment & Physical Requirements

• Work Environment: This role primarily operates in an office/design-studio setting, with regular visits to active construction sites for client meetings, project walkthroughs, and coordination with Project Managers and trade partners. Site visits may involve exposure to typical construction-site conditions, including uneven terrain, dust, noise, and varying weather.

• Physical Requirements: Ability to walk and stand for extended periods while navigating active construction sites; ability to operate a motor vehicle to travel between the office and job sites; ability to work at a computer or drafting station for extended periods reviewing plans and drawings.

Compensation & Benefits

• Base Salary: Up to $120 -150K base salary DOE

• Annual Performance Incentive tied to documented results across project financial & delivery performance, design quality, client experience, operational systems, and team leadership.

• Benefits: Personal & Family Health Benefits; 401(k) Savings & Matching Program; 10 Paid Holidays + Additional PTO.

You won't just manage a function. You'll help shape what comes next.

B.A. Worthing, Inc. is committed to providing equal opportunity in all of our employment practices, including selection, hiring, promotion, transfer, compensation, termination, and training, without regard to race, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, marital status, pregnancy, age, medical condition, genetic information, military and veteran status, disability, or any other basis protected by federal, state, and local law. Reasonable accommodation is available for qualified individuals with disabilities, upon request.