Principal — Architectural Signage, Wayfinding & Branded Environments

Do you love developing wayfinding solutions and championing brands in the built environment? Are you driven to improve experiences through environmental graphic design and be seen as an industry‑leading thought leader? Do you have an entrepreneurial spirit and possess a passion for growth? If so, then we need to connect with you. The GNU Group is looking for the right Principal to add to our leadership team. We continue to make a significant impact in Healthcare, Corporate, Mixed‑Use Residential and Educational markets and more. Your thought leadership, experience, and drive will take us even further. The Principal plays a key role in growing new business and managing projects from start to finish, ensuring project budgets and schedules are met, and collaborating with clients, team members, and vendors to deliver exceptional results. You’ll be responsible for leading the strategic direction for and development of wayfinding solutions, architectural signage and branded environments. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in experiential design, and a proven track record sales and leading high‑performing teams. We have the right culture, the right model, the right clients, and unlimited potential. All that’s missing is you. Are you the next GNU? Compensation $125K–$170K (Depending on Experience) with bonus. Key Responsibilities New Business: Responsible for $1.5MM in annual sales. Responsible for focused Go/No Go decisions based on our ability to win, deliver project excellence to the client, while generating the profit assumptions established with our initial work plans. Identify and develop qualification and bid proposals, lead client presentations and interviews. Identify markets or strategic pursuits that have the potential to be game changers because it opens a new or expanding market. Thought Leadership: Provide ongoing thought leadership in one of more key markets that we work in. Develop thought leadership content on an ongoing basis for marketing and business development. Share knowledge and lead training sessions for staff development. Wayfinding Strategy & Planning: Develop comprehensive wayfinding strategies and designing user‑friendly wayfinding sign programs. Conduct wayfinding assessments, research user group behavior and concerns, identify circulation patterns, organize destinations, establish a hierarchy of information, determine wayfinding language, and meet with stakeholders. Identify functional and aesthetic factors that define design criteria, set operational and compliance parameters and provide fabrication and installation scenarios and budgets. Project Planning and Execution: Review and approve the work plan during the proposal phase and upon contract execution including: Scope & approach, milestones and resourcing schedule, budget, and establishing primary responsibilities for client and team communication, change management, financials – (Billing, collections and budget), and project closeout – lessons learned. Project Team Communication and Management: Responsible for mentoring, growing, and engaging with the team in furtherance of their professional development. Foster positive project team collaboration and a team culture where creative ideas are encouraged and implemented as appropriate. Communicate with clarity and purpose. Lead by example. Financial Management: Maintain a positive financial position for GNU Group and projects; constantly understand and resolve material variances. Accountable for delivering projects at or above our work plan estimates. Qualifications Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience 10 years’ experience in wayfinding, environmental branding, and architectural signage Proven thought leadership on one or more key markets Experience in consultative B2B sales models is preferred but not required Strong consultative selling skills, with the ability to uncover both spoken and unspoken client needs. Strong sense of design and good concepting skills Organized, with excellent problem solving, time management and risk management skills Proactive, flexible, team player with the confidence and integrity to earn client and internal team trust quickly. Excellent presentation, verbal, written and leadership skills Ability to plan, document and execute project plans, including scope definition, timelines and budgets. Proficiency with CRM systems (HubSpot), Microsoft Office, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, ZoomInfo Benefits Choice of select medical plans Dental Plan Vision Plan Simple Individual Retirement Account (IRA) Plan with employer contribution (Matching up to 3%) Flexible work environment Great company culture centered on transparency, honest communication, prescribed process and personal responsibility. About GNU Group The GNU Group ( — a division of Impec Group—is a San Francisco Bay Area based, cutting‑edge environmental graphic design and project management firm. Our multi‑discipline studio employs a creative staff of professionals who provide planning, design and turnkey management for branding, environmental graphics, architectural signage, wayfinding and marketing communications. Our areas of project expertise span the healthcare, retail, corporate, hospitality and mixed‑use sectors. About Impec Group Since its founding in 1991, Impec Group’s mission is to deliver human‑centric workplace solutions based on clients’ needs in support of the lifecycle of the workplace. Impec Group started servicing the critical needs of the cleanrooms and electronic assemblies in the hi‑tech and life science sectors in Silicon Valley. Since then, our services have expanded to encompass strategy, CRE technology, project management, staffing, environmental branding and operations, and site services with the capability to deliver end‑to‑end solutions—nationally and globally. Impec Group is an equal‑opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We do not discriminate in employment based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non‑merit factors. #J-18808-Ljbffr Society for Experiential Graphic Design