Urban Designer

Your Role

As a Gensler Mid-level Urban Designer in our Chicago office, you will create and work with a design team to develop strong, creative and innovative design concepts on a range of urban design and master planning projects.

What You Will Do

• Contribute and co-lead in the design and development of strong, creative and innovative design concepts on a broad range of urban design and master planning projects including: transit oriented development, large-scale urban infill development, mixed-use development, community and neighborhood master planning, district and citywide master planning, new communities, campus planning for education, medical, or general institutions, and suburban master planning
• Develop, collaborate and advance conceptual and schematic designs on urban design and master planning projects
• Managing client expectations, team communication and consultant coordination
• Prepare narrative reports and presentations that communicate the design process and concepts
• Assist in presentations and production of urban design and master planning projects
• Assist in business development for the Cities and Urban Design practice area.
• Contribute to office activities, initiatives and learning programs
• Interact through projects and other office wide initiatives with other studios and practice areas
• Actively lead projects, teams and initiatives with an emerging degree of autonomy
• Directly trains and mentors team members
• Actively engages in internal and external professional development opportunities
• Develops and/or manages, in collaboration with team members, a clear and consistent work plan to achieve the project budget, deliverables, and schedule
• Demonstrates leadership in the implementation of sustainable strategies in all project assignments and the associated development of staff knowledge
• Coordinates and supports business development, public relations, and marketing opportunities
• Participation of marketing, proposal preparation, interviews and other promotional activities
• Ability to work on multiple projects and coordinate tasks and subconsultant disciplines

Your Qualifications

• 5-10 years of related urban design experience including private sector consulting
• Master’s degree in architecture, urban design, planning or equivalent; Undergraduate in Architecture, Urban Planning, or Landscape Architecture is a plus
• Strong knowledge of land use planning for residential, retail, commercial and mixed-use development
• Experience working with multi-disciplinary teams, through master plan development
• Strong research skills with urban planning, zoning, and policy
• Strong written and spoken communication skills, including ability to assemble presentations and reports
• Software Proficiency in Rhino, SketchUp, AutoCAD, ArcGIS, MS Office (Word, Excel), Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator).
• Availability to travel.

Life at Gensler

Gensler is committed to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Through our Five Strategies to Fight Racism, we continue to create a just and equitable future for our colleagues and our communities with our clients. We are a solid voice for social change as we impact people’s lives and fight racism. At Gensler, we celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive workplace environment.

As a people-first organization, we are as committed to enjoying life as we are to delivering best-in-class design. From curated art exhibits to internal design competitions to “Well-being Week,” our offices reflect our people’s diverse interests.

We encourage every person at Gensler to lead a healthy and balanced life. Our comprehensive benefits include medical, dental, vision, disability, wellness programs, flex spending, paid holidays, and paid time off. We also offer a 401k, profit sharing, employee stock ownership, and twice annual bonus opportunities. Our annual base salary range has been established based on local markets.

As part of the firm’s commitment to licensure and professional development, Gensler offers reimbursement for certain professional licenses and associated renewals and exam fees. In addition, we reimburse tuition for certain eligible programs or classes. We view our professional development programs as strategic investments in our future.