Director of Architectural Engineering + Design

* Please note that we do not accept unsolicited candidate introductions, referrals, or resumes from external recruiters or staffing agencies.

Location:

While this is a remote role, you will need to permanently be located in PST or MST time zones with required occasional travel to the West Coast.

As part of our hiring process, Frontline Wildfire Defense conducts comprehensive background checks for all new hires. These checks typically cover the past 7–10 years and may include employment and education verification. For roles that require work in the field, driving record verification is also required. Employment offers are contingent upon the successful completion of these background checks.

Founded in 2017, Frontline developed the first fully integrated wildfire defense system to stop the leading cause of home loss in wildfires: ember-driven ignition. The system combines exterior sprinklers, full-coverage design, and connected software for remote monitoring and response, allowing homes to protect themselves long after families evacuate or infrastructure fails.

Proven effective during the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, 96% of homes with Frontline systems survived. That success has earned top industry recognition, including Frontline being recognized as one of TIME’s Best Inventions 2025 in the Green Tech category and receiving the PCBC Gold Nugget Award for “Most Innovative Housing Concept” and the Best of IBS Award for “Best Home Technology.”

As wildfires grow hotter and more frequent, our vision is to give people the tools and strategies to live safely with fire. We’re building a mission-driven team creating real-world solutions in wildfire safety and climate tech.

The Director of Architectural Engineering + Design is an essential leadership position tasked with overseeing every element of the design process, ensuring that projects are executed with creativity, practicality, and compliance with industry standards. This role is crucial in establishing the vision and direction for design initiatives, encouraging innovation, and ensuring alignment with the organization's strategic objectives.

This role requires a highly experienced and strategic individual with a thorough understanding of construction practices, design principles, and project management. The Director of Architectural Engineering + Design will lead a team of design professionals, ensuring that all projects meet client expectations, budgetary constraints, and regulatory standards, while optimizing value and constructability. Additionally, the Director of Architectural Engineering + Design will work closely with cross-functional teams to deliver high-quality design solutions that align with client needs and regulatory requirements.

• Lead and manage the design team, providing guidance and mentorship to foster professional growth and innovation.
• Set clear performance expectations, provide regular feedback, and foster a high-performance, collaborative team environment.
• Develop and implement departmental policies, procedures, and standards to ensure consistent quality and efficiency.
• Oversee the recruitment, onboarding, review processes, revisions, as-builts and training of design staff
• Develop and implement the overall design strategy for the company, aligning with business goals and objectives with an eye on AI and automation.
• Oversee the design process from conceptualization to execution, ensuring adherence to schedules.
• Provide guidance and recommendations to the system designers on how to most effectively locate equipment to yield optimal structure protection from ember ignition during a wildfire event.
• Review and approve design proposals and scope estimates, ensuring compliance with project specifications and regulatory standards.
• Proactively identify and mitigate potential design risks and challenges.
• Stay up-to-date with industry trends, emerging technologies, and best practices in construction design.

• Review and approve design proposals, drawings, and specifications.
• Ensure…