Principal Director - Planning and Zoning (USA)

Who We Are

Archistar is redefining how cities plan, permit, and build — at a time when governments globally are under unprecedented pressure to deliver housing, infrastructure, and predictable outcomes.

As an award-winning govtech company, Archistar partners closely with municipalities, counties, states, provinces, and agencies to modernize zoning, land use, and permitting systems responsibly. Our platform translates complex planning and zoning regulations into structured, digital systems, supports automated and assisted review of building designs, and delivers deep GIS and parcel-level insights — helping planners and reviewers make faster, more consistent, and more defensible decisions.

To support this mission, Archistar is establishing a Centre for Technical Excellence (CTE) and is seeking a Principal Director – Planning and Zoning (USA) to serve as the senior planning authority governing how land use and zoning regulations are interpreted, assured, and operationalized within digital planning and e-permitting platforms.

The Role

This is a senior, executive-level role for an accomplished land use and zoning professional who operates comfortably at the intersection of regulation, public policy, and technology.

As Principal Director – Planning & Zoning, you will be Archistar’s most senior authority on zoning, land use regulation, and development review as they are implemented within digital planning and e-permitting platforms.

Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, you will own the governance, statutory and legal assurance, and professional defensibility of how planning and zoning controls are interpreted, structured, and operationalized at scale across U.S. jurisdictions.

Rather than focusing on a single ordinance or jurisdiction, this role shapes how zoning systems are implemented nationally — across cities, counties, and states — ensuring that digital assessments can be relied upon by governments, regulators, and practitioners.

This role is suited to a senior planning or zoning leader who values judgment over volume, defensibility over speed, and influence over hierarchy — and who wants to modernize planning systems without compromising regulatory intent, administrative discretion, or due process.

Your Day-to-Day

Technical & Statutory Leadership

• Serve as Archistar’s senior technical authority on zoning ordinances, land use regulations, and development standards across the United States
• Own and govern the interpretation of planning and zoning controls, providing statutory and legal assurance over their translation into digital and rules-based systems
• Act as the final escalation point for complex, ambiguous, or high-risk zoning and land use matters
• Review, validate, and approve complex zoning rules, overlays, conditional uses, variances, and discretionary provisions
• Ensure regulatory intent, administrative discretion, real-world planning practice, and the administrative record are preserved within automated and assisted review workflows

Platform & Implementation Assurance

• Provide technical leadership and assurance for complex or high-risk municipal, county, and state implementations
• Guide jurisdiction-specific approaches to exceptions, overlays, discretionary review, and statutory nuance
• Partner closely with product, engineering, and data teams to review, validate, and sign off on digital zoning logic from a statutory and planning perspective
• Participate in audits, statutory and legal assurance reviews, and go-live readiness decisions

Government & Stakeholder Engagement

• Engage directly with planning directors, zoning administrators, regulators, and senior public-sector stakeholders on complex planning and zoning matters
• Provide expert technical input in a statutory and legal assurance capacity for government and enterprise engagements, including RFPs, pilots, and statutory reliance discussions
• Support confidence in digital planning systems among regulators, reviewers, and decision-makers

Capability Building

• Develop internal zoning and planning standards, playbooks, and technical guidance
• Mentor and upskill internal teams to strengthen land use and zoning expertise across the organization
• Contribute to the governance framework of Archistar’s Center for Technical Excellence

What We're Looking For

• 10+ years’ experience in statutory planning, zoning, land use regulation, or development review

• Deep, practical knowledge of zoning ordinances, land use controls, and entitlement and permitting workflows
• Strong professional credibility with municipal, county, or state government stakeholders
• Demonstrated judgment in interpreting discretionary, conditional, and complex zoning provisions
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including executive-level and public-sector engagement
• Experience working with digital planning, zoning, or e-permitting systems in a statutory, governance, or assurance capacity
• Strong understanding of how zoning regulations, overlays, and discretionary controls are represented in structured or digital rule environments
• Familiarity with GIS-based zoning data, parcel data, and spatial rules
• Experience contributing to or assuring automated review, decision-support, or digitally assisted assessment workflows
• Exposure to large-scale zoning reform, housing delivery initiatives, or government digital transformation programs

Nice to Have

• Exposure to rules engines, machine-readable zoning, or automated assessment systems
• Experience partnering closely with technical teams building or maintaining digital planning platforms
• AICP certification or equivalent senior professional credential
• Experience serving as a Zoning Administrator, Planning Director, or Entitlements / Development Review Manager

Why You’ll Love Working With Us

• Apply your zoning and land use expertise at a national, cross-jurisdictional scale across the U.S.
• Work with governments that value legal defensibility, due process, and professional judgment
• Be part of an award-winning planning technology company partnering with leading municipalities and agencies
• Competitive executive-level salary package, including equity participation
• Remote-first flexibility across North America, with purposeful travel
• A collaborative executive team that values rigor, autonomy, and public-sector credibility
• Mission-driven work supporting housing delivery, permitting modernization, and better planning outcomes
  

How to Apply

Ready to apply your zoning and land use expertise to the next generation of digital planning and permitting — without compromising statutory integrity?

Send your resume and a short cover letter to Gita Coorey, VP People & Culture, at [email protected], outlining your experience with zoning, land use regulation, and statutory decision-making.

Help shape how planning systems across the United States evolve — responsibly, defensibly, and at scale.