Following last week’s look at an opening for a Design Research and Teaching Fellowship at Northeastern University, we are using this week’s edition of our Job Highlights series to explore an open role on Archinect Jobs for a Retail Architect with Japanese language skills at O’Neil Langan Architects.

The role, based in New York, calls for an individual to work on high-end retail projects “with an emphasis on Japanese clientele” with the firm therefore noting that “Fluency in Japanese is critical for this role.” Among the responsibilities for the role are project development from schematic design to construction in the retail sector.

Why the role interests us

The O’Neil Langan role’s emphasis on Japanese fluency offers us the opportunity to look back at some of the intriguing recently completed architecture projects in Japan to be profiled in our editorial. Last month, for example, we covered the completion of minimalist concrete apartments by Ryuichi Sasaki Architecture sitting on a narrow site in Tokyo, while in November of last year, we reported on the completion of Heatherwick’s Azabudai Hills mixed-use development in Tokyo.

Also in November, we covered the completion of a submerged Japanese library by Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP in the Japanese city of Kisarazu. The innovative approach to the library, which sits submerged under farmland, follows on from our feature coverage of the firm’s recycling center in Kamikatsu, described as a “temple of material reuse.”

Other significant project completions to take place in Japan in recent months include OMA’s new Toranomon Hills Station Tower, which opened in Tokyo in October, and Kyoto tea house which blends Japanese and Ukrainian influences. In July, meanwhile, we profiled a timber residential scheme on the Japanese island of Yakushima that “utilizes regenerative architecture to support its natural surrounding environment.”

Further reading for interested candidates

• Minimalist concrete apartments fill a narrow site in Tokyo, designed by Ryuichi Sasaki Architecture (January 2024)
• Heatherwick's Azabudai Hills mixed-use development opens in Tokyo (November 2023)
• A submerged Japanese library by Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP as a ‘tranquil place’ for reading and rest (November 2023)
• 10 store designs we liked this week (January 2023)
• Alexandra Lange on the (ever)green potential of American dead malls (June 2022)
• Foster + Partners designs timber department store in Tokyo (June 2022)
• Archinect’s ongoing coverage of retail architecture
• Archinect’s ongoing coverage of Japanese architecture
• O’Neil Langan’s Archinect profile
• Archinect Tips: Employment Edition

Job Highlights is one of a number of ongoing weekly series showcasing the opportunities available on our industry-leading job board. Our Meet Your Next Employer series profiles and interviews interesting studios with open positions currently available on Archinect Jobs, while our weekly roundups curate job opportunities by location, career level, and job description.