ABOUT THE ROLE
We are seeking a visionary, strategic, and highly creative individual for the position of Director of Planning for the S&T design practice, to lead and grow our international planning team within the S&T Practice. This role is pivotal in shaping the future of S&T planning at CannonDesign—building a best-in-class team, mentoring talent, aligning resources to projects, and driving innovation for our clients.
HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL DO
The ideal candidate will be a dynamic leader with deep expertise in laboratory planning, a passion for mentoring and team development, and a track record of winning and delivering groundbreaking work. Creativity is essential—this person will bring fresh ideas, challenge conventional thinking, and inspire new approaches to planning that elevate our work and impact. This is both an inward- and outward-facing role, requiring strong leadership, collaboration, and thought leadership.
Team Leadership & Development
- Build, lead, and inspire a high-performing team of planners across the firm.
- Mentor and coach team members to elevate planning expertise and career growth.
- Foster a culture of excellence, innovation, and collaboration.
Strategic Resourcing & Operations
- Maintain a clear understanding of team capacity, project needs, and individual strengths in partnership with the Regional Directors.
- Align planning resources to the right projects to ensure quality and efficiency in partnership with the Regional Directors.
- Collaborate with practice and project leaders to optimize team performance.
Innovation & Vision
- Advance CannonDesign’s vision for innovative laboratory planning.
- Champion new approaches, tools, and methodologies that redefine planning excellence.
- Stay ahead of industry trends and integrate emerging ideas into practice.
Recruitment & Retention
- Lead recruitment efforts to attract top planning talent.
- Develop strategies to retain and engage team members.
- Promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in team building.
Business Development & Thought Leadership
- Partner with S&T Practice and Business Development teams to win transformative projects.
- Be responsible for generating top-line revenue, with a target of $1.25M in personal net signed fees (NSF) annually, and participating in $3M in NSF annually.
- Represent CannonDesign in client engagements, conferences, and industry forums.
- Contribute to thought leadership through writing, speaking, and advocacy with at least one published paper and two conference presentation per year
- Be a recognized thought leader in the S&T industry—known by peers and clients alike for advancing innovation through published work, speaking engagements, and professional leadership.
Time Commitments
- 20% – Internal strategy and coordination across regions.
- 20% – Business development, brand building, and speaking/writing.
- 50% - Billable work.
Targets and performance metrics for this role are subject to change as CannonDesign periodically evaluates our performance metrics.
HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL NEED
- Bachelor's degree in Architecture, Interior Design, Engineering or a related degree required.
- Proven experience in S&T planning, preferred 15 years experience.
- Strong leadership and mentoring capabilities.
- Deep understanding of healthcare systems, planning methodologies, and design integration.
- Excellent communication, collaboration, and organizational skills.
- Experience in business development and client engagement.
- Demonstrated ability to generate revenue and meet financial goals.
- Passion for innovation and continuous improvement.
- Demonstrated thought leadership through writing, speaking, and industry engagement.
- We are relentless in our pursuit of client adoration (not simply satisfaction). Consistent delivery of the best service is what we are about.
- We are committed to ensuring our practice provides equal opportunities for all employees, as we strive to connect with communities around us and focus on the future of design. We support equity, diversity, and inclusion efforts that benefit all employees through the leadership of our DEI Council, our Employee Resource Groups which are open to everyone, and other community initiatives.
- We’re about communication and transparency here. If you want to talk to someone about an idea you have, or a challenge that needs addressing, we’re ready for you.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Architecture, Interior Design, Engineering or related degree
- 15 years experience in S&T planning
- Strong leadership and mentoring capabilities
- Deep understanding of healthcare systems and design integration
- Excellent communication, collaboration, and organizational skills
- Experience in business development and client engagement
- Demonstrated ability to generate revenue and meet financial goals
- Passion for innovation and continuous improvement
- Demonstrated thought leadership through writing and speaking
What We Do
As an integrated design firm, we do a lot of things. But at our core, we help people continuously flourish. We leverage the heart, passion and intelligence of our more than 1,000 creative thinkers to develop solutions for some of the greatest challenges facing our clients and society. Whether designing for equity in education, accessible healthcare, inclusive communities, new scientific discoveries or the “next big idea” in business, we partner with organizations to help them improve human life. We do this through a design approach we created called Living-Centered Design. Our approach realizes that to create a world where people continuously flourish, we must address the complex interdependencies that exist between people, businesses, communities, society and the environment. Learn more at cannondesign.com/livingcentereddesign.
