Entry Level Design Operations Manager Jobs
New grad design operations manager jobs welcome recent graduates and entry level candidates with zero to two years of experience, where a strong portfolio or internship work can matter more than a long resume. Most openings are on-site and hybrid roles across Consulting & Professional Services, Electronics & Hardware, and Manufacturing, with employers like RH, Apple, and The Tile Shop hiring at this level now.
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Showing 5 of 560+ Entry Level Design Operations Manager jobs
Posting Number req27636
Department School of Architecture
Department Website Link https://capla.arizona.edu/
Medical Sub-Speciality
Location Tucson Campus
Address Tucson, AZ USA
Position Highlights
The School of Architecture at the University of Arizona invites applicants with expertise in Integrated Design and Energy Performance for a Tenure-Eligible faculty position at the rank of Assistant Professor. The position seeks candidates whose research, teaching, and creative practice bridge design innovation, building technology, and environmental performance. We invite candidates who view architecture as a means to advance resilient, equitable, and imaginative futures—those who thrive in collaborative settings and engage inquiry through both design and scholarship.
The University of Arizona is a Research 1 institution located in Tucson, a cultural gem in the Sonoran Desert. The school resides in the College of Architecture Planning and Landscape Architecture (CAPLA); a multidisciplinary collaborative community. The School of Architecture’s vision is dedicated to addressing the grand challenges of our time; a catalyst in our curriculum, research and public programming. The school has an intrinsic connection to the Sonoran Desert and its exquisite and extreme conditions. It serves as a living laboratory for researching and teaching timeless and emerging environmental, social and cultural phenomena.
CAPLA is home to a 10,000 sf material fabrication lab. The school has a long tradition of empirical research and learning through hands-on material fabrication in required courses, design build projects and community engagement. The University of Arizona is the state’s flagship, land-grant institution founded in 1885. It has more than 50,000 students in 22 separate colleges and schools. The research and teaching culture of this university offers great resources and opportunities for collaboration.
Outstanding U of A benefits include health, dental, and vision insurance plans; life insurance and disability programs; paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays; U of A/ASU/NAU tuition reduction for the employee and qualified family members; retirement plans; access to U of A recreation and cultural activities; and more!
The University of Arizona has been recognized for our innovative work-life programs.
Duties & Responsibilities
We are seeking an emerging leader in the discipline of architecture with applied and theoretical experience in integrated design and energy performance evaluation and optimization. We seek a candidate with the vision and potential to become a driving force in our school, community, university and profession. Applicants are to be collegial and collaborative by nature. They are to establish and maintain an active research agenda supported by external funding and disseminated through peer reviewed scholarship.
Research areas may include, but are not limited to:
-
Integrated design of buildings for energy efficiency and systems performance including building envelope design and optimization.
-
Collaborate Across Disciplines to Address Global Challenges: Join a dynamic academic community with strong connections to Sustainable Built Environments, Landscape Architecture, and Urban Planning, as well as to university-wide initiatives in Energy, Environment, Water, Health, Data, and AI. This position offers the opportunity to cultivate partnerships that advance interdisciplinary research aligned with the University’s strategic research areas.
-
Teach and Research in the Living Laboratory of the Sonoran Desert: Engage in a distinctive pedagogical and research context where the built environment is inseparable from its desert setting. Tucson’s rich ecological and cultural landscape provides an unparalleled opportunity to explore architecture’s role in adaptation, material and energy flows, and climate-responsive design.
The successful applicant will be responsible for collaborating on and contributing to the conception, development and delivery of a rigorous and dynamic accredited architectural education. They are expected to integrate design methods, simulation and computational analysis, and evidence-based evaluation of building energy performance and building enclosure design and optimization. Teaching assignments for this position may include required and elective courses in architectural technologies and design studios. This position will also support the emerging building technologies and design and energy conservation subgroups of the Master of Science in Architecture (MS.Arch) degree program with student thesis advising.
This position in integrated design and energy performance aligns with the University of Arizona’s institutional strengths in space and optics, climate and water resilience, health and medicine, data and engineering, environment and biodiversity and the human experience. The candidate will actively build collaborations with faculty in the School of Architecture and in allied disciplines including Engineering, Health Sciences, Sustainable Built Environments, Landscape Architecture and/or Urban Planning.
This position requires service contributions at the school, college and/or university levels. Service to academic, professional and community organizations is encouraged.
The normal teaching load for tenure-eligible faculty in the department under present policy is two 3-credit courses or one 3-credit course and one 6-credit studio per semester with a workload distribution:
- 40% teaching
- 40% scholarly activity/research; and
- 20% service
Minimum Qualifications
- Professional degree in architecture (Bachelor of Architecture, Master of Architecture or international equivalent)
- Post-Graduate Degree in Architecture or related discipline (Masters or PhD). If masters is terminal degree, 5-years of relevant research or industry experience is required.
- Demonstrated experience in Integrated Design, Building Envelopes and Energy Performance in the context of architecture.
Preferred Qualifications
- PhD or doctorate in architecture or related discipline.
- Professional design and practice experience and/or licensure
- Experience teaching design studio and/or other architecture courses
- Demonstrated record or evidence of potential funding for research or creative practice.
- Experience in collaborative interdisciplinary practice or teaching and/or ability to bridge across architecture and related fields
- Recognition via scholarly publications, creative work, professional achievements or awards.
Rank Assistant Professor
Tenure Information Tenure Track (T/TE)
FLSA Exempt
Full Time/Part Time Full Time
Number of Hours Worked per Week 40
Job FTE 1.0
Work Calendar Fiscal
Job Category Faculty
Benefits Eligible Yes - Full Benefits
Rate of Pay DOE
Compensation Type salary at 1.0 full-time equivalency (FTE)
Type of criminal background check required: Name-based criminal background check (non-security sensitive)
Number of Vacancies 1
Target Hire Date 8/16/2027
Expected End Date
Contact Information for Candidates Alex Litchfield
alitchfield@arizona.edu
Open Date 11/12/2026
Open Until Filled Yes
Documents Needed to Apply Curriculum Vitae (CV), Cover Letter, and Five Additional Documents
Special Instructions to Applicant
- Cover letter (1-2 pages max)
- CV
- In the Additional Document slot: 5-year research/scholarship/creative practice plan including potential external funding sources and milestones (such as publications or other outputs) (2-3 pages max)
- In the Additional Document slot: Teaching philosophy statement (1 page max)
- In the Additional Document slot: a writing sample (one sample of no more than 25 pages, published or unpublished)
- In the Additional Document slot: Three references (name, contact information and relationship to the applicant)
- In the Additional Document slot: Design, research, scholarship and/or creative practice portfolio (PDF, max. dimensions 11 x 17, landscape format preferred, 10 pages and 20 MB file size max.)
Review of applications will begin on January 6, 2027. Submissions received by that date are guaranteed full review.
Notice of Availability of the Annual Security and Fire Safety Report
In compliance with the Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Act (Clery Act), each year the University of Arizona releases an Annual Security Report (ASR) for each of the University’s campuses. These reports disclose information including Clery crime statistics for the previous three calendar years and policies, procedures, and programs the University uses to keep students and employees safe, including how to report crimes or other emergencies and resources for crime victims. As a campus with residential housing facilities, the Main Campus ASR also includes a combined Annual Fire Safety report with information on fire statistics and fire safety systems, policies, and procedures.
Paper copies of the Reports can be obtained by contacting the University Compliance Office at cleryact@arizona.edu.
Posting Number req27636
Department School of Architecture
Department Website Link https://capla.arizona.edu/
Medical Sub-Speciality
Location Tucson Campus
Address Tucson, AZ USA
Position Highlights
The School of Architecture at the University of Arizona invites applicants with expertise in Integrated Design and Energy Performance for a Tenure-Eligible faculty position at the rank of Assistant Professor. The position seeks candidates whose research, teaching, and creative practice bridge design innovation, building technology, and environmental performance. We invite candidates who view architecture as a means to advance resilient, equitable, and imaginative futures—those who thrive in collaborative settings and engage inquiry through both design and scholarship.
The University of Arizona is a Research 1 institution located in Tucson, a cultural gem in the Sonoran Desert. The school resides in the College of Architecture Planning and Landscape Architecture (CAPLA); a multidisciplinary collaborative community. The School of Architecture’s vision is dedicated to addressing the grand challenges of our time; a catalyst in our curriculum, research and public programming. The school has an intrinsic connection to the Sonoran Desert and its exquisite and extreme conditions. It serves as a living laboratory for researching and teaching timeless and emerging environmental, social and cultural phenomena.
CAPLA is home to a 10,000 sf material fabrication lab. The school has a long tradition of empirical research and learning through hands-on material fabrication in required courses, design build projects and community engagement. The University of Arizona is the state’s flagship, land-grant institution founded in 1885. It has more than 50,000 students in 22 separate colleges and schools. The research and teaching culture of this university offers great resources and opportunities for collaboration.
Outstanding U of A benefits include health, dental, and vision insurance plans; life insurance and disability programs; paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays; U of A/ASU/NAU tuition reduction for the employee and qualified family members; retirement plans; access to U of A recreation and cultural activities; and more!
The University of Arizona has been recognized for our innovative work-life programs.
Duties & Responsibilities
We are seeking an emerging leader in the discipline of architecture with applied and theoretical experience in integrated design and energy performance evaluation and optimization. We seek a candidate with the vision and potential to become a driving force in our school, community, university and profession. Applicants are to be collegial and collaborative by nature. They are to establish and maintain an active research agenda supported by external funding and disseminated through peer reviewed scholarship.
Research areas may include, but are not limited to:
-
Integrated design of buildings for energy efficiency and systems performance including building envelope design and optimization.
-
Collaborate Across Disciplines to Address Global Challenges: Join a dynamic academic community with strong connections to Sustainable Built Environments, Landscape Architecture, and Urban Planning, as well as to university-wide initiatives in Energy, Environment, Water, Health, Data, and AI. This position offers the opportunity to cultivate partnerships that advance interdisciplinary research aligned with the University’s strategic research areas.
-
Teach and Research in the Living Laboratory of the Sonoran Desert: Engage in a distinctive pedagogical and research context where the built environment is inseparable from its desert setting. Tucson’s rich ecological and cultural landscape provides an unparalleled opportunity to explore architecture’s role in adaptation, material and energy flows, and climate-responsive design.
The successful applicant will be responsible for collaborating on and contributing to the conception, development and delivery of a rigorous and dynamic accredited architectural education. They are expected to integrate design methods, simulation and computational analysis, and evidence-based evaluation of building energy performance and building enclosure design and optimization. Teaching assignments for this position may include required and elective courses in architectural technologies and design studios. This position will also support the emerging building technologies and design and energy conservation subgroups of the Master of Science in Architecture (MS.Arch) degree program with student thesis advising.
This position in integrated design and energy performance aligns with the University of Arizona’s institutional strengths in space and optics, climate and water resilience, health and medicine, data and engineering, environment and biodiversity and the human experience. The candidate will actively build collaborations with faculty in the School of Architecture and in allied disciplines including Engineering, Health Sciences, Sustainable Built Environments, Landscape Architecture and/or Urban Planning.
This position requires service contributions at the school, college and/or university levels. Service to academic, professional and community organizations is encouraged.
The normal teaching load for tenure-eligible faculty in the department under present policy is two 3-credit courses or one 3-credit course and one 6-credit studio per semester with a workload distribution:
- 40% teaching
- 40% scholarly activity/research; and
- 20% service
Minimum Qualifications
- Professional degree in architecture (Bachelor of Architecture, Master of Architecture or international equivalent)
- Post-Graduate Degree in Architecture or related discipline (Masters or PhD). If masters is terminal degree, 5-years of relevant research or industry experience is required.
- Demonstrated experience in Integrated Design, Building Envelopes and Energy Performance in the context of architecture.
Preferred Qualifications
- PhD or doctorate in architecture or related discipline.
- Professional design and practice experience and/or licensure
- Experience teaching design studio and/or other architecture courses
- Demonstrated record or evidence of potential funding for research or creative practice.
- Experience in collaborative interdisciplinary practice or teaching and/or ability to bridge across architecture and related fields
- Recognition via scholarly publications, creative work, professional achievements or awards.
Rank Assistant Professor
Tenure Information Tenure Track (T/TE)
FLSA Exempt
Full Time/Part Time Full Time
Number of Hours Worked per Week 40
Job FTE 1.0
Work Calendar Fiscal
Job Category Faculty
Benefits Eligible Yes - Full Benefits
Rate of Pay DOE
Compensation Type salary at 1.0 full-time equivalency (FTE)
Type of criminal background check required: Name-based criminal background check (non-security sensitive)
Number of Vacancies 1
Target Hire Date 8/16/2027
Expected End Date
Contact Information for Candidates Alex Litchfield
alitchfield@arizona.edu
Open Date 11/12/2026
Open Until Filled Yes
Documents Needed to Apply Curriculum Vitae (CV), Cover Letter, and Five Additional Documents
Special Instructions to Applicant
- Cover letter (1-2 pages max)
- CV
- In the Additional Document slot: 5-year research/scholarship/creative practice plan including potential external funding sources and milestones (such as publications or other outputs) (2-3 pages max)
- In the Additional Document slot: Teaching philosophy statement (1 page max)
- In the Additional Document slot: a writing sample (one sample of no more than 25 pages, published or unpublished)
- In the Additional Document slot: Three references (name, contact information and relationship to the applicant)
- In the Additional Document slot: Design, research, scholarship and/or creative practice portfolio (PDF, max. dimensions 11 x 17, landscape format preferred, 10 pages and 20 MB file size max.)
Review of applications will begin on January 6, 2027. Submissions received by that date are guaranteed full review.
Notice of Availability of the Annual Security and Fire Safety Report
In compliance with the Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Act (Clery Act), each year the University of Arizona releases an Annual Security Report (ASR) for each of the University’s campuses. These reports disclose information including Clery crime statistics for the previous three calendar years and policies, procedures, and programs the University uses to keep students and employees safe, including how to report crimes or other emergencies and resources for crime victims. As a campus with residential housing facilities, the Main Campus ASR also includes a combined Annual Fire Safety report with information on fire statistics and fire safety systems, policies, and procedures.
Paper copies of the Reports can be obtained by contacting the University Compliance Office at cleryact@arizona.edu.
See All 560+ Entry Level Design Operations Manager Jobs
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Find JobsEntry Level Design Operations Manager Job Market
Who's Hiring
- RH30
- Apple29
- The Tile Shop19
- Quanta Infrastructure Solutions18
- Jobot11
Top Industries Hiring
- Consulting & Professional Services83
- Electronics & Hardware70
- Manufacturing62
- Technology & Software61
- Retail56
Entry Level Design Operations Manager Jobs: Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get an entry level design operations manager job?
Employers hiring at this level look for candidates who can demonstrate familiarity with design workflows, project coordination tools, and cross-functional communication. A portfolio showing process improvements, internship work in a design or creative operations environment, or coursework in project management gives entry level applicants a real edge. Highlighting tools like Figma, Asana, or Jira signals readiness even without years of experience.
Which companies hire entry level design operations managers?
Companies hiring entry level design operations managers right now include RH, Apple, and The Tile Shop, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of November 2026. At this level, hiring covers in-house creative teams at large technology companies, consumer brands, and media organizations building out dedicated design operations functions.
Are there remote entry level design operations manager jobs?
Yes, though on-site and hybrid roles remain common at this experience level. About 16% of entry level design operations manager openings are remote or hybrid as of November 2026, so candidates flexible on location will find the widest range of opportunities across different employers and industries.
Are these new grad design operations manager jobs?
Yes, many of these postings are new grad and junior roles that welcome recent graduates with little to no professional experience. A new grad-friendly posting typically welcomes zero to two years of experience, accepts internship or project-based work, and values a portfolio or demonstrated interest in design systems, workflows, or creative operations over a long employment history.
Which industries hire the most entry level design operations managers?
Entry Level design operations manager roles concentrate in Consulting & Professional Services, Electronics & Hardware, and Manufacturing, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of November 2026. These sectors tend to drive entry level hiring because they maintain large in-house design teams that need dedicated operations support as they scale.