Senior Architect, Federal and Defence Facilities

Level: Senior (individual contributor) | Type: Full Time, Direct Hire | Location: Toronto, ON (Ottawa, ON also considered) | Range: $103,300 to $153,300 CAD per year

The role

Our client is a large multidisciplinary design firm whose buildings practice brings architects, engineers, interior designers, sustainability specialists, and technologists together on the same projects. Their architecture group delivers complex work across the public and institutional sectors: education, transit, healthcare, aviation, civic, industrial, and federal. The federal and defence side of that portfolio is growing, and that is where they need senior depth.

They are adding a senior architect to their Toronto studio, with Ottawa as an alternative base, to lead facilities for federal and defence-sector clients: national defence, federal policing, public works, and other high-security government end users. You will carry projects from planning and concept through contract documents, construction, and commissioning, leading multidisciplinary teams the whole way and keeping every deliverable compliant with federal standards, procurement rules, and security protocols. This is a newly created seat.

You must be eligible for a federal Secret level security clearance or higher. An active clearance is preferred.

What you will own

• Design leadership and technical direction on federal and defence building projects, from first concept to close-out
• Architectural drawings, specifications, and BIM deliverables, produced to federal design standards, codes, guidelines, and security requirements
• Federal submission packages, milestone deliverables, and the documentation authorities having jurisdiction expect
• Schedules, budgets, quality metrics, and risk controls across several workstreams at once, including a live risk register with impacts, mitigations, and escalation paths
• The client relationship on each project: liaison with federal departments, project authorities, user groups, and security representatives, and the translation of their program requirements into architectural solutions
• Design presentations, working sessions, and technical reviews with senior government stakeholders
• Construction administration oversight, so design intent and performance criteria hold through to handover
• Coordination with the engineering disciplines for cohesive, technically rigorous solutions
• Mentoring emerging architectural staff, and a share of studio resourcing, workflow, and quality assurance

The facilities you will lead include defence and security infrastructure, government administrative buildings, justice, policing, and public safety projects, and other mission-critical, high-security environments.

What we require

• A bachelor's degree in architecture
• Registration as a licensed architect with the OAA or the AIBC
• Fifteen or more years of architectural experience
• A significant portfolio of federal and defence facility projects, including secure environments
• A strong working knowledge of federal procurement, PSPC standards, and Treasury Board design requirements
• A track record leading multidisciplinary teams on complex, phased, or highly technical projects
• Eligibility for a federal Secret level security clearance or higher
• Exceptional communication skills with a client-focused, solution-driven approach
• Strong presentation, documentation, and leadership capabilities
• The ability to balance competing priorities across concurrent projects

What will set you apart

• A master's degree in architecture
• An active federal security clearance

Location

• Toronto, ON is the primary base; Ottawa, ON is also considered
• Office-based, with long stretches at a workstation; field work may involve travel and exposure to the elements

Compensation

• $103,300 to $153,300 CAD per year in Toronto or Ottawa; the final figure depends on education, qualifications, experience, and work location
• Regular full-time benefits: health, dental, and vision plans, a wellness program, health care and wellness spending accounts, a group RRSP, a group TFSA, an employee share purchase plan, life and AD&D insurance, short- and long-term disability, emergency travel coverage, tuition reimbursement, professional membership fee coverage, and paid time off

Why candidates will be interested

• You lead federal and defence projects from planning through commissioning, on one team
• The seat is new, in a practice whose federal and defence workload is growing
• You mentor and help run the studio alongside the project work
• Your professional dues and continuing education are covered