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Architect Resume 2026 - licensure path, project phases and portfolio sample free

Антон Литвинов
Антон Литвинов Founder, AI Resume Master
in 𝕏
Published: 25.09.2026 Updated: 25.09.2026

Architect is a protected title in every US state. You may only call yourself one if a state board has licensed you, and firms are careful about it because misuse is their exposure, not just yours. That is why the top of an architecture resume has to say exactly where you stand: licensed and in which states, or how many ARE divisions you have passed and how much of the Architectural Experience Program you have logged. Everything else follows from that. Firms then read for project types, project phases you can carry, and how you work in Revit, because staffing a studio is a question of who can run which phase on which building type. The portfolio still decides the hire - the resume exists to get it opened and to answer the licensure question before anyone has to ask it.

What you get

  • A complete architect resume sample
  • 3 PDF templates
  • A formula for writing projects, phases and square footage
  • 6 mistakes that cost interviews at architecture firms
Create resume → 5 minutes - AI suggestions - ATS friendly
Ready sample

Architect resume sample

The structure a hiring principal reads in twenty seconds: licensure status, building types and scale, phases carried, BIM depth, then a portfolio link that opens on the first click.

Licensure status in the header

Licensed architect with the states named, or the count of ARE divisions passed and AXP hours completed. This is the first thing a firm checks, and leaving it out forces them to assume the least.

Phases, not just projects

Schematic design, design development, construction documents, bidding, construction administration. Firms staff by phase. Saying which ones you have run unsupervised is the single most useful thing on the page.

Building type and scale

K-12, healthcare, multifamily, higher education, civic, industrial, adaptive reuse. Add square footage and storeys. A firm with a hospital pursuit is looking for exactly that word.

ATS friendly

Mid-size and large firms screen through a parser before a human opens anything. Single column, standard headings, software as plain text, no photo, no image grid, no tables. Keep the visual argument in the portfolio.

Sample resume text

Use it as a reference: keep the structure and wording, put in your own facts and numbers.

Daniel Osei

Project Architect (NY, NJ), NCARB Certificate
Brooklyn, NY
daniel.arch@example.com
(718) 555-0126
linkedin.com/in/example

Profile

Licensed Architect (NY 2021, NJ 2023), NCARB Certificate holder, LEED AP BD+C. 9 years in K-12 and higher education projects, Brooklyn NY. Carried 6 projects from schematic design through construction administration, largest 145,000 sq ft. Revit model manager across up to 6 consultant disciplines, with construction administration on projects in the field. Portfolio: example.com

Experience

Project Architect2021 - present

Fennimore Kalb Architects, New York, NY

  • Project architect for a 145,000 sq ft high school addition and renovation: led schematic design through construction administration, coordinated 6 consultant disciplines in Revit, processed 340 RFIs and 480 submittals, reached substantial completion on the original schedule with change orders under 3% of contract value
  • Ran the exterior envelope package on a 92,000 sq ft university science building, including 14 wall section types and mock-up review, with no envelope-related change orders during construction
  • Managed Revit standards across the 40-person studio, cutting model-related coordination issues reported at monthly clash reviews from an average of 60 to 18
  • Presented three school projects to district boards and community meetings, securing approval on first presentation in each case
Architectural Designer2017 - 2021

Larkspur Hollis Studio, Jersey City, NJ

  • Produced construction documents for multifamily and adaptive reuse projects from 18,000 to 70,000 sq ft, including wall types, assemblies and detail packages
  • Completed AXP and passed all six ARE divisions while working full time, registering in New York in 2021
  • Supported zoning and entitlement submissions for 5 projects, including two variance applications that were approved
Architectural Intern2016 - 2017

Redpoint Civic Architects, Philadelphia, PA

  • Modelled and documented library and community centre projects in Revit under a project architect
  • Assembled code analysis summaries and accessibility reviews for four civic projects

Education

University of Pennsylvania, Weitzman School of Design2013 - 2016

M.Arch (NAAB-accredited)

Temple University2009 - 2013

BS, Architecture

Skills

Revit (sheet sets, families, worksharing, model management)AutoCAD detailing and existing conditionsRhino and Grasshopper massing studiesNavisworks and BIM 360 coordinationIBC code analysis, egress and accessibilityConstruction documents and specifications coordinationConstruction administration: RFIs, submittals, field reportsEnscape and InDesign presentation setsLEED BD+C credit strategyPublic and client board presentations

Licensure and Certifications

  • Registered Architect - New York (2021), New Jersey (2023)
  • NCARB Certificate - 2022
  • LEED AP BD+C - 2019
  • AIA member
  • Portfolio: example.com

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Profile

Architect profile summary

Four lines: years in practice, licensure status, building types, and the phases you carry. If you are licensed, say so and name the states. If you are on the path, give the real numbers - divisions passed and AXP progress - because a firm can plan around a candidate two divisions from licensure and cannot plan around silence.

If you are not yet licensed, use the title the firm uses: architectural designer, project designer, job captain. It is accurate, it is not a demotion, and it avoids the one claim that will end an application immediately.

WeakDetail-oriented architect with experience in design and construction documents. Skilled in Revit and AutoCAD. Passionate about sustainable design and looking for a challenging role at a forward-thinking firm.
StrongLicensed Architect (NY, NJ), NCARB Certificate holder, 9 years in K-12 and higher education. Carried 6 projects from schematic design through construction administration, largest 145,000 sq ft and three storeys. Revit model manager on projects up to 40 consultant-linked models, LEED AP BD+C. Portfolio: example.com
Tip
Never write 'architect' as your title before a board has licensed you. Architectural designer is the standard, accepted alternative and no firm reads it as a weakness.
Skills

Architect skills for a resume

BIM production, code and documentation, consultant coordination, and the construction-side knowledge that separates a designer from someone who can carry a project. Name what you produce in each tool, not the tool alone.

Hard skills

  • Revit: modelling, sheet sets, families, worksharing, model management and consultant linking
  • AutoCAD for detailing, legacy drawing sets and existing-conditions work
  • Rhino with Grasshopper for massing studies and complex geometry
  • Visualisation: Enscape, Lumion, V-Ray, and Adobe InDesign and Photoshop for presentation sets
  • Navisworks or BIM 360 clash detection and model coordination across disciplines
  • Code analysis: International Building Code occupancy and construction type, egress, area and height limits, ADA accessibility
  • Construction documents: wall types, assemblies, details, specifications coordination, keynoting standards
  • Construction administration: RFIs, submittals, change orders, field reports, substantial completion and punch lists
  • Zoning and entitlement work, planning submissions and community review presentations
  • Sustainability: LEED BD+C credit strategy, energy modelling coordination, envelope and daylighting studies

Soft skills

  • Presenting a scheme to a client board or a public meeting and surviving the questions
  • Holding design intent through a value engineering exercise without becoming difficult
  • Coordinating structural, mechanical and civil consultants and keeping the model honest
  • Writing an RFI response that closes the question rather than opening two more
  • Running a project meeting and issuing notes people actually rely on
  • Mentoring staff on drawing standards so a set reads as one document
  • Judging when a detail is resolved enough to issue and when it is not
  • Telling a client early that a schedule or a budget will not hold
  • Working with a contractor as a colleague during construction administration
  • Keeping calm when a discovery in the field rewrites a week of drawings
Experience

How to write architect experience

Formula: building type plus size plus your phases plus what you personally produced plus the outcome. Firms are reading for scope, and 'worked on various projects' hides everything they want to know. Name the project category, the square footage, the delivery method, and the phases you owned rather than assisted on.

Be precise about your role. On a large healthcare project you may have run the exterior envelope package while a project architect led the whole job. Write it that way. A portfolio review will walk through details you claim, and being caught overstating a role is unrecoverable in a small professional community.

Weak- Worked on school and university projects, produced drawings in Revit and coordinated with consultants.
Strong- Project architect for a 145,000 sq ft high school addition and renovation, design-bid-build: led schematic design through construction administration, managed the Revit model across 6 consultant disciplines, ran 340 RFIs and 480 submittals, and delivered substantial completion on the original schedule with change orders held under 3% of contract value.
What to include
Building type - square footage and storeys - delivery method - your phases - consultant disciplines coordinated - RFI and submittal volume - schedule and change order performance - completion year.
Education

Education, AXP and the ARE

The standard US path runs through a professional degree accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board, the Architectural Experience Program administered by NCARB, and the Architect Registration Examination. ARE 5.0 has six divisions: Practice Management, Project Management, Programming and Analysis, Project Planning and Design, Project Development and Documentation, and Construction and Evaluation. Licensure itself is granted by an individual state board, not by NCARB, and requirements differ between states. The NCARB Certificate is what makes reciprocity between states practical, so name it if you hold it.

  • Professional degree and school, with NAAB accreditation noted - B.Arch or M.Arch
  • Licence status: the states where you are registered, with the year of initial registration
  • NCARB Certificate, if you hold it
  • ARE divisions passed, named or counted, and AXP hours completed if you are still on the path
  • LEED AP BD+C, LEED Green Associate, WELL AP or Passive House credentials, by exact name
  • AIA membership, written correctly - AIA for licensed members, Assoc. AIA if you are not yet licensed
  • A portfolio link plus a compressed PDF sample, because many firms still ask for one under 10 MB
Careful
Using the title architect without a licence is a violation of state practice acts, not a stylistic choice. Architectural designer, project designer or job captain are the correct alternatives.
Entry level

Architecture resume for a first job

Graduate hiring is a portfolio decision, but firms have a second filter that nobody talks about: can this person produce a usable Revit sheet without supervision. Show that you can. A studio project presented with real wall types, a sensible sheet set and a legible detail beats a beautiful render with no construction logic behind it.

Start the AXP immediately and record it, then put the number on the resume. A graduate with 800 logged hours and one ARE division passed reads as a professional in progress. Internships, fabrication, construction site work and even facilities drafting all count - write them with what you produced.

  • A portfolio of 4-6 projects, at least one carried to drawings rather than renderings
  • AXP hours logged to date, and any ARE divisions already passed with the dates
  • Internships written by phase and deliverable, not by the software you opened
  • Revit depth stated honestly: modelling, sheets, families, worksharing
  • Construction, fabrication or shop experience - firms value it more than graduates expect

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The builder keeps licensure status at the top, projects readable by phase and scale, and the layout parseable, so the same document works for a design studio and a large documentation-heavy practice.

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Mistakes

Common mistakes

Calling yourself an architect before licensure

It is a protected title governed by state practice acts. Firms take it seriously because their own registration is on the line. Use architectural designer until a board says otherwise.

No licensure status at all

A resume that never mentions the ARE or AXP tells a firm nothing, and they will assume nothing has started. Give the real number even if it is zero divisions and a few hundred hours.

Projects listed without phases

A firm staffing a construction documents push cannot use 'contributed to a mixed-use project'. Name the phases you carried, and be honest about which ones you only supported.

A portfolio that is all renders

Renderings show taste. Firms also need to know you can detail an assembly, draw a wall section and coordinate a model. Include at least one project documented through to details.

A graphic resume the parser cannot read

Architects design their own resumes and lose applications to it. Two columns, sidebars, icons and skill bars get dropped or scrambled by applicant tracking systems at larger firms.

A portfolio PDF too large to send

Firms routinely cap email attachments around 10 MB. A 60 MB portfolio that bounces is a portfolio nobody saw. Send a compressed sample plus a link to the full version.

Takeaways

Takeaways

Remember

  • Architect is a protected title - claim it only when licensed
  • Licensure status, ARE divisions and AXP hours near the top
  • Every project with a building type, size and phases
  • Revit depth described by what you produce
  • Construction administration numbers if you have them
  • Plain parseable resume, portfolio link that opens instantly
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FAQ

Frequently asked questions

No. In the United States architect is a title protected by each state's practice act, and it is granted by a state board after you complete the education, experience and examination requirements. A professional degree alone does not confer it. Firms enforce this strictly because their own registration and insurance depend on it. Use architectural designer, project designer or job captain - these are standard industry titles and carry no stigma.
Practice Management, Project Management, Programming and Analysis, Project Planning and Design, Project Development and Documentation, and Construction and Evaluation. You can take them in any order, and most candidates schedule them around the type of work they are currently doing. On a resume, either name the divisions you have passed or give the count with a date, so a firm can see how close you are and plan for the promotion that follows.
As a number with a date: hours logged to date, or the experience areas you have completed. The Architectural Experience Program is administered by NCARB and tracks documented hours across defined practice areas, so a real figure is meaningful to anyone reading it. Pair it with your ARE progress in a single line near the top. Vague phrasing such as 'working toward licensure' is what everybody writes, and it gives a firm nothing to act on.
The portfolio decides the hire. It is the only evidence of how you think, and every firm asks for it. What the resume does is get the portfolio opened, survive whatever screening software the firm runs, and answer the things a portfolio cannot: licensure status, building types, phases you can carry, BIM depth and how you behave during construction. Treat them as one application with two jobs rather than two versions of the same document.
The ones the firm is hiring for. A studio winning competitions wants schematic design and programming strength. A firm with three projects heading into permit wants somebody who can carry construction documents. A practice with a large project in the field wants construction administration - RFIs, submittals, site presence - and that experience is scarcer than design talent, so it is worth spelling out in detail if you have it.
By what you produce and manage, not by a proficiency label. Modelling is entry level. Producing coordinated sheet sets, building families, running worksharing, managing consultant model links and resolving clashes are progressively senior and are what a firm is actually short of. If you have acted as model manager or BIM coordinator, say so explicitly with the number of linked models or disciplines involved, because that role is hard to staff.
Name every state where you are registered, and say whether you hold the NCARB Certificate. The Certificate is what makes reciprocal registration in another state practical, and a firm considering you for a project in a state you are not yet registered in will check for it first. If you are not certified, say which states you are registered in anyway, and be ready to discuss what the target state requires, because rules are set board by board.
Yes - the full sample above, and all templates on this page. You can assemble your own resume from any of them in the builder for free and see the result; downloading the finished PDF is paid, by subscription or a one-time payment. The builder keeps the layout parseable so your licensure line and portfolio link survive the firm's screening system.
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