Senior Architect -Residential Retrofit (London or Birmingham)

At Jacobs, we are challenging today to reinvent tomorrow by solving the world’s most critical problems for thriving cities, resilient environments, mission-critical outcomes, operational advancement, scientific discovery and cutting-edge manufacturing, turning abstract ideas into realities that transform the world for good.

Your impact

Shape the future of safer, sustainable homes. Here at Jacobs, our in-house Architect teams provide a full-service solution: architectural design, fire engineering, civil and MEP engineering, CDM, and Principal Designer roles. Join Jacobs’ Cities and Places team in Birmingham or London office to lead the architectural delivery of high-rise social housing retrofit projects—transforming existing buildings into safer, more energy-efficient homes for thousands of residents.

What You’ll Do

• Collaborate with experts across disciplines to deliver integrated, high-value solutions.
• Drive the refurbishment of medium and high-rise residential buildings (5–20+ stories).
• Oversee upgrades to external building fabric, passive and active fire safety systems, and service infrastructure.
• Ensure projects enhance comfort, sustainability, and compliance under the Building Safety Act.
• Lead a team, set standards, and ensure compliance, supported by in-house expertise.

Here’s what you’ll need

• Chartered Architect (ARB/RIBA) with 15+ years’ experience (or 10+ with significant recent retrofit projects).
• Proven track record in social housing retrofit, ideally high-rise.
• Strong technical knowledge of Building Regulations, fire safety, and sustainable design.
• Awareness of the Building Safety Act (2023)—or willingness to develop expertise with our in-house support.

Our colleagues enjoy project diversity and global reach within a collaborative and innovative work environment as well as opportunities for professional growth and development.

Benefits

• Up to 10% pension
• 24 days (+10 days bought) holidays
• Free medical and income protection insurance and many more

Interested? Click to apply! Joining Jacobs not only connects you locally but globally. Our values stand on a foundation of safety, integrity, inclusion and belonging. We put people at the heart of our business, and we truly believe that by supporting one another through our culture of caring, we all succeed. We value positive mental health and a sense of belonging for all employees. With safety and flexibility always top of mind, we’ve gone beyond traditional ways of working so you have the support, means and space to maximize your potential.

We aim to embed inclusion and belonging in everything we do. We accept people for who they are, and we champion the richness of different perspectives, lived experiences and backgrounds in the workplace. As a disability confident employer, we will interview disabled candidates who best meet the criteria. We welcome applications from candidates who are seeking flexible working and from those who may not meet all the listed requirements for a role. We value collaboration and believe that in-person interactions are crucial for both our culture and client delivery. We empower employees with our hybrid working policy, allowing them to split their work week between Jacobs offices/projects and remote locations enabling them to deliver their best work. If you require further support or reasonable adjustments with regards to the recruitment process (for example, you require the application form in a different format), please contact the team via Careers Support.