Olson Kundig is a design practice founded on the ideas that buildings can serve as a bridge between nature, culture and people, and that inspiring surroundings have a positive effect on people’s lives. The firm’s work can be found across the globe, with projects as wide-ranging as huts to high rises, homes—often for art collectors—to academic, cultural and civic projects, museums and exhibition design, places of worship, creative production, urban design, and interior design.
We are seeking a Landscape Architectural Designer I to join Olson Kundig and contribute to the design of thoughtful, high-quality outdoor spaces. In this role, you will help develop and visualize design concepts that balance aesthetics and functionality across a range of project types and scales - from gardens and parks to commercial and residential landscapes. Working under the guidance of a project manager and design lead, you will collaborate with interdisciplinary teams to translate ideas into well-executed designs that meet aesthetic, environmental, and project goals.
Primary Responsibilities:
Analysis of Design and Planning:
Support the analysis and design of exterior environments through research, site and zoning studies, and early-stage concept development. Assist in producing plans, grading, sections, elevations, and 3D models under guidance from senior staff. Contribute to sustainability-focused design efforts and maintain a portfolio demonstrating design and technical capabilities.
Design Support & Technical Assistance:
Provide technical and documentation support across project phases, including assisting with specifications, construction documents, and construction administration. Collaborate with interdisciplinary teams and consultants, contribute ideas and deliverables, and support project coordination, timelines, and meeting documentation under the direction of senior team members.
Additional duties and projects:
As assigned or necessary.
Qualifications
Must Have:
Education Bachelor or Technical degree in landscape, architecture, or closely related field
Experience Minimum 2 - 4 years of related professional experience or similar role with equivalent work experience
Digital Literacy
- Beginner proficiency in MS Excel, ERP (Deltek Vision), Digital File Organization, Revit (BIM), Grasshopper, Enscape, Rhino 3D, and ArcGIS.
- Intermediate proficiency in MS Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, Teams, web browser, AutoCAD, Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Bluebeam Revu/Studio, Adobe Acrobat, and Sketch-Up
Nice to Have:
Beginner proficiency in AI image generation, LandFX
Consider obtaining licensure as a Landscape Architect (LARE exams).
Ability to work at a variety of project scales from master planning to detail design.
Experience working on High-End Residential, Hospitality (Hotels, F&B, and Resorts), and Workplace, as well as a variety of project scales from Master Planning to Detail design.
Experience with tools for drafting and design (such as AutoCAD, SketchUp, and Adobe Creative Suite), geographic information systems (GIS) for site analysis, and Building Information Modeling (BIM) for integrated design and documentation.
Ability to solve complex challenges that require creative problem-solving, including the ability to present solutions and recommendations for non-standard situations.
Membership in professional landscape architectural organizations such as ASLA, IFLA, ULI, or similar.
What You Can Expect
This role is based in Seattle, Washington with less than 10% travel expected.
Equal Opportunity & Pay Transparency
Olson Kundig is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, ancestry, gender, age, religion, marital status, military or veteran status, citizenship, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, national origin, disability, genetic information, or any other basis prohibited by law. Applicants with disabilities may request reasonable accommodations at any point in the employment process.
In compliance with Washington State’s Equal Pay and Opportunities Act (RCW 49.58.110), Olson Kundig provides transparent compensation information in all job postings. For this position based in Seattle, Washington, the annual salary is between $72,000 and $80,000. Final salary decisions are made based upon the extent and relevance of the candidate’s experience, as well as internal equity and external market factors.
All applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship and must already possess long-term work authorization.
Now in its sixth decade of practice, Olson Kundig is a collaborative design practice led by 13 principal/owners whose work includes cultural and museum projects, exhibition design, commercial and mixed-use design (including wineries and sports facilities), private and multi-family residential, hospitality projects, places of worship, interior design, product design and landscape design. With deep roots in the Pacific Northwest, the firm and its team of over 350 work with clients around the world.
The firm began its creative existence in 1966 with the architect Jim Olson, whose work at that time centered on explorations of the relationship between dwellings and the landscapes in which they inhabit. Olson started the firm based on the essential ideas that buildings can serve as a bridge between nature, culture, histories, and people, and that inspiring surroundings have a positive effect on people’s lives.
Among the firm’s accolades are the 2009 National AIA Architecture Firm Award (as Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects), national and regional design awards from the American Institute of Architects, Jim Olson’s 2007 Seattle Medal of Honor and Tom Kundig’s National Design Award from the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt and his Academy Award in Architecture from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Books on the firm’s work include Tom Kundig: Complete Houses (The Monacelli Press, 2025); Tom Kundig: Working Title (Princeton Architectural Press, 2020); Jim Olson: Building • Nature • Art (Thames & Hudson, 2018); Tom Kundig: Works (Princeton Architectural Press, 2015); Jim Olson: Art and Architecture (August Editions, 2013); Tom Kundig: Houses 2 (Princeton Architectural Press, 2011); Jim Olson Houses (The Monacelli Press, 2009); and Tom Kundig: Houses (Princeton Architectural Press, originally published in 2006 and re-released in 2021).
