Design Leader, Sports

About the role

DLR Group is an integrated design firm with a promise to elevate the human experience through design. This fuels the work we do around the world and inspires our mission to improve the lives of our clients, our communities, and our planet. If this sparks your interest, you’re in the right place.

DLR Group's Kansas City Office has an opening for a Sports Design Leader.

About Sports at DLR Group

DLR Group’s Sports Studio is helping define the future of sport and entertainment.

Today’s fans seek more than participation. They expect connection, community, and memorable experiences. This shift is redefining the role of venues, moving beyond passive viewing to creating a sense of belonging. At the same time, the demands on athletes continue to evolve. Their environments must support not only development and high performance, but also overall well-being. From training and recovery to mental health, nutrition, team dynamics, and life beyond sport, today’s athletes require spaces designed for holistic human performance.

At DLR Group, we don’t just respond to change; we define it. As a Senior Sports Designer, you will help shape next-generation environments that:

Create memorable experiences through immersive, emotionally engaging design

Foster authentic community by promoting connection, belonging, and shared energy

Elevate athlete performance and well-being through integrated, holistic environments

Position Summary

As a Senior Designer at DLR Group, you will collaborate with our multi-disciplinary design teams to design projects from conception through construction documents and support the project team through construction administration for a variety of project types and sizes. As part of our integrated design teams, you will create buildings that elevate the human experience through design.

You will partner directly with the Client Leader and Project Manager to ensure the quality of project documents, meet Client responsibilities, support DLR Group's financial goals, and facilitate team collaboration and communication.

If you are a collaborative thought leader with a strategic mindset, this might be the position for you. DLR Group is 100% employee-owned, and as such, you’ll enjoy the opportunity to own a stake in the Firm. We rely on all our employee-owners to apply their financial acumen to grow the Firm profitably.

What you will do:

Plan, design, and coordinate projects of varying sizes, including large, complex projects

Lead client-facing design efforts, teams, and client interactions; generate storylines and designs that inspire clients and partners, capture the essence of their institutional goals, and translate them into creative design solutions

Independently apply advanced architectural concepts and designs, and carry out complex or novel assignments that require developing new or improved techniques and procedures

Engage and guide innovative idea generation within the integrated team in pursuit of design excellence

Review cost estimates for alignment with the design

Guide and mentor your team’s design and architectural staff

Apply DLR Group practice standards to project deliverables across the project team

Demonstrate a strong foundation in comprehensive design and technical skills

Engage and guide innovative idea generation within the integrated team in pursuit of design excellence

Actively lead project and integrated team collaboration by generating design ideas and solutions

Communicate effectively with project team members through timely and appropriate written, oral, and visual means

Engage peers and specialty experts to proactively develop holistic solutions

Meet deliverable deadlines to maintain the overall project schedule

Manage time in alignment with the project work plan

Respect construction and material costs in alignment with the project budget

Required Qualifications:

Ten or more years of professional experience

At least 10 years of experience in collegiate and/or major professional sports stadia, arenas, and training facilities

Professional degree in architecture from an accredited program

Proficiency with computer-aided design, modeling, and rendering software, including Revit, Rhino, Grasshopper, and rendering programs

Positive, entrepreneurial spirit and strong work ethic

Desire to continually learn, grow, and pursue design excellence in a fun environment

Knowledge of executing technical drawings and construction documents

Experience coordinating and integrating work with interior design and engineering disciplines

Preferred Qualifications:

Licensure as an architect and NCARB certification

Sustainability certification or accreditation, such as LEED or WELL, and a demonstrated interest in sustainable building design

Skill in hand drawing techniques for visual communication

Knowledge of Building Information Modeling (BIM) and parametric design software, such as Grasshopper, and other modeling software

Proficiency with visualization software, such as Lumion or Enscape

*TO BE CONSIDERED, PLEASE SUBMIT CURRENT PORTFOLIO/WORK SAMPLES IN PDF FORMAT*

#LI-MIS DLR Group is an integrated design firm delivering architecture, engineering, interiors, planning, and building optimization for new builds, renovations, and adaptive reuse projects.

We are 100% employee-owned: every employee is literally invested in our clients’ success. At the core of our firm are interdisciplinary teams engaged in every step of project lifecycles. Our teams champion true collaboration, open information sharing, shared risk and reward, value-based decision making, and proficient use of technology to deliver exceptional design. We are pursuing the goals of the 2030 Challenge, the ME2040, and the SE2050, and are an initial signatory of the China Accord and the AIA 2030 Commitment.

Through our values – commitment, creativity, environmental stewardship, fun, integrity, ownership, sharing, teamwork – we elevate the human experience through design, together.

DLR Group follows a four-day in-office work model, with employees having the flexibility to work somewhere other than the office on Fridays.

We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action/M/F/Veteran/Disabled employer.