Senior Planner / Atlanta Planning Studio Manager

Currently Seeking: Senior Planner / Atlanta Planning Studio Manager

Atlanta, Georgia

Lead the Future of Community Planning at TSW

At TSW, we don’t just plan communities we help shape how people live, connect, and thrive. Headquartered in Midtown Atlanta with offices in Chattanooga, TN; Lexington, KY; and Tulsa, OK, TSW is an award-winning planning, architecture, and landscape architecture firm known for creating thoughtful, enduring places rooted in community, design excellence, and implementation.

We are growing our Planning Studio and are seeking a Senior Planner / Atlanta Planning Studio Manager to lead our Atlanta-based planning practice. This is a senior leadership role for someone ready to shape the direction of our planning work, grow client relationships, mentor staff, and contribute to firmwide strategy across the Southeast and beyond.

Why This Role Matters

This is more than a project management position. As Atlanta Planning Studio Manager, you will play a key leadership role within TSW guiding planning initiatives from vision to implementation, helping position the firm for future opportunities, and fostering a collaborative, high-performing planning team.

You will influence not only individual projects, but also the strategic direction of TSW’s planning practice, working closely with firm leadership and other studio leads.

What You’ll Do

Studio & Firm Leadership:

  • Lead the day-to-day operations of the Atlanta Planning Studio, including staffing, workflow, and coordination with other TSW studios
  • Help shape firmwide planning initiatives, best practices, and long-term strategic direction
  • Mentor and support planning staff, fostering professional growth, collaboration, and design excellence

Project Leadership:

  • Serve as Project Manager and Project Lead on complex planning efforts from start to finish
  • Guide visioning, policy development, and implementation for downtown master plans, corridor studies, comprehensive plans, and small-area plans
  • Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams of planners, designers, architects, landscape architects, and engineers

Client & Business Development:

  • Build and maintain strong client relationships across the Southeast
  • Participate in business development efforts, including pursuit strategy, proposal writing, and interviews
  • Help identify and pursue new planning opportunities that align with TSW’s mission and expertise

Community Engagement & Communication:

  • Lead and facilitate public meetings, workshops, charrettes, and stakeholder engagement efforts
  • Translate complex ideas into clear, compelling narratives, maps, graphics, and visual stories
  • Represent TSW confidently in public, professional, and client-facing settings

Who You Are

You are a strategic thinker, strong communicator, and collaborative leader who thrives at the intersection of planning, design, and people. You bring:

  • 10+ years of professional experience in planning or a related field, including staff and project management
  • Proven success leading multidisciplinary planning projects
  • Experience mentoring staff and contributing to studio or organizational leadership
  • Strong writing and communication skills
  • The ability to synthesize complex data into clear, actionable insights
  • Confidence facilitating public engagement and presenting to diverse audiences
  • A strong eye for design, layout, and visual communication
  • Familiarity with the Atlanta region and Southeast planning context

Your Toolkit

You are comfortable working with:

  • Microsoft Office Suite
  • Adobe InDesign

Bonus points for experience with:

  • Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator
  • SketchUp or AutoCAD
  • ArcGIS Pro

Why TSW

At TSW, you’ll join a collaborative, multidisciplinary studio that values creativity, leadership, and impact. We believe great planning happens through strong relationships within our team, with our clients, and with the communities we serve. We are committed to fostering a diverse, inclusive workplace where leadership is shared and ideas are valued.

Ready to Make an Impact?

Visit www.tsw-design.com, go to the Connect page, and click on Join the Team to submit:

  • Resume
  • Graphic Samples
  • Writing Samples

Come help us lead planning efforts that shape places and communities that matter.