A design-build design manager runs the design side of a firm that both designs and builds additions, whole-home remodels and custom homes. They lead the designers and turn a homeowner's wish list into permit drawings the firm can build for the agreed price. They also answer questions from the plan reviewer and the field crews.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Annual pay: 10th percentile $61,720, middle half $78,400 to $123,560, 90th percentile $160,940. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
Reports to
General Manager
Department
Operations
Schedule
Office weekdays, some site visits · The template sets 8 AM to 5 PM in the office, with site visits and longer days near permit and construction milestones
Also called
Design director · Director of design · Lead residential designer · Design studio manager
Lead the design department within a dynamic design-build firm to deliver innovative, high-quality home service solutions. Develop comprehensive design plans ensuring full code compliance while consistently meeting client needs. Serve as a key contributor to the company's growth by integrating design excellence with operational effectiveness.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Oversee and manage the design department to ensure seamless project execution.
Develop detailed design plans, blueprints, and specifications in line with client requirements and industry standards.
Ensure all designs comply with local, state, and national building codes and regulations.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including project managers and engineers, to drive project success.
Evaluate and select appropriate design materials and methods to optimize project performance.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Review and refine design plans to meet project timelines and customer expectations.
Conduct daily meetings with team members to assess project status and address any issues.
Engage with clients to gather feedback and incorporate changes where necessary.
Coordinate with regulatory bodies to verify code compliance and update designs accordingly.
Code Compliance: Maintain 100% adherence to all relevant building codes.
Customer Satisfaction Rating: Exceed a rating of 4.8 stars on client feedback surveys.
Design Revision Efficiency: Limit design revisions to less than 5% of total projects.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Architecture, Design, Engineering, or a related field.
5+ years of experience in architectural design or design management within the home services industry.
Proficient in design software and computer-aided design (CAD) programs.
Strong project management, communication, and leadership skills.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience working in design-build firms or similar integrated project delivery environments.
Background in residential design projects with a focus on innovative home solutions.
Familiarity with sustainable design and green building practices.
Proven track record in managing multidisciplinary teams and complex projects.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to occasionally lift up to 25 pounds.
Frequent use of computers and design tools in an office environment.
Occasional site visits requiring moderate physical activity.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical work hours from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM with occasional extended hours during peak project phases.
Predominantly office-based work with periodic visits to project sites.
Minimal travel expected for client meetings and site inspections.
On-call duties as necessary during critical project milestones.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Salary range: $85,000 - $110,000 USD per year based on experience.
Performance-based bonus structure.
Health, Dental, and Vision insurance benefits provided.
401(k) plan with company match.
Additional fringe benefits include paid time off, professional development opportunities, and flexible work arrangements.
10. Company Culture and Overview
Our company fosters a collaborative, innovative, and inclusive environment where every team member is empowered to contribute to project success.
We pride ourselves on a culture that values continuous learning, creative problem-solving, and a commitment to delivering exceptional home service experiences.
As a part of our team, you'll have opportunities to grow professionally while helping shape the future of design in the home services industry.
11. How to Apply
If you meet the above criteria and want to be part of a growth-oriented company focused on customer satisfaction, please send your resume to [INSERT EMAIL HERE] or apply online at [INSERT WEBSITE LINK HERE].
Need help filling this role? HireBus posts the ad, Iris interviews every applicant by phone before you do, and you decide who to hire. Start hiring now
What changes when the same firm designs and builds
An architect at a design firm hands drawings to whichever builder wins the bid. Here the drawings go to your own crews, and the homeowner signed one contract for both, so every line on a sheet becomes cost, schedule and callbacks the firm owns.
One contract for design and construction
The Design-Build Institute of America says the single contract for both design and building is the basic difference between design-build and other ways to deliver a project. For the design manager, that makes price part of the design. Each plan gets checked against an estimate before the homeowner falls in love with it. Over time, the designers learn which details your crews build well. Source: Design-Build Institute of America: What is design-build.
Who may draw a house depends on the state
Some states, such as California, let people without an architect's license design small homes. California's law lets them draw single-family wood-frame houses of up to two stories and a basement, plus a few other building types. If part of such a house strays from the state's conventional wood-framing rules, the building official requires an architect or engineer to prepare and stamp that part. Check what your state allows before you write the job's duties. Source: California Business and Professions Code 5537: plans unlicensed persons may prepare.
Don't call an unlicensed manager an architect
In California, a person without a license who calls themselves an "architect" or an "architectural designer" commits a misdemeanor. The firm's name matters too. If it uses "architect," "architecture" or "architectural" in its name or list of services, a licensed architect must be in management control. Then all its design work falls under that architect's control, even houses that would be exempt. Unless your hire holds a license, post the job as design manager. Source: California Architects Board: Responsible control within design and design-build firms.
Old houses need drawings of what's there
Most remodels and additions start with no plans of the house as it stands. The design team measures every room, the attic and the crawl space, and draws what exists before drawing what's new. A missed beam, or a duct where a new door should go, turns into a revision during construction, which the template counts against this role.
Selections belong to the design phase
Homeowners choose tile, cabinets, windows and fixtures, and in design-build those choices sit with the design team rather than a showroom the homeowner visits alone. The design manager sets a deadline for each selection before the build starts. A faucet picked late can hold up the plumber's rough-in and become a change order.
How much design-build design managers make
The closest BLS group for design-build design managers is architects. Architects who work for building contractors earned a median of $46.04 an hour ($95,760 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s below the $99,280 median for architects in all industries. About 3,820 of the 106,770 architects in that survey work for building contractors.
Per the template, this is salaried work, and strong results earn a bonus. The figures here are for architects, the closest BLS group, so if your manager won't hold a license, compare them with what local residential designers earn.
Building contractors
$95,760$95,760 median Middle half $78,400–$123,560 10th–90th $61,720–$160,940
All industries
$99,280$99,280 median Middle half $77,960–$126,550 10th–90th $62,300–$161,420
$25k$50k$75k$100k$125k$150k$175k
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Building contractors
$61,720
$78,400
$95,760
$123,560
$160,940
All industries
$62,300
$77,960
$99,280
$126,550
$161,420
BLS doesn’t publish pay for design-build firms on their own. These figures cover construction of buildings, which include them. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
The pay line in the template above is an example from our Role Blueprint. Set yours from these figures and what local companies pay.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Has led residential projects from first meeting to approved permit set
Draws and checks construction documents in CAD or BIM software
Reads a framing plan well enough to predict what the field will ask
Designs to a budget and tells a homeowner no without losing them
Assigns designers' work and reviews every set before it leaves
Teach these on the job
Your estimating templates and unit costs
Each building department's submittal habits
Your selection schedule and allowance process
Which details your crews build fastest
The engineers and energy consultants you already use
Residential design-build teams often draw in Chief Architect, Revit or AutoCAD and show homeowners 3D views from the same model. Many firms add an estimating program and an online selections portal, so name both in the ad if the designers work in them.
Design-build design manager interview questions
Two of the 6 questions we'd ask, and what a strong answer sounds like. Ask every candidate the same questions, and rate each answer on your own before you compare notes.
Situational · Clients who want more
A client loves a design option that pushes the project well over budget. How do you handle it?
A strong answer: Shows the cost clearly, offers alternatives that keep the feel, lets the client decide with full information, and documents the decision and updated budget.
Behavioral · Taking field feedback
Tell me about a time a field team found a problem with your design. How did you respond?
A strong answer: Responded quickly, fixed it without blame, and changed a detail or check so it wouldn't recur.
Count these by project and review them each quarter, so one hard client doesn't swing the score. Pick your own bars from last year's jobs before you hold a manager to the template's figures.
Project Completion Rate
Design packages handed to the build team by the date in the design schedule, out of all packages due that quarter. Log delays the building department caused on their own line.
Code Compliance
Plan review comments and failed inspections traced to a design error, per permit set. A clean first plan review is the best sign the team checks its own sheets.
Customer Satisfaction Rating
Homeowner survey scores taken at design sign-off and again at move-in, so you can tell the design experience apart from the build.
Design Revision Efficiency
Projects that needed a drawing revision after construction started, out of all projects, with each cause noted: a missed site condition, a late homeowner change or a drafting error.
Career path
Residential designerDraws plans and meets homeowners under a lead designer.
Design-build design managerLeads the design team and owns the drawings crews build from.
General managerRuns design, sales and construction as one business.
Chief operating officerSets how the firm delivers every project, from first sketch to warranty.
Does a design-build design manager need an architect's license?
Not always. It depends on your state, the type and size of building, and the title you use. A licensed manager does widen what the firm can design in-house. In California, for example, a house taller than two stories and a basement, or not wood-framed, needs an architect or engineer. Ask your state's architects board, before the posting goes live, what an unlicensed designer may draw and which titles they may use.
How much does a design-build design manager make?
Architects who work for building contractors earned a median of $46.04 an hour ($95,760 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $78,400 and $123,560 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and overtime.
Who does what: the design manager or the project manager?
The design manager owns the drawings, specs and selections until the permit is issued. After that, they stay on call for field questions. The project manager owns the build: schedule, subs, budget and the homeowner during construction. Most design-build jobs go right or wrong at the hand-off meeting between the two, with the estimate, drawings and selections on the table.
What should a design manager's portfolio show?
Finished houses, not just pretty pictures. Request a complete permit set for a remodel or addition, the measured drawings of the existing house it started from, and photos of the finished job. Then have the candidate walk you through one revision made during construction and what they changed in their process afterward.
Can the design manager also draw plans?
At a firm this size, usually some of the time. A firm running many remodels a year may have two or three designers under the manager, who reviews every set and takes the hardest jobs. If the manager drafts full time, reviews slip and the backlog grows, so watch how many weeks a signed homeowner waits for drawings.
How much should a design manager know about construction costs?
Enough to tell a homeowner in the first meeting which ideas will break the budget. Pair a new manager with your estimator or project managers on the first few jobs, and share final costs from finished work. A designer who sees what their details cost in the field learns quickly.
