Senior Architect — Retail & Restaurant

The Opportunity

A principal-led boutique firm that has built its name on retail and restaurant architecture is hiring a licensed architect for its Akron headquarters. The practice carries active licensure across 49 U.S. states, Washington D.C., and five Canadian provinces, and runs national rollout programs for brands most people would recognize on sight. This opportunity includes a real path toward ownership.

Position at a Glance

Title

Project Architect / Senior Architect / Architectural Project Lead (titled to experience)

Location

Akron, OH — onsite

Status

Full-time, exempt (salaried professional)

Compensation

Competitive salary based on experience, plus project-based bonus potential — and a genuine path to equity partnership for an architect who grows with the firm

Sectors

Retail, restaurant, mixed-use, adaptive reuse, commercial

Licensure

Active U.S. Registered Architect (RA) license — required

What You'll Do

You'll own retail and restaurant rollout projects end to end, usually several at once and in several states at the same time. Day to day:

Produce complete construction document sets for retail and restaurant tenant improvements and ground-up workRun multi-state permit submissions and approvals, and stay ahead of how each market amends the IBCAct as the primary client contact: lead the meetings, manage the owner's-rep relationship, and coordinate MEP, structural, and civil consultantsAdapt national brand prototypes to local site and code conditions at rollout speedWrite specifications and help maintain the master spec libraryEvaluate existing buildings for adaptive reuse and historic tax credit potentialDeliver on time and on budget — the reputation this firm has protected for close to fifty years

What We're Looking For

Required

Active Registered Architect (RA) license in any U.S. stateRoughly 8–15+ years of experience, ideally with 5+ years since licensureA real CD production history. You've stamped drawings and stood behind themA commercial background: retail, restaurant, tenant improvement, mixed-use, or similarExperience pushing permits through multiple jurisdictionsAutoCAD proficiency; working Revit/BIM knowledge strongly preferredThe judgment to run several concurrent projects without hand-holding

Strongly Preferred

NCARB CertificateAIA membershipSpecification writing experienceRollout experience with named retail or restaurant brandsAdaptive reuse or historic preservation workRoots in the Akron, Cleveland, or Columbus markets, or a clear plan to relocate

Why This Role

Your work gets built, and people see it. These are nationally branded stores and restaurants opening in growing markets.

You'll learn from specialists. The people you'll work next to have spent the better part of their careers on retail and restaurant architecture and nothing else.

There's somewhere to go. The team is small and the principals are thinking about succession. An architect who steps in and delivers has room to become an owner, not just a long-tenured employee.

Technical Environment

CAD / BIM

AutoCAD (required); Revit a plus

Design

Adobe Creative Suite (a plus)

Specifications

MasterSpec or proprietary systems; CSI MasterFormat Div. 00–16

Delivery Methods

Design-Bid-Build (DBB), Design-Build (DB), CM-at-Risk (CMR)

Code Fluency

IBC, ADA/ABA, jurisdictional amendments, multi-state permit workflows

Project Types

Retail TI, restaurant rollout, mixed-use, adaptive reuse, commercial

About the Firm

We're keeping the firm's name confidential at this stage. Here's what we can share: it's a principal-led boutique with a specialty practice that has stayed focused on retail and restaurant architecture for decades. The culture is low-ego and high-accountability, and the client relationships are measured in years rather than projects. We share the full picture once there's mutual interest.