Design Architect

Job Description

About the role

We are looking for a skilled and creative architect to join our design team within the real estate development business, focusing on boutique hospitality assets.

In this role, you will be responsible for conducting design research, assembling various architectural ideas, and developing sketches, designs, and drawings at different RIBA stages. You should be able to work independently throughout the day, coordinate with the team when needed, and deliver intermediate results weekly. You will report to a project architect (lead) but collaborate with the entire design team, including but not limited to interior designers, CGI artists, the MEP team, structural engineers, the FF&E procurement team, and client representatives.

This role will work more with early design stages. Personal engagement in RIBA 1-3 will be around 75%, RIBA 4-5 supervision and advisory - up to 25%.

We expect you to be fluent in English and proficient in Revit, AutoCAD, and SketchUp, or other sketch-oriented presentation software like Rhino, Lumion, or Enscape. Knowledge of CGI basics and Navisworks is also required.

To succeed in this role, you should have excellent communication and presentation skills, be punctual, detail-oriented, intelligent, and motivated to deliver results.

• This is a full time day job with expected involvement up to 40 hours a week
• This is a fully remote job
• We work normal central European time zone (CET) working hours 9-17 or 10-18, we expect you to participate in daily team's meetings
• Utopia does not provide visa sponsorship and/or relocation package for this position

Responsibilities:

• Own the full process from inception, concept development, through to detailed design and handover.
• Ensure design integrity aligns with brand identity and delivers exceptional user experiences across all assets.
• Guide a team of interior designers, and 3D artists through every stage of project development.
• Bring ground breaking and experiential ideas in materials, lighting, layout, and spatial storytelling.
• Create distinctive design languages for various properties while preserving brand DNA.
• Work closely with the Head of Design and key client representatives.
• Ensure alignment with RIBA stages, oversee site surveys, and facilitate technical design through to construction.
• Liaise effectively with external consultants, suppliers, and contractors.
• Comfortable managing high-end residential and hospitality projects, including F&B concepts.

Requirements

• Work on a variety of high-end hospitality projects as a design architect
• Conduct feasibility studies, volumetric proposals, area calculations, and land plot analyses as part of the pre-design stage of projects
• Interpret the design brief and collaborate with client representatives to achieve the best results
• Perform design research and create presentations, mood boards, and reference materials
• Generate architectural ideas and sketches, and conduct research on references and mood boards
• Execute concept design development, including but not limited to detailed massing proposals and volumetric studies. Develop architectural layouts, optimize ergonomics and circulation, and balance aesthetics, function, and operational aspects. Focus on enhancing the expressiveness of volumetric architectural forms, facades, and free-form designs
• Develop volumetric studies into concept layouts, Revit (RVT) models, and foundational inputs for the CGI team
• Refine concept layouts through the schematic and detailed design stages
• Collaborate closely with in-house structural and MEP teams, as well as the local Architect of Record (AOR), to achieve optimal concept adaptation and spatial coordination, while carefully preserving the initial design intent
• Support the FF&E procurement team with quantity calculations, material research, and detailing
• Stay up to date with modern trends in the high-end hospitality industry. Research new technologies, materials, and methodologies; conduct investigations and propose innovative solutions
• Mentor junior team members, supervise work performed by BIM modelers, and elevate the design department's storytelling and presentation skills

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's Degree in Architecture
• 7 to 10 years of experience in architectural design
• Experience working on low-rise residential and hospitality projects - private homes and villas, hotels and resorts
• Excellent communication and presentation skills
• Proficiency in Revit, AutoCAD, and SketchUp, or other sketch-oriented presentation software like Rhino, Lumion, or Enscape
• Professional level of English, both written and verbal
• Portfolio is a must

Benefits

Benefits are competitive and based on candidates experience.