Design Manager

Position: Design Manager Fire Sprinkler Company: Columbia Fire, LLC Location: Seattle, WA in-office, with up to two days per week remote Reports To: Contract Division Manager Employment Type: Full-time, salaried, exempt Bargaining Unit Status: Non-union Incentive Eligibility: Annual bonus tied to goals and MBOs see Compensation Travel: Occasional jobsite visits across Western Washington; occasional travel to affiliated offices About Columbia Fire Columbia Fire has been protecting lives and property in the Seattle market since 2005. We design, install, inspect, and service fire sprinkler systems, fire alarm systems, suppression systems, and portable fire extinguishers across Western Washington. Columbia Fire is a wholly owned subsidiary of Columbia Safety Services, LLC, which also operates Valley Fire Control, LLC in Oregon and Eastern Washington and FFF Protection in Idaho. We are building a formidable fire protection platform rooted in trust, execution, and long-term relationships. Our core values guide how we operate: Customer First, Grit, Effective Communication, Own the Outcome, Take Pride in the Work, and Do the Right Thing. Why This Role Exists Design sets the ceiling on how much work we can build and how profitably we build it. A clean, constructable design saves labor in the field, gets through the AHJ the first time, and keeps a project on schedule. A weak one costs us in change orders, rework, and credibility. We are also hiring designers at every level, including people with no design experience at all. That only works if someone is genuinely responsible for developing them. This role owns both: the standard our designs are held to, and the people who produce them. The Opportunity You will lead Columbia Fires sprinkler design team setting standards, reviewing and stamping work, managing workload and deadlines, and building the training path that turns entry-level hires into certified designers. You will still design. This is a working manager role, not a pure oversight seat. You will take on complex projects yourself, and your team should be able to watch you do the work. If you are a licensed Professional Engineer, this role has a dimension most contractors cannot offer. A P.E. on staff can supervise and sign off on engineering hours for designers pursuing licensure. That means you would not just be training designers you would be opening a path to P.E. for people who currently have no way to get there. Very few fire protection contractors our size can say that, and we would build the program around you. Design Operations Review and refine our existing design standards with field superintendents and internal stakeholders within your first 30 days, then keep them currentBuild and maintain a design review checklist that tells designers exactly what they are being reviewed against no guessingReview sprinkler drawings against that checklist, company standards, and project specifications, evaluating code accuracy, hydraulic soundness, efficiency, and constructabilityStamp and submit compliant design packages to authorities having jurisdictionManage team workload, assignments, prioritization, and deadline performanceOwn the AHJ requirement database so the team is not relearning each jurisdiction every timeCoordinate with project management, purchasing, and field leadership for clean design-to-install handoffsTake on complex design work yourself as workload requires Building the Team Assess each designers current capability, identify gaps honestly, and build individual development plansEstablish a structured training program for new designers, including those hired with no design experience, aimed at NICET certification and real AutoSprink and 3D modeling proficiencyUse both formal software training and internal expertise including your own to raise the teams technical levelRun regular learning sessions on codes, systems, hydraulics, and constructabilityCoach designers on the constructability lessons the field is trying to teach themRecruit, interview, and hire designers as the department growsEvaluate performance regularly and give direct, useful feedback including the difficult kindFor a licensed P.E.: supervise and sign off on engineering hours for designers pursuing licensure Systems & Continuous Improvement Improve how design work flows templates, libraries, standard details, naming conventions, and file managementReduce rework by finding its actual causes rather than reviewing harderTrack and report on design throughput, on-time delivery, AHJ first-pass approval, and reworkPartner with the field to close the loop between what gets drawn and what gets installed What Success Looks Like Within 30 days Design standards reviewed, updated, and rolled out to the team with trainingDesign review checklist built and in the hands of every designer Within 90 days AHJ requirement database complete and maintainedProject audits running regularly against the new standards and timelines Within 6 months Every designer assessed, with an individual development plan in placeCredentials current and design packages being stamped under your own certification Within 12 months Structured training program launched for new hires with no design experience, carrying them toward NICET certification and software proficiencyMeasurable improvement in first-pass AHJ approval and reduction in field-driven rework