The Role
The Principal Architect will lead the education practice, drive business development, provide project oversight, and mentor talent while enhancing client relationships in Southern California.
Summary Generated by Built In
Principal – Education
Are you a strategic, relationship-driven leader with a passion for shaping the future of education environments? Do you thrive at the intersection of design excellence, market growth, and mentoring high-performing teams? If so, we’re looking for you: a Principal to lead, grow, and elevate our education practice in Irvine.
This role blends executive leadership, business development, and project oversight, offering the opportunity to influence firmwide strategy while building meaningful, long-term client partnerships. You’ll play a key role in advancing our mission, vision, and standards of excellence within the Education market.
We offer a competitive compensation package, robust bonus program, flexible work options, comprehensive health benefits (medical, dental, and vision), generous paid time off, and a 401(k) with employer match.
As a Principal, you will…
Lead and Grow the Education Practice
The Must-Haves (Required)
The Like-to-Haves (Not Required)
Why You’ll Love Lionakis…
At Lionakis, people and design come first. You’ll find:
Salary Range: $185,000-$210,000 annually. Compensation and level DOE.
Studies have shown that underrepresented individuals like women; LGBTQIA+; and BIPOC, among others, are less likely to apply for jobs unless they believe they meet every single one of the qualifications in a job description or posting. Because we are committed to building a diverse and inclusive organization, we understand the best candidate may come from a non-traditional background to our field of work. We strongly encourage you to apply, even if you don't believe you meet every one of the qualifications described above. Diversity makes us better.
Are you a strategic, relationship-driven leader with a passion for shaping the future of education environments? Do you thrive at the intersection of design excellence, market growth, and mentoring high-performing teams? If so, we’re looking for you: a Principal to lead, grow, and elevate our education practice in Irvine.
This role blends executive leadership, business development, and project oversight, offering the opportunity to influence firmwide strategy while building meaningful, long-term client partnerships. You’ll play a key role in advancing our mission, vision, and standards of excellence within the Education market.
We offer a competitive compensation package, robust bonus program, flexible work options, comprehensive health benefits (medical, dental, and vision), generous paid time off, and a 401(k) with employer match.
As a Principal, you will…
Lead and Grow the Education Practice
- Serve as the regional leader for the Education market, building and sustaining strong client relationships throughout Southern California.
- Collaborate with Market and Firm leadership to develop and execute long-term market and practice strategies.
- Provide leadership for planning, programming, design, and project management across a portfolio of complex education projects.
- Participate in firmwide leadership initiatives, strategic planning efforts, and management committees.
- Lead marketing and business development efforts aligned with the Firm’s strategic plan.
- Identify and pursue new market opportunities, including team formation, proposal development, and participation in interviews.
- Represent the Firm at industry events and within professional and client networks.
- Meet or exceed performance metrics related to business development, contracts secured, and client satisfaction.
- Serve as Principal-in-Charge for assigned projects, overseeing quality, profitability, staffing, and revenue performance.
- Review and develop fee proposals, service scopes, and staffing plans to support project success.
- Support project managers with contract negotiations, additional services, and financial performance monitoring.
- Lead Quality Control/Quality Assurance efforts and champion Firm standards and lessons learned.
- Foster a collaborative, respectful, and high-performing work environment.
- Act as a mentor and coach to support professional growth, leadership development, and succession planning.
- Collaborate across studios, markets, and disciplines to support Firm-wide initiatives and shared goals.
The Must-Haves (Required)
- Bachelor’s degree in architecture, engineering, or interior design (or equivalent).
- Minimum of 18 years of relevant professional experience.
- Demonstrated ability to perform at the Associate Principal level or higher.
- Strong leadership, communication, and relationship-building skills.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook).
- California Licensed Architect
The Like-to-Haves (Not Required)
- LEED accreditation.
- Established West Coast professional network within the K-12, Community College, and/or Higher Education market.
Why You’ll Love Lionakis…
At Lionakis, people and design come first. You’ll find:
- A collaborative, design-forward culture that values creativity, mentorship, and shared success.
- The chance to shape stories that impact real communities.
- Hybrid work flexibility, every-other-Friday off options, and a comprehensive benefits package (bonus plan, 401(k) with match, health/dental/vision, generous PTO).
- A workplace deeply committed to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion – in our projects, our people, and our culture.
Salary Range: $185,000-$210,000 annually. Compensation and level DOE.
Studies have shown that underrepresented individuals like women; LGBTQIA+; and BIPOC, among others, are less likely to apply for jobs unless they believe they meet every single one of the qualifications in a job description or posting. Because we are committed to building a diverse and inclusive organization, we understand the best candidate may come from a non-traditional background to our field of work. We strongly encourage you to apply, even if you don't believe you meet every one of the qualifications described above. Diversity makes us better.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in architecture, engineering, or interior design (or equivalent)
- Minimum of 18 years of relevant professional experience
- Demonstrated ability to perform at the Associate Principal level or higher
- Strong leadership, communication, and relationship-building skills
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook)
- California Licensed Architect
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The Company
What We Do
Lionakis was established in 1909 and is a multi-discipline firm specializing in architectural, structural engineering, planning, interior design, laboratory design, sustainability, access compliance and graphic design services. Since 1997 and building on more than a century of diverse project experience our mission is Designing a Better Future. We excel at providing solutions for commercial, education, civic. science and technology, and healthcare clients with offices in Sacramento, Oakland, San Jose, and Newport Beach, to better serve our clients. We focus on partnering with clients, agencies and industry experts to develop innovative and reliable responses. These partnerships are the core of our business and we strive to provide a level of service that exceeds expectations.
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