Director - Design Operations

Overview

Vivmark Residential exists to set the mark for what home can be. Formed through the merger of AvalonBay Communities and Equity Residential, Vivmark brings together two industry leaders with a shared commitment to excellence, innovation, and delivering exceptional living experiences. Our vision is to be the most trusted and best-performing rental housing company in America - one that continues to get better as it grows. And we're looking for people who want to help us do it.

The Role

The Director of Design Operations provides operational leadership and hands-on execution for Vivmark’s Design organization, ensuring that resources, systems, and processes support effective day-to-day operations and continued growth. Working with Design leadership and internal stakeholders, the role strengthens project visibility, resource planning, coordination, and delivery. The successful candidate brings operational discipline, sound judgment, curiosity, and a practical approach to solving problems and helping multidisciplinary teams work effectively.

Key Responsibilities

• Maintain visibility into the project pipeline, schedules, milestones, and delivery across Architecture and Interiors.
• Assess workload and capacity with Design leadership to inform staffing and project assignments.
• Identify risks and competing priorities, and coordinate with internal stakeholders to resolve issues.
• Work with Design leadership to define group-wide business priorities, translate them into plans, and track commitments and progress.
• Manage and refine existing workflows, standards, templates, and tools.
• Work with internal stakeholders and external partners to standardize design processes and clarify roles and responsibilities.
• Track adoption of design standards and assess process effectiveness, using regular reporting to identify gaps and guide improvements.
• Research emerging technologies and industry trends, including AI-enabled tools and workflows relevant to architecture, interior design, and project delivery.
• Evaluate opportunities, recommend solutions, and lead implementation to deliver measurable improvements.
• Coordinate the operational aspects of onboarding, training, and systems adoption.
• Work with team leaders to identify and address capability gaps, supporting collaboration and consistent practices across functions and locations.

Candidate Profile

• Bachelor's degree in Architecture, Interior Design, Construction Management, Engineering, Business, or a related field.
• 8–12 years of experience in operations, project management, or team leadership, ideally within architecture, design, or a related industry.
• Demonstrated experience improving processes and systems for multidisciplinary teams across multiple functions or locations.
• Strong organizational, analytical, communication, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to anticipate challenges, navigate ambiguity, manage competing priorities, and follow through independently.
• Experience with project management systems, project pipeline and schedule tracking, reporting tools, and business planning.
• Curiosity about emerging technologies and the ability to evaluate new tools and translate promising ideas into practical improvements.
• Ability to build relationships and work effectively across teams in a collaborative, creative environment.

How Vivmark Supports You

We know that our teams are the beating heart of our success and we’re committed to showing our appreciation. We offer a competitive benefits package that supports your health, financial well-being, and work-life balance, including medical, dental, and vision coverage, a 401(k) with company match, paid vacation and company holidays, and exclusive team member housing discounts.

Position Type: Full-time
Weekly Scheduled Hours: 40
Location: Arlington, VA 22203
Total Base Pay Range: $110,800.00 - $184,800.00

Vivmark Residential is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and is committed to an inclusive and diverse work environment free of discrimination and harassment. We believe that in order to achieve our purpose of creating a better way to live, we must recruit, develop and retain associates with a wide range of backgrounds, experiences and perspectives and create an environment that encourages all voices to be heard, understood and appreciated. With this we know we can do great things.

Vivmark Residential makes employment decisions without regard to a person’s race, ethnicity, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy (including childbirth, lactation or related medical conditions), age, physical or mental disability, genetic information (including characteristics or testing), citizenship status, military or veteran status, or any other status protected by the law.

For California residents, if you elect to apply to Vivmark Residential you accept the Vivmark Residential California Personnel Privacy Notice.

Vivmark Residential is aware that there is recruitment fraud activity whereby scammers impersonate Vivmark Residential and offer fake employment opportunities to candidates. Please note that Vivmark Residential will never charge any candidate a registration fee, hiring fee, or any other fee in connection with its recruitment and hiring process. If you suspect that you are being contacted by a scammer impersonating our company, please report it immediately to our official HR Department (avalonbayhumanresources@avalonbay.com).