Principal Designer

Principal Designer | Glasgow or Edinburgh

I’m working with a highly regarded Scottish architecture practice to recruit a Principal Designer for its Glasgow or Edinburgh office.

This is a brilliant opportunity for someone who wants to build a long-term career in Principal Designer and CDM work while remaining part of a creative, design-led architectural environment. The role offers genuine flexibility and could suit either an experienced Principal Designer or an Architect or Architectural Technologist looking to develop a stronger specialism in this area.

For an established Principal Designer, my client is ideally looking for someone with around two to three years’ experience managing the CDM elements of large-scale or technically complex projects. You’ll already understand the responsibilities of the Principal Designer under CDM 2015 and be comfortable advising clients, designers and project teams throughout the design and construction process.

Equally, you may be a qualified Architect or experienced Architectural Technologist who has taken on Principal Designer responsibilities as part of your wider project role. If you’ve enjoyed that side of the job and are considering making it a larger part of your career, this practice can provide the support, exposure and structure needed to help you niche into the sector.

Importantly, you won’t necessarily need to leave traditional architectural work behind. The practice is open to creating a blended position, with the potential for an approximately 50/50 split between architecture or architectural technology and Principal Designer responsibilities. This could be particularly attractive if you want to develop specialist expertise without stepping away from design, technical delivery or direct involvement in projects.

You’ll work across a varied portfolio of substantial projects, collaborating closely with internal architectural teams, external consultants and clients. Your role will involve identifying and managing design risk, reviewing pre-construction information, coordinating health and safety considerations, maintaining clear project documentation and ensuring the design team understands and meets its CDM responsibilities.

This isn’t a box-ticking compliance position. The practice wants someone who can become a trusted adviser to clients and colleagues, communicate technical information clearly and bring a practical, proportionate approach to design risk. You’ll need to be confident enough to challenge when required, but commercially aware and collaborative in how you do it.

You could be based in either Glasgow or Edinburgh, with hybrid working available. The precise shape of the position can be tailored around your current experience and longer-term ambitions. Whether you’re already committed to a career as a Principal Designer or want to combine it with architectural or technical work, there is scope to create a role that plays to your strengths.

If you’d like to explore a growing area of the profession while working within an established architectural practice, I’d be happy to tell you more. Get in touch with me for a confidential conversation about the opportunity, the team and how the role could be structured around your experience.