Residential Design Manager

Liberty Homes & Building | Leland, NC

Full-Time | $75,000-$100,000 per Year + Performance Bonus Opportunity

Build Great Homes. Shape the Future of Residential Design.

Are you an experienced residential designer who understands not just how to draw a beautiful home, but how to make it work in the real world?

Liberty Homes & Building, an award-winning custom homebuilder serving Southeastern North Carolina, is looking for a talented Residential Design Manager to help bring our residential design capabilities in-house.

This is a hands-on opportunity for someone who can independently develop complete residential construction plans, from initial concepts to permit-ready drawings, while helping shape the standards, processes, and design direction of a growing homebuilding company.

We're not simply looking for a CAD operator or someone to oversee a drafting department. We want a residential design professional who takes ownership of their work, understands construction, and has the experience and leadership potential to help build and eventually manage our design function.

If you take pride in seeing your plans become beautifully built homes, we'd love to hear from you.

What You'll Do

Residential Design & Construction Documents

• Develop complete residential construction drawing sets, from initial concepts through accurate, permit-ready plans.
• Design custom and semi-custom homes, including floor plans, exterior elevations, rooflines, architectural details, and site-specific modifications.
• Turn client ideas, sketches, and requested changes into attractive, functional, and buildable designs.
• Balance architectural aesthetics with structural efficiency, construction costs, and real-world constructability.

Preconstruction & Technical Coordination

• Coordinate with Sales, Estimating, Preconstruction, and Production to ensure plans are practical, complete, and ready for construction.
• Manage plan revisions, permitting requirements, building department comments, and architectural review submissions.
• Work with structural engineers, surveyors, engineered wood product designers, and other consultants.
• Evaluate site constraints such as setbacks, easements, building envelopes, and finished-floor requirements.
• Review drawings for accuracy, code compliance, construction details, and opportunities for value engineering.
• Make periodic site visits to identify constructability improvements and incorporate field feedback into future plans.

Design Ownership & Future Leadership

• Take ownership of Liberty's residential plan library, including standard details, plan variations, specifications, and drafting standards.
• Help establish efficient design processes that improve accuracy, turnaround times, and coordination between departments.
• Contribute to the long-term development of our in-house design function, with the opportunity to take on team leadership responsibilities as the company grows.

What We're Looking For

Required Qualifications

• Substantial hands-on experience in residential design, architectural drafting, and construction-document preparation.
• Demonstrated ability to independently produce complete residential construction drawing sets.
• Strong understanding of wood-frame construction, residential roof framing, architectural detailing, and building practices.
• Working knowledge of residential building codes, permitting requirements, and construction documentation.
• Ability to identify potential design or construction conflicts before plans reach the field.
• Proficiency with professional residential design or drafting software.
• Excellent attention to detail, organization, and communication skills.
• Ability to manage multiple designs, revisions, and project priorities while collaborating across departments.

Preferred Qualifications

• 7+ years of residential design or architectural drafting experience.
• Experience designing custom or semi-custom homes.
• Familiarity with coastal North Carolina residential construction practices and permitting requirements.
• Previous experience leading designers, coordinating design teams, or establishing drafting standards.

Software Flexibility: We're open to the professional residential design platform you know best. Liberty Homes & Building is willing to invest in the appropriate software and technology to support the right candidate.

Portfolio Required

A portfolio of residential design work is required to be considered for this position.

Your portfolio should demonstrate both your design capabilities and your ability to produce technical construction documents.

We're especially interested in reviewing:

• Custom or semi-custom residential floor plans and exterior elevations.
• Complete or partial residential construction drawing sets.
• Architectural detailing, roof plans, and other technical drawings.
• Examples demonstrating your understanding of how homes are constructed.

Renderings alone will not be sufficient. We want to see how you translate a design concept into the actual plans needed to build a home.

Compensation & Benefits

• Base Salary: $75,000-$100,000 annually, depending on experience, qualifications, and portfolio.
• Performance bonus opportunity.
• Health and dental insurance.
• 401(k) retirement plan with company matching.
• Paid time off (PTO).
• Company-provided computer, design software, and necessary technology.

Why Liberty Homes & Building?

At Liberty Homes & Building, we believe great homes begin with great design.

Based in Leland, North Carolina, we're an award-winning homebuilder specializing in high-quality semi-custom and fully custom homes throughout the coastal communities of Southeastern North Carolina.

Our reputation is built on craftsmanship, thoughtful design, attention to detail, and exceptional homeowner experiences.

As we bring more of our design capabilities in-house, you'll have the opportunity to make a lasting impact on how our homes are designed, documented, and built.

This is an opportunity to influence more than individual projects. You'll help establish the processes and standards that support our continued growth, working alongside a collaborative team that values quality, accountability, and continuous improvement.

If you're an experienced residential designer who enjoys both the creative and technical sides of homebuilding and wants to take ownership of a growing design function, we encourage you to apply.

Please apply through Indeed and be prepared to provide your residential design portfolio for review.

Note: For candidates who apply outside of Indeed, please add a portfolio link to your resume if one is not already included.