Computational Urban Designer in England

KPF is seeking an experienced Computational Urban Designer to join our team in London. You will be working with the KPF Urban Interface (KPFui) team, which focuses on computational design, data analytics, and technology development. KPFui uses data analytics for informed decision making in the design of buildings and cities for people.

Your role will focus on working as a computational urban designer collaborating with design teams to facilitate performance-based design while developing new tools and workflows. You will work closely with project teams to understand design goals and translate them into computational solutions, creating analysis tools and automated workflows that enhance the design process. This position combines hands-on project collaboration with strategic tool development and contributes to KPF's new business initiatives. This role is both technical, requiring expertise in Rhino and Grasshopper, and design focused, requiring experience in urban design and computational workflows.

• 70% Direct Project Work: Work as a computational urban designer collaborating with design teams to facilitate performance-based design; run existing KPF Grasshopper tools for design teams at the detail, building, and urban scale, including Rhino model preparation; customize existing Grasshopper tools to meet project-specific needs; build procedural computational models (e.g., design spaces, automated modelling); create and run design spaces, interpreting results for teams; generate presentation material that communicates trade-offs and improvements between design options; create new analysis tools to meet project specific needs, including research on analysis methods.
• 20% Non-Project Initiatives: Build new Grasshopper tools and workflows for analysis, automation, interoperability, and process improvement; train staff on computational tools and workflows; onboard new staff; educate the office on tools and workflows through presentations and workshops; document new tools and workflows for knowledge sharing across global offices; contribute to new business efforts through development of design technology focused pitch decks, products, and new service types.
• 10% General Support: Coordinate Rhino and Grasshopper infrastructure, including plug-in deployment, testing, and software updates in collaboration with Infrastructure and Operations (I+O); provide Rhino and Grasshopper support to colleagues as needed; assist designers in developing their own Grasshopper tools through direct support and training.

Essential: Bachelor's or Master's degree in Architecture, Urban Design, Computational Design, or related field; 0-8 years of professional experience; expertise in Rhino and Grasshopper; generate presentation material that communicates complex computational issues; experience creating generative or computational models in Grasshopper; familiarity with common simulation tools and Grasshopper plug-ins such as Urbano, Ladybug, DeCoding Spaces; strong organisational skills and attention to detail; ability to clearly communicate complex concepts through strong graphic representation.

Bonus Skills (Not Required): Experience developing Grasshopper applications or plugins in C#; experience with Revit and/or Rhino.Inside Revit; familiarity with Git for version control; experience with JavaScript and Vue.js.

Self-motivated and able to work independently; collaborative approach to working with multidisciplinary design teams; interest in performance-based design and computational urban design; ability to translate design goals into technical solutions.

This position requires you to be in person in our London office 5 days per week, 9am – 6pm. KPF's mission is to elevate cities through impactful design, collaborating closely with the world's most forward-thinking clients to create high performing, carefully crafted buildings that are unique to their physical, social, and environmental contexts.

KPF is an Equal Opportunities Employer. You must have the Right to Work in the UK. Applications submitted without a resume will not be considered. KPF is seeking talented individuals who share our mission to elevate cities through impactful design. Our teams range from three to fifty people. No matter the size, we emphasize collaboration, because we believe every voice has value.