Cottage is solving housing affordability via an end-to-end platform for designing, permitting, and building Accessory Dwelling Units ("ADUs").

Our team is seeking experienced freelance Architects & Architectural Designers to join the Cottage Studio Team. We’re an early stage startup and looking for someone who’s excited to roll up their sleeves, roll with the punches, and offer a best-in-category homeowner experience. This position is a great opportunity for a steady pipeline of design work largely at your own schedule, with access to supercharge architectural business-as-usual via Cottage’s ADU-specific resources and tech systems.

As an Architectural Designer/Architect with Cottage, you’ll be the primary architectural expert managing ADU projects in the pipeline through Schematic Design, Bid Documents, Design Development, and Permitting. In this role, you’ll own the architectural design of the project, relationship with the homeowner, and hitting of key project dates according to Cottage project timelines. While the role is fully remote, applicants should expect meetings and communications to occur on Pacific Time as Cottage HQ and clients are located in the Bay Area, California.

We specialize in combining technology with ADU expertise to offer custom residential design at a fraction of the cost and timeline of traditional architecture. As such, the ideal candidate will be enthusiastic to adopt Cottage’s new approach to the architectural design process and deliverables. Our in-house Design Systems team develops technology that will supercharge your day-to-day work with data, technical design standards, and team communications.

This is a unique opportunity to be part of the early design team at Cottage, reporting to the Head of Design and working cross-functionally across the entire Cottage team. You’ll work directly with Cottage homeowners (your clients), Sales Team, and Project Management Team on a daily basis to ensure timely, high-quality deliverables. You’ll gain valuable client-facing experience, learning to coach homeowners through the design process and effectively representing the Cottage brand. You’ll be part of a growing team of talented, forward-looking architects and designers eager to disrupt historical practices of architecture and construction.

What You’ll Need

Architecture & Technical

• 4+ years professional experience in architecture - managing your own clients or working on very small teams with direct client engagement
• Proficient in Revit; able to learn new PM/comms software and platforms quickly (we’ll give you the software licenses you’ll need)
• Residential design and/or growth-stage tech environment experience are pluses
• Ability for contract work within the US; intent for long-term contract engagement
• Hrs/week are variable; ability to comfortably manage - 15-20 hrs/week is recommended

Quality, Ownership & Communication

• Proven record of project ownership, proactive organization, communication, and self-management
• Proven record of delivering high quality work at a high bandwidth
• Superb graphic, written, and oral communication skills with clients and the internal team
• A passion for real estate, ADUs, and new solutions to impacting housing markets

Collaboration & Experimentation

• Collaborative work style; you work well with a cross-functional team and are able to operate with many ideas, variables, and inputs
• An excitement to experiment, try new things, and be creative
• Determination, resiliency, optimism - working at an early stage startup is fun and rewarding but certainly comes with its challenges!
• Operates with an owner’s mindset, brings structure and excellence to ambiguous, high-intensity situations, is driven, ambitious, and intellectually curious
• Comfort with a fast-paced, rapidly changing and ambiguous (but fun!) work environment

For more information, click here.