School Architect

Primer is a growing network of K–8 schools restoring the timeless foundations of American education. Inspired by the original teaching primers that shaped a nation of readers, thinkers, and builders, our schools begin with what has always worked, and build for what lies ahead. A culture that takes kids seriously as learners and leaders.
Primers shaped the first 200 years of American children. Every new Primer campus starts as an empty building in a city where we've never operated. Someone has to turn it into a school fast: pass code, fit the budget, and feel like Primer the moment a kid walks in. Site feasibility and pre-construction

~ You'll lead code analysis and zoning review, coordinate traffic and parking studies, run test fits and space programming, and make the go/no-go call on new sites. You'll also build the diligence playbook, so the next site evaluation takes days, not weeks.

Permitting and project management

~ You'll manage permitting across jurisdictions: building permits, fire life safety, ADA, zoning variances, change of use. You'll run the civil engineers, FLS specialists, and local architects of record on each project, and you'll know the code officials and inspectors in each city well enough that they pick up when you call. You'll juggle several projects at different stages without dropping a deadline.

You'll research and spec the furniture, equipment, and branded materials that go into every Primer campus. And you'll find the value engineering wins that save money without cutting corners on the student experience.

5+ years in architectural project management, interior design, or something close, with real ownership from design through construction

• Experience building design standards or prototypes for multi-location rollout (a big plus)
• Background in schools, retail, or hospitality, anywhere physical space matters to the people using it
• Deep knowledge of building codes, ADA, fire life safety, zoning, and permitting across multiple jurisdictions
• Fluency in AutoCAD, Revit, or equivalent, plus comfort with project management tools
• The ability to run multiple projects and vendors at once without losing a thread

You want to design one beautiful building and live in it for a year. This role moves fast across many sites at once, and nothing sits still long enough for that kind of depth.
Part of the job is building that playbook as you go, so some of it will be genuinely undefined when you start.
In service of that, we keep work centered on mission execution and avoid social or political activism at work that's unrelated to the mission.