Careers & Culture
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In true Silicon Valley spirit, we practice less like your typical architecture firm and more like a burgeoning start-up with big goals and a rebellious spirit. Our team operates as a completely virtual practice and we're always looking for collaborative, passionate, and solutions-minded professionals to join our visionary team.
Our team is full of diverse, creative, mission-driven individuals who constantly challenge conventions, inform design decisions across disciplines, and are dedicated to becoming industry leaders.
We offer fantastic opportunities to push yourself and find your place as an architect in roles with tremendous flexibility, leadership, and diverse experiences throughout all phases of projects and practice.
See below to discover the array of positions we may be offering, from part-time contract work to long-term careers where you can grow and evolve with us.
Opportunities
/ join the FORA team!
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None at this time, see Wildcard below!
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Submission period for 2025-2026 FORAship opens Feb 1, 2023!
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Part-Time Contractor - Remote Designer / Architect (ideally located in the Bay Area, CA for construction support)
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Remote Designer / Architect - Full-Time - POSITION(S) FILLED
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Whether we’re actively hiring or not, we're always interested in getting to know passionate professionals. We value creativity, curiosity, craft, collaboration, and communication, and people that bring a unique perspective to the table.
If that sounds like you and you like what we're doing, we'd love to hear from you! Send us a letter of interest, CV, and work sample to careers@architectsfora.com with the subject "Wildcard" for consideration.
What makes you excited to come to work?
Benefits
/ reimaging employment, putting humanity first
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While the following benefits are hard to quantify monetarily, we’ve found they’re extremely valuable given their impact on our health and happiness. We always offer:
/ 100% remote work from anywhere with high-speed internet policy
/ Set your own schedule (as long as you’re available for team & project meetings)
/ 80 hrs/2 wks policy - work 80 hours whenever you’d like within a 2 week window
/ Up to 8 hours per week time dedicated to pursuing a research/knowledge specialty you’re passionate about
/ Intentional staffing to 40 hours max per week
/ Flexible “Life Happens” leave (paid and unpaid) and firm-wide mental health days
/ Meaningful, fun projects with great clients and supported by our communities
/ Mutual mentorship - we educate one another and host learning sessions regularly
/ Exposure to all areas of practice and business development
/ A tech-forward, cloud-based setup with the latest tools, systems, and resources available to set you up for success
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Some of our more typical tangible benefits include (minimum value per year based on a 70k salary equals $18,000):
/ 401k with 50% matching up to 6% of your salary
/ QSEHRA contributions for health costs
/ Technology/Home Office stipend (above and beyond company-provided equipment)
/ Education reimbursement
/ 1 Association Reimbursement
/ 4 weeks/20 days Paid Time Off (PTO)
/ 10 days Paid Holiday
/ Robust company-issued tech+ package
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Our salaries are simple and reflective of our belief that everyone on our team is valuable in their own unique way. We offer 3 salary levels, aligned with or above AIA National Compensation averages, according to assumed risk and responsibility. Salary increases are given equally to all employees according to annual cost of living inflation and company growth. 2023 salaries are:
/ General Staff - $75,600 salary
// Project Representative - $85,600 salary
/// Company Representative - $95,600 salary
Bonuses:
We know it takes everyone on the team doing their best for the firm to do its best, so everyone shares in the profits of our business to recognize our collective efforts. Bonuses are awarded based on 3 categories: Company Success (equal for all), Loyalty (based on years with FORA), and Performance (based on quarterly evaluations of your effort and growth). Earnings from 2021 provide for a bonus of up to $35,000 above base salaries.
Culture
/ what makes us, uniquely us
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/ Our design process is driven by radical empathy and an unshakeable optimism. We seek to use our skills and expertise for the good of others with a service-oriented and loving mindset. We pour ourselves into a genuine design process because we believe everyone deserves the beauty, security, and joy of space to call a home.
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/ We strive to be the best partners we can be in the fight against the housing crisis. We proudly serve community development organizations, experts, advocates, and stakeholders to elevate design standards and expand the affordability, availability, and accessibility of high quality housing choices, so everyone has the opportunity to thrive.
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/ Our designs elevate real experiences and leverage hyper-local knowledge. We put our egos aside, prioritizing the legitimate needs of our end users. We make informed, empathy-driven designs that synergize with each community’s unique existing strengths.
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/ We aspire to adapt to a changing world with curiosity, agility, and grace to reframe ever-evolving challenges as holistic opportunities. We embrace each new project as an opportunity to innovate and elevate our standards of design. The status quo is not, and never will be, a standard that we are willing to accept.
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/ Each of our team members specializes in a different body of research, ranging from sustainability and building science, to inclusive design, to housing advocacy. This ensures we stay up-to-date with emerging research and best practices. We don’t know it all and we don’t pretend to. So we engage in outside expertise to best inform each project’s unique challenges.
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/ We certainly don’t take ourselves too seriously. We create deep, meaningful and engaging processes. We are collaborative and transparent by nature. We use all the emojis. And we’re super nerdy. Our passion for affordable housing unites us - pushing us forward towards a future that is more sustainable, joyful, healthy, beautiful, and secure, for all.
One more important thing to know about us:
We believe, wholeheartedly, that it is impossible to use too many emojis, GIFS, dad jokes, or themed-Thursdays ;)
How much does a rainbow weigh?
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Not much! They're pretty light.