Open Positions at the Workshop

To apply for the open positions below, please submit a brief cover letter outlining your interest , a current resume, and a digital portfolio (PDF, max 15MB) highlighting relevant planning or design work to yudw@yale.edu.

Summer 2026: Brownfield Ambassador Design Assistants (3 positions available)
Location: New Haven, CT (with travel to Memphis, TN required) Program: EPA Technical Assistance to Brownfields (TAB) Supervision: Andrei Harwell, Executive Director, YUDW

This summer, we have partnered with New Jersey Institute of Technology’s Center for Community Systems on an exciting new initiative called Brownfield Ambassadors. Funded by the EPA’s Technical Assistance to Brownfields (TAB) program, this summer we will prepare a design vision for a housing / mixed use project to redevelop a key brownfield site in Memphis, Tennessee. Our client there will be the dynamic leadership of the City of Memphis and Shelby County Community Redevelopment Agency.

We are seeking three experienced and highly motivated graduate students to serve as Brownfield Ambassador Design Assistants for June – August 2026, beginning once you have returned from summer travel or BP. This is a unique opportunity to apply urban and architectural design, planning, research skills to a real-world project. Design Assistants will work as a design team under Andrei Harwell’s supervision directly with the client envision transformation of underutilized properties into community assets through design-led visioning and technical analysis.

Key Responsibilities
Working in a collaborative cohort, the Design Assistants will:
1. Fieldwork & Site Documentation: Conduct a visit to Memphis, Tennessee in June to visit and document the site and surroundings, understand the project requirements and context, and workshop with local partners. Develop a project program.
2. Brownfield Constraints: Research and understand how the site’s status as a brownfield impacts spatial redevelopment strategies.
3. Design Ideation and Development: Conduct site analysis and test fit a number of project concepts for discussion with the client.
4. Finalize and Document: Once a preferred scheme is identified, prepare final urban diagrams, architectural documentation, visualizations.
5. Professional Reporting: Synthesize findings into a compelling, accessible, professional "Brownfield Opportunity Report" to be presented to community stakeholders and our partners at NJIT and the EPA.

Qualifications
• Only currently enrolled graduate student at the Yale School of Architecture (M.Arch I, post-pro, or MED). Note: graduating students not eligible.
• Strong interest in housing design, urban design, urban brownfield redevelopment, community-based planning, and environmental justice.
• Proficiency in design drawing, 2d drafting in AutoCAD or Rhino, Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, InDesign), and 3D modeling/representation (Rhino, Revit, etc.).
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills for engaging with diverse community stakeholders.
• Ability to work independently and to collaborate as part of a small, focused team.

Logistics
These are in-person, full-time (40 hours per week) positions, from June to August, 2026. Start dates are somewhat flexible. Job location will be the Yale Urban Design Workshop offices on Chapel Street in New Haven. Positions are compensated hourly at the standard School of Architecture DA rate. Positions open until filled.

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