Chief Engineer, United States Army European Exchange System, Nuremberg, Germany, 1951-1957. According to the Matrix IMA web site in 2014: "From 1951 to 1957 his team of 50 architects and engineers was responsible for the planning, design, and construction of more than 300 buildings, including offices, retail stores, and manufacturing and food processing plants in Germany, France, Austria, and Italy." (See "Welcome to Matrix IMA,"Accessed 02/11/2014.) Partner, Mackinlay/Winnacker/McNeil and Associates, Oakland, CA, 1959-1990; Principal, Ian MacKinlay, Architects (IMA), San Francisco, CA, 1990- ; the firm was known in 2014 as "Matrix IMA." According to the firm's own web site: "Ian is an internationally recognized expert on snow and cold country architecture. He has led many architectural design and master planning projects in snow and cold regions, ranging from private homes to ski resorts, and consults extensively on snow and cold–related design and construction issues (including moisture and condensation problems) and forensic investigations. He has extensive experience in designing and building for tropical regions as well. Ian’s work can be seen in Hawaii, Guam, Nauru, Saudi Arabia, Germany, France, Austria, and Italy as well as the United States. His numerous publications include the book Snow Country Design and articles for such publications as AIA Journal and Progressive Architecture. Ian is an associate member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and the only architect serving on the ASCE 7’s Snow Loads Subcommittee." (See "Welcome to Matrix IMA,"Accessed 02/11/2014.)

He lectured in architecture from 1957 to 1960 at the University of California, Berkeley.

In 2014, MacKinlay was a Registered Architect in the States of AK, CA, CO, Guam, HI, ID, IL, MD, MN, MT, NV, NM, NY, OH, UT, WA and WY. He also indicated that he was NCARB-certified.

Fellow, American Institute of Architects (FAIA), 1975.

B.Arch., University of California, Berkeley, CA.