NOWN is seeking a studio director for architectural solutions at DEPO, to join its team in Amsterdam.

Job description

DEPO is NOWN’s Design, Engineering and Production Office: the output engine of the company. Every project flows through DEPO for design coordination, engineering, shop drawings, production files, technical documentation, crating, assembly diagramming, packing and shipping.

As director of architectural solutions, you’re a hybrid of architect, engineer, and manufacturing expert, comfortable moving between the big-picture goals of the company and the fine-grain details of each project delivery. Fluency in communicating complex design ideas, both verbally and through drawing, is critical.

DEPO is currently six people: a lead designer, a computational design manager, two production engineers, and two junior job captains based remotely in Turkey. As director, you own the team’s output quality, project allocation, and professional development, along with the systems and tools that make that output scalable. The role reports directly to the head of operations and the CEO of NOWN.

You’ll move between quick-cycle, bespoke, and fully custom projects, keeping every element organised, on time and assessed for risk at each stage. On the strategic side, you’re responsible for evolving DEPO from a reactive delivery team into a proactive, scalable studio: building the quality-control processes, training modules and documentation standards that let the team operate without constant senior intervention and developing the next generation of engineering and design leadership from within.

Responsibilities:

set project priorities and manage workload across the team
review and approve drawing sets before client release
oversee the transition of projects from design through pre-production into manufacturing
coordinate with other NOWN studios such as BUILD (Production), LAB (R&D), and MOTHERSHIP (Leadership/HR) and the sales territories on production handoffs and scope boundaries
drive internal tool development: Grasshopper scripts, automation workflows, BOM builders, AI system integration and Rhino/GH plugins that take manual effort out of every future project
get hands-on with shop drawing output, assembly, testing and prototyping when the work calls for it
handle customer communication and light project management, including fielding last-minute requests from installers and GCs on live installs and driving solutions internally, fast
track studio schedules and hours, errors and omissions, tool deployment and team development

Skills:

expert-level Rhino and Grasshopper (non-negotiable)
familiarity with Python and comfort with advanced AI tools
reading architectural drawings and understanding complex interior and exterior detailing
a solid understanding of metal fabrication, laser cutting, press brake bending, and material nesting
producing and reviewing shop drawing sets for architectural products, interior design or facade work
spotting a cut-file error or an installation sequencing problem in a drawing set
project organisation: timeline management, bills of materials, shipping and logistics, installation coordination
communicating complex design ideas clearly, both verbally and through drawing

Requirements:

minimum eight years’ experience in architecture or industrial design/manufacturing (preferred)
a bachelor’s or higher in architecture or design
experience managing teams of at least three people
familiarity with sheet metal, powder-coating, architectural assemblies and felt
the temperament for a fast-paced, dynamic environment with new challenges daily

NOWN

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Studio director – architectural solutions