Senior Urban Designer

ERA-co is a new global Experience Agency made up of data scientists, strategists and experience designers who lead transformative strategy to shape cities, neighborhoods and destinations to positively impact the lives of people and the places they inhabit. With offices in New York, Melbourne, Sydney, London and Dubai, our global ambitions have only just begun.

Our clients & projects range from branding single residential buildings to positioning and leading experiences of major urban masterplans, mixed-use developments, to globally famous civic places. While the work is diverse, they all start from a singular belief; that transformative placemaking has the power to advance humanity. Our collective operates in the rare space between creativity and consulting. We are assembled into three distinct verticals; Brand Experience, User Strategy and Urban Strategy & Masterplanning (USP). Working as one group we are always on the lookout for people who can flex between these disciplines, who are aligned with our brand and passionate about the creating sustainable places.

ERA-co is part of the 7C Total Place Design Network, a wholly owned network of leading brands operating from 18 global cities. For design and masterplanning services, we partner very closely with our sister company Woods Bagot, a world-renowned architecture firm.

So, Who Are You?

In this role you will work closely leaders of ERA-co Urban Strategy and Masterplanning on a range of master planning and urban design projects.

You’re able to work across multiple clients, contexts, timelines, time zones and deliverables at once, thriving on the diversity of the work and global nature of the business.

Recognising we are a start up, you happily pitch in, roll up your sleeves are not afraid of getting your hands dirty. You have a can-do attitude and take on tasks to get the job done. Success and quality delivery of design are part of your DNA.

You can delve into projects with strong inter-personal skills and time management. You actively listen and can proactively spot opportunities to add value to internal teams and ERA-co’s clients. You quickly earn the trust of those around you. You bring with you an appetite to learn, contribute and introduce new partners & talent to improve the output of ERA-co. You are nimble and responsive to feedback, providing creative solutions to project demands quickly with a collaborative attitude to working. In the presence of ambiguity, you take initiative to gain clarity and create a path forward.

Key Requirements:

• Develop conceptual urban design frameworks and masterplans, ensuring alignment with project objectives, site conditions, and sustainability goals.
• Have excellent concept and design skills.
• Strong time management skills in fast paced and interdisciplinary workplace.
• Good understanding of Master planning concepts, best practice, and principles.
• Good understanding of CMP (concept masterplan) and DMP (detailed masterplan) process and deliverables.
• Ability to manage masterplans through later stages, including Detailed Master Plan (DMP) development, working closely with the Project Leader/ Principal.
• Work closely with clients, stakeholders, and internal teams to refine design concepts, ensuring they meet both functional and aesthetic requirements.
• Ability to manage project coordination and organise sub-consultants.
• Ability to mentor and guide junior staff members.
• Support generation of new client work and engagement, have interest in developing good business development skills and relationships.
• Positive, proactive, and friendly attitude to working and teamwork.
• Self-motivated and can take initiative under minimal guidance.
• Strong organizational and time-management skills, able to work under pressure and meet tight deadlines.
• Present and articulate design concepts clearly to clients, stakeholders, and other team members, fostering collaboration and gaining consensus on direction. Have excellent visualisation and graphic skills.
• Proficient in advanced design software such as Rhino and Grasshopper to develop complex forms and urban design solutions.
• Proficient in Adobe Suite (InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop) for creating presentations, diagrams, and graphic representations of design concepts.
• Strong collaborator with multidisciplinary teams including architects, landscape architects, and engineers to integrate urban design with architectural and environmental considerations.

Your Experience:

• 5-8+ years post graduate experience in urban design (or equivalent).
• Degree in Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Urban Design or a related design discipline; a postgraduate qualification in Urban Design would be advantageous.
• Experience in developing large-scale masterplans across multiple project stages, from Vision to DMP.
• Strong technical skills in relevant software (e.g., AutoCAD, Rhino, Grasshopper, GIS), with an ability to translate complex design ideas into clear and compelling 3D models.
• Proficiency in Adobe Suite (InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop) for creating presentations, diagrams, and graphic representations of design concepts.
• Proficiency in PowerPoint, Word, Excel.
• Willingness to learn how to use other tools and incorporate AI is highly desired.

What to Expect

We’re a small team with big ambitions. We are committed to building a culture dedicated to personal growth and individual expression. Certain attitudes define how we work and are important in what we seek for our culture:

We’re a small team with big ambitions. We are committed to building a culture dedicated to personal growth and individual expression. Certain attitudes define how we work and are important in what we seek for our culture:

//HUMAN FIRST – Champion the End User

We communicate with clarity, free from jargon, to stay in line with real people. We do not get bogged down in the rhetoric. We uphold placemaking as a deeply human endeavor that belongs as much on the street, as it does in the boardroom.

//PROTAGONISTS – Ask Beautiful Questions

We champion those with a point-of-view, rather than judging, ridiculing, or side-stepping those who speak up. We encourage every colleague to ask the hard questions, bring the provocative perspective, and dig for the truth.

//COLLABORATIVE – The Best Ideas are Co-Authored

We are high on talent and low on ego. With such diversity of experience and talent, we know the work is sharper and more resolved the more people we invite into the process.

Place innovation requires an insatiable hunger to stay ahead of culture. We keep a constant global radar to push through complexity and discover new solutions to the world’s most urgent challenges.

//GRITTY – Preserve for the Sake of Transformative Placemaking

We roll up our sleeves and dive right in, driving every problem with passion and gritty determination. It is not about being the smartest in the room, but rather staying the course, fighting for ideas, and seeing the long game through.

#J-18808-Ljbffr