Development Strategy Lead

Help reinvent how housing gets designed, permitted, and built in America.

Cedar is building the operating system for urban housing delivery. We combine architectural expertise with software, AI-driven automation, and data systems to dramatically accelerate how projects move from land acquisition to approved designs and construction. The result: faster timelines, higher quality, lower risk, and more housing in the cities that need it most.

Our team blends architects, engineers, and product builders. We design real buildings — and we build the software and AI systems that make great architecture scalable.

As the Development Strategy Lead
, you’ll help developers quickly understand what can be built on a site and how to maximize outcomes. This role will be responsible for generating rapid and accurate land plan studies during feasibility and land planning of projects across the Cedar platform in conjunction with Cedar’s technology-enabled project process. This role goes beyond the traditional land planning role; you’ll help shape how feasibility studies become automated and scalable.

This role reports to the Director of Design.

• Produce Feasibility studies, including but not limited to, site analysis (Fire Department access, parking, trash, utilities, topography, drainage, zoning setbacks, etc.) and site calculations (building coverage, impervious cover, etc.)

• Coordinate land Planning efforts, to develop feasibility studies into functioning land plans for coordination with civil engineers

• Own expertise and instill insight with design teams on critical understanding of regulations and their updates across markets

• Feed insights back into product and engineering to improve automation

• Strong collaboration skills to allow for fluid and rapid iteration on design concepts

• Comfortable balancing design quality, regulation requirements, and overall project impacts

• Ability to quickly and accurately create land plan options based on programming goals, zoning constraints and environmental factors (topography, trees, etc.)

• Excited to use and shape AI-driven workflows

• Fast, structured thinker who thrives in ambiguity

• Collaborative across disciplines

• Motivated by leverage and real-world impact

• 6+ years of experience in a land planning, civil engineering, urban design, or architectural role

• Experience in residential community planning

• Extensive knowledge of zoning codes and the land development process in Austin. Experience in other jurisdictions is preferred

• Proficiency in software that effectively and quickly communicate design concepts (examples include AutoCAD, Rhino, Enscape, etc.)

• Competitive salary

• Meaningful equity ownership

• Healthcare, dental, and vision

• Early-stage ownership and impact

• Coverage of architecture license fee (TX) and annual professional development stipend