Intermediate Designer

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)

📍Los Angeles, CA
Posted May 21, 2026

Job Overview

Position

Intermediate Designer

Company

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)

Location

Los Angeles, CA

Work Type

On-site

Job ID

li-4406421228

Job Description

At SOM, we are a collective committed to shaping a better future for our clients, communities and planet. We aspire to create the most sustainable, impactful work through creative, interdisciplinary teams with all the resources and diversity of a global firm. We value those who are passionate about excellence, innovation, integrity, inclusivity, and collaboration. Together we can achieve great things.

Success at SOM Means

  • Ideas: We believe in a meritocracy of ideas. We look to everyone to actively contribute to the discourse in the firm.

  • Knowledge: We believe that expertise is the result of lifelong learning. We are not expected to know everything, but rather to passionately pursue answers, develop new skills and deepen our knowledge.

  • Product: We strive for excellence in the concept, quality, and delivery of our work.

  • Individual: We value individuals who bring the highest standards of professionalism and personal integrity in the way they work. Each person can develop and contribute their wealth of attributes,skills and knowledge to support the overall health of the firm.

  • Team: We value the power of interdisciplinary integration. A positive team culture in which everyone collaborates openly towards common goals is essential.

  • Firm: We have a history of making transformative contributions to the profession and our communities. We are constantly innovating and attempting to bring new approaches, solutions and processes to our work.

Position Responsibilities

  • Contributes to the development of distinct portions of a project with regular supervision by Project Leadership. Exhibits initiative, process innovation, problem solving, and decision quality with a high attention to precision and accuracy at a task-specific level.

  • Produces and coordinates presentation and contract deliverables such as diagrams, 3D models, drawings, renderings, physical models and animations.

  • Effectively communicates internally through timely and appropriate written, oral, and visual means.

  • Creates and innovates with a strong conceptual design ability. Integrates interdisciplinary criteria to effectively move forward the design of a portion of a project.

  • Actively collaborates at a project team level by critically and constructively evaluating ideas.

  • Demonstrates an intermediate understanding of building materials, systems, specifications, codes, details and construction techniques. Is able to enrich design concepts through technical strategies. Effectively uses appropriate tools to design and document at all project phases.

  • Manages time and workload to meet project task deadlines and commitments with regular interaction and direction from Project Leadership. Shares knowledge with less experienced staff.

Minimum Qualifications

  • Completion of a professional degree in Architecture or a related field.

  • Minimum 2 years of professional experience or equivalent knowledge, skills and abilities.

  • Professional licensure process is in progress; LEED accreditation preferred.

  • Strong verbal and written communication skills.

  • Demonstrates proficiency in Revit, AutoCAD, Rhino, parametric and rendering software, and Adobe Suite.

  • Proficiency in Google Workspace.

Are you ready to join a team of creative professionals working on transformational projects around the world? Take advantage of this exciting opportunity to build a better future with SOM.

Our Benefits
Health and Wellness:
Medical, dental, vision, disability, and life & accident insurance

Savings:
401K matching, pre-tax spending accounts, and employee discount programs

Work/Life Balance:
Inquire about our approach to flexible schedules, paid family leave, paid vacation, backup child and elder care, and an employee assistance program

Professional Development:
Reimbursement for professional licenses, associated renewals, and exam fees as well as specialized in-house career development

Compensation for this role is based upon experience, qualifications, location, and education and typically ranges from $70,000 to $80,000.

Our Culture
Our creative, interdisciplinary teams work like small, dynamic studios, with all the resources and diversity of a global firm. Here, you’ll collaborate with industry experts on some of the most exciting and transformative architecture, engineering, and planning projects in the world.

We believe an inclusive environment improves our teams, our firm, and our communities and are passionate about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Our DEI Action Plan was created to bring meaningful change to our profession, starting with our own culture and practices.

We are proud to be an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. Visit this page to learn more about SOM's employment policy as well as additional information such as a privacy notice for California residents and how to apply offline.

For more about SOM: www.som.com

Portfolios must be submitted for all design and project management positions (Architecture, Interiors, City Design, Graphics, etc).
Applications without work samples will not be reviewed. Portfolios should be one PDF attachment, 10-20 pages, maximum 5 MB. Submit portfolios as part of your application in the section where the application asks you for your Resume or CV.

Interview Prep

AI-powered insights to help you prepare

Key Skills

Required:
Preferred:

Practice Questions

💡Technical Questions (3)
  • 1.How do you integrate your understanding of building materials, systems, and codes into the conceptual design phase to ensure technical viability without sacrificing design intent?
  • 2.Can you describe your workflow for transitioning a conceptual design from Rhino into Revit for documentation and coordination?
  • 3.How do you leverage parametric design tools to solve a specific design problem, such as facade panelization or optimizing building performance?
🎯Behavioral Questions (3)
  • 1.Tell me about a time when you actively contributed a new idea to a project team and how you constructively advocated for it during the design discourse.
  • 2.Describe a situation where you had to manage your time across multiple project deadlines while still maintaining a high level of precision and accuracy in your deliverables.
  • 3.Give an example of a time you shared knowledge or mentored a less experienced colleague while working on a project.
🧩Situational Questions (2)
  • 1.You are working on a distinct portion of a project and realize that the design concept conflicts with a critical building code requirement. Project Leadership is unavailable for the rest of the day, but the deadline for the deliverable is tomorrow. How do you handle this?
  • 2.During a team design review, an interdisciplinary consultant strongly criticizes your portion of the design, suggesting an approach that you feel compromises the project's conceptual integrity. How do you respond?

Resume Keywords

Make sure these keywords appear on your resume

Conceptual DesignRevitRhinoParametric ModelingContract DeliverablesInterdisciplinary CollaborationBuilding SystemsLEED3D ModelingConstruction DocumentsDesign IntegrationProblem Solving

Interested in this position? Apply directly on LinkedIn.

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