Design Manager

Role Overview

Design Manager within design management for complex data center development projects. You will govern and coordinate external design consultants and vendors to ensure consistent, high-quality design outputs aligned with project standards, governance, and delivery requirements—starting from early site due diligence through construction support.

Key Responsibilities

• Design governance & reviews: Coordinate and govern design review activities across multi-disciplinary teams, aligning internal stakeholders and external consultants.
• Consultant performance: Assess design consultants/contractors/suppliers and provide structured feedback; track delivery quality across work packages and overall execution.
• Design coordination workflows: Manage submission tracking, approval sequencing, model coordination, and clash resolution; ensure design changes are communicated and integrated into project controls.
• Permitting & regulatory oversight: Monitor progress for permitting and regulatory approvals, escalating schedule risks and delays.
• Commercial awareness: Support cost planning concepts such as variation assessment and change control.
• Environmental & sustainability integration: Embed environmental/sustainability objectives into design outputs and verify compliance with project sustainability targets.
• Safety, compliance & quality: Ensure safety, compliance, and quality requirements are built into design deliverables throughout all phases.
• Documentation & issue tracking: Review design documentation to find gaps/inconsistencies, and manage resolution tracking using structured issue logs and reporting tools.
• Construction support: Provide technical support to construction/delivery teams to resolve design issues and reduce impact to program timelines.
• Technical due diligence: Contribute to due diligence for potential acquisitions and expansion opportunities.
• Standardization & baseline requirements: Work with internal technical/discipline leads to maintain and evolve standardized design frameworks and baseline requirements.
• Requirements translation: Convert external stakeholder/client requirements into structured design inputs aligned to internal standards and execution strategy.

Requirements

• Experience within data centers or mission-critical environments.
• 8+ years delivering on highly serviced building environments.
• Strong understanding of how mechanical, electrical, and ICT systems integrate within complex facilities.
• Background in design delivery/coordination/management in construction/engineering.
• Knowledge of end-to-end design-to-construction workflows (including refurbishment, fit-out, and large-scale capital projects).
• Commercial awareness to understand financial implications of design decisions, cost movement, and scope changes.
• Highly organized; proven ability to implement structured governance/delivery processes.
• Strong communication and relationship-building skills across stakeholders.

Nice-to-haves

• Not explicitly stated, but deep familiarity with data center permitting/regulatory pathways and sustainability-driven design frameworks would likely be advantageous.