Transit Facility Architect Lead at Parsons in Toronto, Ontario, CA

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Job Description:

Parsons is hiring an experienced Transit Facilities Architect Lead to support and grow our Canada Rail & Transit business. This role is ideal for a senior architect with deep expertise in transit stations, maintenance and storage facilities, rail and bus depots, and zero-emission bus (ZEB) facilities, along with proven leadership in project delivery and pursuit support.

Our Rail & Transit portfolio across Canada includes new station design, station upgrades, rail depot design, bus depot design, and related systems/infrastructure integration. In addition to leading the execution of active projects, you will help expand our facilities practice by supporting pursuits, identifying capability gaps (especially BIM/digital delivery), and working closely with Parsons’ architecture and multi-disciplinary teams to deliver excellence for our clients.

Key Responsibilities

Project & Design Leadership

• Lead all phases of transit facility projects (planning/feasibility, concept, schematic, detailed design, and construction support) ensuring delivery meets scope, schedule, budget, and quality expectations.
• Serve as Architectural Lead and/or Project Manager for complex transit facilities, coordinating architectural design with civil, structural, MEP, systems, rail, operations, safety, and sustainability requirements.
• Ensure designs reflect transit operating needs, maintainability, passenger experience, safety/security, accessibility, and resilience.

Client Leadership & Stakeholder Management

• Act as a primary point of contact for clients and stakeholders, maintaining trusted relationships and responding effectively to feedback.
• Lead and participate in workshops, design reviews, value engineering, and stakeholder engagement activities (owners, operators, municipalities, Indigenous communities where applicable, constructors, and third parties).

Business Development & Market Growth

• Identify, qualify, and support pursuits across Western Canada including:
  • Maintenance & Storage Facilities
  • Zero-Emission Bus Facilities (charging infrastructure integration and facility impacts)
  • Transit stations and station upgrades
• Contribute to proposals, interviews, technical approaches, schedules, resourcing plans, and fee development in coordination with Parsons leadership.

Quality, Standards & Digital Delivery

• Champion design quality management and best practices, ensuring deliverables meet Parsons and client standards, applicable codes, and authority requirements.
• Lead BIM strategy and execution (model-based coordination, clash detection workflows, BIM execution planning), and identify gaps in team capability with action plans to close them.

Team Leadership

• Build, mentor, and develop high-performing teams; provide technical direction, coaching, and review of deliverables.
• Support hiring, resourcing, and capability development to grow Parsons’ transit facilities architecture practice in Canada West.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Architecture (or related field) or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 20+ years of progressively responsible experience delivering transit/transportation facilities, such as stations, depots, maintenance facilities, operations buildings, and/or intermodal facilities.
• Demonstrated leadership delivering projects through feasibility to detailed design and construction support, coordinating multi-disciplinary teams.
• Strong knowledge of Canadian building codes, accessibility requirements, and life-safety principles as applied to complex public/infrastructure facilities.
• Proven experience with alternative delivery models (e.g., Design-Build, P3, Alliance/CM), including architect responsibilities during procurement and construction.
• Business development experience supporting pursuits (proposal writing, technical leadership, interviews, client strategy).

Preferred Qualifications

• Registered Architect (or eligibility/active progress toward registration) with a Canadian provincial association (e.g., OAA, AAA, AIBC, MAA, etc.).
• Experience with ZEB facilities, charging infrastructure interface impacts, and facility planning for electrification.
• Strong proficiency in BIM and design tools, such as Revit, AutoCAD, Navisworks, and related coordination workflows; familiarity with SketchUp and/or MicroStation is an asset.
• Experience developing BIM Execution Plans, digital QA/QC processes, and model-based coordination practices across disciplines.
• Familiarity with transit agency standards and stakeholder approvals typical to large public infrastructure programs.

Core Competencies (What Success Looks Like)

CompetencyExamples of Application

Transit facility expertiseStations, depots, MSF planning, operational adjacency, passenger flow, safety/security

Leadership & deliveryMulti-disciplinary coordination, schedule/budget accountability, risk management

Client & stakeholder leadershipWorkshops, decision tracking, design reviews, issue resolution

Digital deliveryBIM leadership, coordination workflows, model QA/QC, capability building

Growth mindsetIdentifying opportunities, supporting pursuits, building teams and repeatable delivery practices

If you’d like, paste the full original posting (including any benefits/location language), and I can tailor this further to a specific city (e.g., Vancouver/Calgary/Edmonton), delivery model focus (DB/P3), and the exact mix of architect lead vs. project manager responsibilities.

This position is part of our Critical Infrastructure team.

For more than 80 years, our experts have designed and delivered the critical infrastructure that connects and protects communities around the world. We work in collaborative teams, both within the company and with our partners and customers, to plan, design, build, and modernize infrastructure. We take special pride in projects and solutions that improve communities as well as people’s quality of life by promoting economic growth, enhancing mobility, and increasing sustainability and resiliency. Powered by our people, we provide the imagination necessary to support our customers’ visions—and to help them see what's next!

Salary Range: $146,100 - $271,400

This position is intended to identify candidates for future potential opportunities and is not for an existing opportunity.

We value our employees and want our employees to take care of their overall wellbeing, which is why we offer best-in-class benefits such as health, vision, dental, employer paid provincial care premiums, Defined Contribution Pension Plan (DCPP), Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA), Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP), life insurance, paid time off, sick leave, all province observed holidays off, and gym membership discounts to fit your busy lifestyle!

Parsons is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in the workplace. Parsons equally employs representation at all job levels for indigenous peoples, women, individuals with disabilities, and visible minorities.

We truly invest and care about our employee’s wellbeing and provide endless growth opportunities as the sky is the limit, so aim for the stars! Imagine next and join the Parsons quest—APPLY TODAY!

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