Job Details

Overview

Senior Higher Education Campus Planner/Designer – join NBBJ Design to lead transformative campus planning projects for top-tier colleges, universities and healthcare institutions, integrating design thinking with institutional strategy and data analytics.

This role is available in any of our locations: Boston, Columbus, Charlotte, Los Angeles, New York, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco or Seattle.

Compensation

Base pay range: $120,000.00/yr - $145,000.00/yr

Annual Bonus

Responsibilities

• Serve as a trusted advisor to higher education and healthcare clients, leading the planning process from early engagement through final delivery.
• Present plans and recommendations to senior leadership and stakeholder groups.
• Translate client vision into actionable spatial strategies and convey these ideas through hand-drawn or digital plans, diagrams and sketches.
• Conceptualize ideas at campus-wide, district, and site-specific scales.
• Collaborate with architects, designers, and strategists to translate client goals into planning insights.
• Advocate for integrated sustainability, resilience, and equity in planning recommendations.
• Identify and pursue new business opportunities to expand the firm's planning portfolio.
• Contribute to business development efforts, including proposals, client interviews, and relationship-building in higher education and healthcare sectors.
• Support thought leadership through speaking engagements, white papers, and industry participation.
• Stay current with trends and emerging pedagogies.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Planning, Urban Design, Landscape Architecture, Architecture, or related field.
• 15+ years of experience in higher education planning, healthcare and institutional strategy.
• Proven experience leading campus planning efforts for higher education and healthcare institutions.
• Excellent communication and facilitation skills; ability to engage diverse audiences and build consensus.
• Proficiency in analog or digital sketching.
• AICP, PLA, AIA or other relevant professional certifications.
• Familiarity with data visualization tools or dashboards is a plus.
• Travel required (20–30%) for on-site workshops, campus assessments, and presentations.

This role requires the individual to be based in the United States.

Job function

• Design

Industries

• Architecture and Planning, Higher Education, and Interior Design