Category: 
Job


Location: Nashville, TN

Ecological Designer - Planner 2

Salary: $80,810.37

Closing: August 18, 2023

About
The Metro Nashville/Davidson County Planning Department is seeking a landscape architect or environmental engineer with experience in design to join its Ecological Design Studio. It is an exciting time to join this new team stewarding environmental design and planning, resilient growth strategies, nature-based urban design solutions, and cultural landscape preservation within one of the country’s fastest growing metro regions.

Metro’s Design Studio—in which the Ecological Design Studio is housed—is comprised of architecture, landscape architecture, and environmental professionals working to elevate design and placemaking in Nashville. They lend their creative and technical expertise on a wide variety of projects, in urban, suburban, and rural contexts, through collaboration with design and development teams, community leaders, stakeholders, and other Metro departments.

Job Description
A successful candidate for this position will have educational and professional experience in environmental design, planning, engineering. They will understand the critical role natural systems play in fostering resilient urban design and shaping sustainable communities. They will have demonstrated experience analyzing natural systems, designing nature-based solutions to complex urban problems and be able to communicate those ideas graphically.

This position will involve community participation and facilitation. Therefore, a successful will participate in complex planning efforts, and effectively communicate planning and design ideas verbally and graphically to a variety of stakeholders.

Qualifications
Competency in ecological design

  • Education and professional experience in landscape architecture, environmental engineering, or related field
  • Familiarity with best practices in landscape architectural design, urban design, urban planning, and sustainability
  • Familiarity and understanding of natural systems—e.g. hydrology, topography, geology, forestry
  • Knowledge of nature-based solutions to urban problems and the ability to translate them into site designs
  • Ability to review and analyze proposals for design quality and compliance with planning policy and zoning regulations
  • Strong eye and ability to create graphically compelling maps, drawings, and presentations.

Technical Proficiency

  • Competency reading technical drawings and construction documents
  • Ability to translate and clearly communicate design ideas verbally and graphically, with standard design software (and/or hand drawing).
  • Ability to clearly write, prepare, and present concise and accurate staff reports and presentations.

Organizational and Collaborative Skills

  • Ability to collaborate and communicate effectively in a team setting, including in-person and/or virtually
  • Strong capacity to effectively multi-task on a variety of project types, and across time sensitive deadlines
  • Professional self-awareness and an ability to ask for and receive support from peers, management, and executive staff
  • Capable of working with applicants, design/development professionals, fellow Metro staff, and community members in a respectful and professional manner

Technical Requirements

  • Fluency in GIS – ArcMap or ArcGIS Pro
  • Fluency in Adobe Creative suite – Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign
  • Proficiency with 3D modelling (SketchUp or Rhino)
  • Familiarity with AutoCAD preferred

Key Attributes
Must have the ability to accurately process, review, analyze, and critique complex development projects with an emphasis on resilient environmental design. Must be able to communicate with other Metro Departments, development professionals, elected officials, and citizens. Attention to detail; compliance with time-sensitive deadlines; clear and timely communication with a variety of stakeholders; to establish and maintain effective working relationships; support peers in collaborative work; support a friendly and productive work environment whether in-person, virtual, or hybrid.

Responsibilities

  • Provide design guidance for development proposals within the form-based code areas and for community planning processes – working with applicants, citizens, and elected officials.
  • Collaborate in a team setting, and effectively communicate to produce high quality design, planning, and regulatory tools.
  • Participate in compliance review for development proposals within the DTC and UDO areas, including contributing to staff reports and making public presentations for both small groups and large audiences.
  • Contribute to the creation of design scenarios and planning studies.

Education and Experience Requirements
Bachelor's Degree in Landscape Architecture or Environmental Engineering from an accredited college or university and four (4) years of related experience, or Master's Degree in Landscape Architecture or Environmental Engineering or a similar field from an accredited college or university, and two (2) years of related experience. Experience working for or with a local government is preferred.

How to Apply
Qualified applicants should send (preferably via email) a letter of interest, resume, and a portfolio of work samples to: Randi Semrick at randi.semrick@nashville.gov or

Randi Semrick
Metro Planning Department
800 Second Avenue South
P.O. Box 196300
Nashville, TN 37219-6300
(No Phone Calls Please)