What does a design architect do?
A Design Architect plans and designs buildings and other structures under the supervision of a senior architect. They use computer design software programs to craft various sketches or blueprints.
Design architect responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real design architect resumes:
- Manage technical architects for development and support of existing and new terminal platforms to support Walmart mobile and batch application infrastructure.
- Prepare layouts, drawings and 3D visualization.
- Sketch and design of require facilities as per contract.
- Master drawing with Revit and train team members on Revit.
- Prepare presentation materials (BIM), 3D render images (walk through) animation.
- Operate in individual role, scope of tasks including project pre-design/design, and construction documents using Revit.
- Develop and deploy POC for BYOD / VDI environment with three tiers of service for 50K+ employees.
- Involve in defining TFS infrastructure which include branching, merging, versioning and promoting TFS best practices.
- Generate creative designs using multiple formats including BIM software, drawings, modeling and 3D imaging for clients.
- Develop training program for company employees in Java internet technology.
- Implement and oversee scrum board activities and collaborate team activities.
- Evaluate several cutting edge open-source java base technologies for various requirements.
- Design technology solution and reference architecture for CRM and data warehouse.
- Research and evaluate alternative solutions to traditional QA methodology and making recommendations.
- Provide CRM functional design solutions for customers, including full life-cycle implementation.
Design architect skills and personality traits
We calculated that 16% of Design Architects are proficient in Revit, Architectural Design, and Project Management. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Communication skills, and Creativity.
We break down the percentage of Design Architects that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Revit, 16%
Served as Co-Chairman of the Revit Building Information Modeling evaluation, selection, and implementation team for the firm.
- Architectural Design, 6%
Provided full scope of architectural design services for various renovation and rehabilitation projects.
- Project Management, 5%
Collaborated with project management and staff to develop effective mitigation strategies.
- Sketch, 5%
Sketch and design of required facilities as per contract.
- Design Development, 4%
Assist on design conceptualization during design development stage & coordinate with the other engineering disciplines.
- C #, 4%
Instituted digital media campaign and achieved organic #1 rankings for targeted keywords via SEO and SMM.
Most design architects use their skills in "revit," "architectural design," and "project management" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential design architect responsibilities here:
Analytical skills. The most essential soft skill for a design architect to carry out their responsibilities is analytical skills. This skill is important for the role because "architects must understand the content of designs and the context in which they were created." Additionally, a design architect resume shows how their duties depend on analytical skills: "designed a distributed ip accounting data collection system based on cisco's netflow protocol. "
Communication skills. Another essential skill to perform design architect duties is communication skills. Design architects responsibilities require that "architects share their ideas, both in oral presentations and in writing, with clients, other architects, and workers who help prepare drawings." Design architects also use communication skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "train end-users on ip telephony, unified communications, and computer telephone integrated (cti) applications. "
Creativity. This is an important skill for design architects to perform their duties. For an example of how design architect responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "architects design the overall look of houses, buildings, and other structures." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a design architect: "produced database of work inventory for capital construction cost projection. ".
Organizational skills. A big part of what design architects do relies on "organizational skills." You can see how essential it is to design architect responsibilities because "architects often manage contracts." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical design architect tasks: "anticipated future organizational requirements to establish long-term facility & infrastructure strategies. "
Technical skills. Another common skill required for design architect responsibilities is "technical skills." This skill comes up in the duties of design architects all the time, as "architects need to use cadd technology to create plans as part of building information modeling (bim)." An excerpt from a real design architect resume shows how this skill is central to what a design architect does: "performed gap analysis and translated functional requirements to technical specifications and solutions. "
Visualization skills. Lastly, "visualization skills" is an important element of what a design architect does. Design architect responsibilities require this skill because "architects must be able to envision how the parts of a structure relate to each other." This resume example highlights how design architect duties rely on this skill: "prepare graphical presentations and utilize 3d visualization (modeling and rendering). "
The three companies that hire the most design architects are:
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Compare different design architects
Design architect vs. Job captain
A Job Captain is responsible for overseeing the drafting process of a project and completing outstanding items or tasks that remain to be accomplished. They take direction from the Project Manager, the Project Architect, and/or the Architect of Record.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between design architects and job captain. For instance, design architect responsibilities require skills such as "c #," "excellent interpersonal," "visualization," and "sharepoint." Whereas a job captain is skilled in "autocad," "cad," "project design," and "k-12." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Job captains tend to make the most money working in the hospitality industry, where they earn an average salary of $76,826. In contrast, design architects make the biggest average salary, $98,717, in the construction industry.The education levels that job captains earn slightly differ from design architects. In particular, job captains are 7.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a design architect. Additionally, they're 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Design architect vs. School plant consultant
A computer-aided design (CAD) designer is responsible for creating plan outlines and project designs for a specific business need. A CAD designer utilizes various technologies and software applications to generate graphic illustrations. CAD designers must have strong knowledge of the technology designs, software management, engineering standards, and the construction industry fundamentals. CAD designers label their works with appropriate dimensions and specifications, performing necessary adjustments to meet the clients' needs. A CAD designer requires excellent critical-thinking and analytical skills to manage design structures and creative solutions.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that design architect responsibilities requires skills like "revit," "architectural design," "project management," and "sketch." But a school plant consultant might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "classroom observations," "public schools," "iep," and "mental health."
School plant consultants earn similar levels of education than design architects in general. They're 2.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for design architects in the next 3-5 years?
Dak Kopec Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Coordinator, BA Interior Architecture and Design and Master of Design Program, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas
Design architect vs. Computer aided design designer
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a design architect is likely to be skilled in "architectural design," "project management," "c #," and "excellent interpersonal," while a typical computer aided design designer is skilled in "engineering drawings," "design drawings," "mechanical design," and "assembly drawings."
Computer aided design designers earn the highest salary when working in the automotive industry, where they receive an average salary of $79,713. Comparatively, design architects have the highest earning potential in the construction industry, with an average salary of $98,717.Most computer aided design designers achieve a lower degree level compared to design architects. For example, they're 17.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.8% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Design architect vs. Draftsman/designer
Types of design architect
Updated January 8, 2025
