Posted: Aug 22, 2025
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Oakland Office Director

Toole Design Group - Oakland, CA
Full-time
Application Deadline: N/A

Toole Design Group in Oakland, CA is looking to hire an experienced and talented full-time Office Director. Do you have a vision for what multimodal transportation and sustainable places will look like in the future? Are you eager to build and lead a talented team of professionals as we plan, design, and implement human-centered projects in support of great communities? Do you enjoy big-picture strategic thinking, leading teams, pursuing and winning work, and exceeding client expectations? Are you passionate about nurturing the next generation of leaders? If so, please consider joining our Oakland team.

This leadership position earns a competitive salary and great benefits, including medical, dental, vision, life insurance, disability, a health savings account (HSA), a flexible spending account (FSA), and all staff start with at least 24 days of PTO. We practice what we preach and ensure that our employees also have access to transportation by providing them with financial incentives to bike, walk, or use transit for a better quality of life.

About Toole Design

Toole Design is the leading engineering, planning, and landscape architecture firm specializing in multimodal transportation and sustainable places. Since our start in 2003 as a single office in Maryland, we have expanded throughout the United States, including in California. Our talented team of planners, engineers, landscape architects. and urban designers are committed to delivering quality work that meets the needs of all people, regardless of age, ability, race or gender. As an Engineering News-Record top 500 design firm, we have also been named a "best firm to work for," have one of the lowest staff turnover rates in the industry, and have outstanding employee engagement.

Every project our employees deliver directly and positively affects our communities. We are industry-leading experts, and we work hard to encourage a collaborative and team-oriented environment.

A Day in the Life of our Oakland Office Director

You will lead our talented team of professionals and serve as a liaison with our company leadership. Fostering a positive culture and healthy morale while maintaining a productive work environment are integral components of this role, as is managing, mentoring, and recruiting new staff. You will pursue and win work that has a positive impact on communities and ensure your team consistently delivers high-quality work through an equity-centered approach. As one of our fastest-growing offices, you'll have a tremendous opportunity to influence and shape our practice in Northern California, with ample support from our operations teams and company leadership.

We are targeting a range of $145,000-$205,000. Placement within this range will vary by technical discipline, experience, and qualifications. Candidates invited to interview are welcome to inquire where they may fall within the range, as we value transparency.

Qualifications of an Office Director:

  • A passion for working with a dynamic and diverse team, and an inclusive approach to achieving success
  • A degree in Planning, Engineering, Landscape Architecture, Urban Design, or a very strong technical
  • understanding of the Architecture and Engineering industry
  • A minimum of 10 years of experience
  • A minimum of 5 years of experience in a consulting firm or similar
  • Experience managing staff
  • Experience pursuing and winning work that is competitively bid
  • Experience solving problems, putting out fires, and helping others navigate tricky situations

You'll be great here if:

  • You are excited about projects that transform communities into healthier and more vibrant places to live, work, and play
  • You have a strong interest in multimodal transportation and sustainable places
  • You have great communication skills
  • You like to push the envelope and advance the state of the practice
  • You enjoy creating teams, being entrepreneurial, and solving problems
  • You excel at motivating and mentoring people and teams with diverse areas of focus and expertise
  • You enjoy collaborating across disciplines and offices to do great work for clients
  • You take initiative and deliver high-quality work on time and on-budget
  • You have strong analytical and decision-making skills

Work Schedule for an Office Director

This full-time position typically works a flexible schedule of 40 hours a week. We also provide employees with the flexibility and necessary equipment to work from home up to two days per week. The Oakland office of Toole Design is conveniently located in downtown Oakland, just blocks from Lake Merritt and the 19th Street BART Stations. The office is easily accessed on foot, by bicycle, and via transit.

About our Oakland Team

We are an incredibly talented and creative, entrepreneurial, hard-working group. We have engineers, urban designers, and planners that bring the full range of services Toole Design offers, from innovative design and engineering, to best practices in urban planning, to cutting edge research and analysis. We are a tight-knit team that has fun together and supports each other. Our projects range from countywide plans to street transformations in dense urban communities. We have active projects in San Francisco, Alameda, Redwood City, San Jose, Sacramento, Santa Cruz, Fresno, and many other places.

Ready to Join our Growing Team?

We understand your time is valuable, so we have a quick and easy application process. If you feel that you would be right for this position, please visit our website to apply: www.tooledesign.com/careers/

At Toole Design, we have a collaborative culture where people of all backgrounds come together to share ideas and build better, more inclusive communities. We encourage everyone, including those from underrepresented communities - women, people of color, LGBTQIA+, immigrants, first-generation college students/graduates, those with disabilities and people at all the intersections in between - to apply. Even if you don't think your current skill set checks every box below, but this role seems to align with your strengths, we want to hear from you.

We're proud that about half of our managers are women and are committed to achieving diversity in our leadership to better represent the communities where we work, as well. Toole Design is a woman-owned business and an equal opportunity employer (EO/AA/VEV/Disabled employer).

Individuals may request accommodations or assistance with the application process by contacting 301-927-1900 and asking for Human Resources or emailing [email protected].